Illuminating Aegis: Tales of the Changeling King

The Je'Daii Temple wing of the hive was, forgive the pun, abuzz with life as Namiro walked down the main hall. The buzzing of changeling wings alongside the gentle flapping of pegasus wings melded with the gentle clack of hooves across the stone floor. Within the temple itself the very air seemed to be infused with the ambient Force Energy in the emotions of the students.

The temple itself was filled with students from all kinds of nations, from Minotaurs to Griffons and Zebras to Saddle Arabians, Namiro took several moments to look back at the memories of the temple itself growing mostly without his help. He sat at one of the benches placed strategically to the sides of the hall and let his gaze linger over each of the crystal mosaics that lined the walls of the hall to his right. Each one depicted a battle between the Sith and his own students, even now the Sith still made their presence known. It seemed more... ceremonial... than anything else by now though, he still sat to dinner every so often with the Princesses and right across from him at least once a month was a Sith Lord who had come to the court looking to debate a matter with one of the most powerful nations in the land.

He briefly let the thought of requesting to merge both organizations into one dance around his mind as a small smile crested his muzzle. That would be the day, wouldn't it? When the Sith returned to being Je'Daii and learned once more to study The Force instead of bend it to their will.

As his gaze began to waver to the left though a pang of pity shot through his body when the mosaic of the Bearers of Harmony, in the form of alicorns, came to his attention. Memories flashed across his mind of the moment the bearers had opened that crystal box and ascended. Celestia had told him that the spell Starswirl had been working on was supposed to make them all ascend, though when only Twilight had...

With hardly a sound the Changeling King stood once again and resumed his steady pace towards one of the lower floors of the Temple, passing several mixed groups of students on his way down. Most students gave him a wide berth as he walked, not surprising since he was quite literally almost twice their size. The world around him seemed to blur as he let his mind wander and let his hooves take him where they wanted to go.

His thoughts drifted back to the friends he had made in the past several years, that's all they seemed to be... memories. So much of his time lately was sequestered in the temple teaching the next generation. So many faces passed him that it had really become a blur to keep up with, he found himself forgetting names worse than when he had been a human. Was he truly the immortal that he had claimed to be all those years ago? It had certainly hurt when he had been decapitated, he bounced back though...

...funny how time can make light of death when it's merely a speed bump in the passage of time...

When his senses had returned to him Namiro found himself standing in the center of the only chamber that led directly from the third floor of the temple straight to the surface. Light from Celestia's sun warmed his chitin as he slowly sat down, letting the force caress his mind as his eyes closed once more.

Seven lightsabers lazily floated up from his belt as he let The Force flow through him. The first, a simple blade clad with dragon scales on the grip, hissed to life with a crimson blade. It swung in slow circles as it began to orbit the meditating changeling. The second blade, made with a more organic wood design that had three griffon feathers hanging from the base of the hilt, lit up with an orange blade while it spun just a bit faster at a slightly different angle from the red one.

The third blade looked... incomplete... its yellow core glinting in the sun as it sprung to life with a matching golden yellow blade that rotated horizontally around the changeling, each arc coming just a hair's breadth away from singeing the changeling's loose robe.

Namiro's familiar fourth saber, created with handgrips made from his own chitin, leapt to life with a green blade as it swung in a vertical arc around him. A small smile appeared on his face despite not actually looking at the display that was springing to life around him. Several students who were in the nearby rooms were drawn to the use of The Force and were awestruck as they watched the beautiful display.

A hilt made completely of blue crystal lit up next with a matching navy blade as it began to orbit in a more oblong, diagonal orbit around the large changeling in the center of the room. When this saber had been made he had taken up the moniker of 'The Rainbow Je'Daii' as he kept up his practice of telekinetic saber combat. All those years ago he had struggled to use more than two sabers purely with The Force, now...

A shell-trimmed hilt seemed to eagerly spring to life with a slightly darker, indigo blade as it swung the humming energy as if it were part of a wild ocean. The shells had been a gift from the merfolk of Marelantis, his surprise the day they had approached him was something that Patina had laughed at him for weeks over. Still... to see what most ponies considered to be an urban myth in real life.

The last blade had a smaller hilt, specifically designed to be wielded in one hand as the reflective steel began to shine with the light of the sun. It began to rotate slowly above the changeling's head as the violet blade hissed happily to life. Not a single blade was held by any physical hand as they all orbited around the changeling like a solar system, each rotation began to speed up... seconds ticked by as the humming of the blades began to fill the room with one of the most dangerous and spectacular lightshows known to ponykind.

The student onlookers held their breath as they watched the blades themselves begin to blur and become little more than deadly dervishes of light. More than one looked on in envy as they wished to get to the same level of concentration and harmony that it took to get where the Changeling King sat. Many felt a primal fear as they watched the display, knowing that this was him simply on a pre-selected course at only a portion of the speed he could truly bring to bear if he wanted.

Then one figure stepped up to the lights. A tall, bi-pedal fox with golden fur and piercing blue eyes. Her tail twitched once as the indigo blade passed by, twice as the crimson blade passed her and when the golden blade passed she sprinted. Her body moved in a calculated, smooth motion as she avoided each blade mere seconds before they could strike her. Like water over the stones in a stream her elegant form avoided each blade, ducking and diving at precisely the right time until she was finally in a kneeling position in front of the sitting changeling.

A white shoto blade sprung to life in her reverse-style grip and hovered mere centimeters away from the changeling's neck.

The seven rainbow blades slowed their orbits to a standstill as the smile grew on the changeling's face. One by one the colored blades descended back into their standby state before they made their way back to their respective places on Namiro's belt. The fox's blade hissed as it receded back into the shoto hilt it had spawned from as Namiro's eyes opened. "Excellent work Mileena..." He said quietly as he raised his arms in a 'hug me' motion.

The fox didn't need to be told twice as she leaned forward and snuggled with her adoptive father in a very cat-like manner complete with a slight purr as she curled up against him. She let out a happy sigh as she hugged her tail against her chest and her ears twitched playfully as Namiro's hand scratched in a particular spot behind her right ear.