Converging Light
Converging Light
For the last week, it had been a hectic number of days for Star Catcher and her family as they made preparations for the Congregation, each in their own ways. Star was more than ready to go after packing a small bag with her day-to-day necessities despite her need to go get measured for the traditional garb she would be wearing while meeting with the other representatives. Flash had his kit bag with all the nonessential items he was allowed, but Fluttershy had to find a temporary home for her pet rabbit, Angel. That was notably difficult as most only cared for birds if they had the inclination, but with the slightly higher maintenance of a rabbit, few were ready or willing to take on the minor burden. She finally found a family with a pair of young children who had fallen in love with the white ball of fluff on sight and left them with detailed notes on how to care for him and made her teary eyed farewell.
Eventually, the week passed by and today was the day where Star Catcher and the bolstered ranks of Dash's Devils would be arriving at Canterlot. She walked into the parade ground wearing a pure white tunic that had some delicate Magi embroidery woven masterfully along the hems along with a set of thin leather leggings and her gladius strapped about her waist. Without any fanfare, she left the corridor leading to the outside and looked at the bolstered ranks of Dash's Devils with the eyes of a veteran Commander, their poly-chromatic leader standing proudly in the front ranks and awaiting her presentation in fine form. She tried to surreptitiously glance for any sign of her daughter or nephew, but saw no sign of them. She made her way up to Rainbow and squared her shoulders before awaiting the traditional greeting of a sworn bow, both fists clasped to chest with a deep bow. Dash gave her s steely stare as she only brought her right fist to her chest before bowing. Star Catcher immediately felt her ire rise at the lack in decorum as well as the slight given in full view of her troops. If she let this slide, then it would only open up a whole new world of political nightmares for her.
Steadying herself with an icy expression, she looked down at the shorter woman and said, “You really wish to try my patience here and now?”
“I never swear myself fully to any Senator, military vote or not,” she said in a firm tone, her expression not wavering in the slightest. “I value the lives of my subordinates too much to do that.”
“That may be,” she said in an even tone before continuing, “But I'm not like most Senators, Commander Dash, and you will give me your obedience or I will take it through force...”
“I'd like to see you try,” Dash said quietly as her steely mask broke and a smirk came forth. “You've gone soft in your time sitting on the bench, so bring it if you can.”
Star's eyes flashed as she let go of a breath and stepped back a few paces before addressing the unit assembled. “So it seems as though your Commander refuses to swear her full loyalty to me!” she shouted to the front ranks who found their forward gazes drawn to her. Now was her chance to take the spotlight of the highly visible commander and manipulate it to her own ends. “She thinks she can only swear to me her sword arm, keeping her other in reserve! She thinks herself above decorum and the traditions that bind us with the other tribes! But I will not have such disrespect carried out upon the day of our journey to the Congregation!” A brief murmur rippled from the ranks and Star smirked as she looked to Rainbow who looked absolutely flabbergasted at the turn of events. “I challenge Rainbow Dash, leader of Dash's Devils for her full loyalty and ask all of you to be my witness!”
The murmur rose from a dull wave to an excited thrum. There hadn't been a challenge for any reason against their Commander until Battalion-Commander Spitfire had managed to reign her in with concessions. But an outright challenge from a Citizen to a Commander? Totally unheard of in this day and age, but certainly not illegal. “Are you sure you want to do this?” Dash asked grimly as her smirk disappeared. “I won't be held accountable if I hurt you.”
“Worry about yourself, you insolent little girl,” Star said in an even tone as she shed her gladius and settled into a low stance, balanced on the balls of her feet. “I challenge you in unarmed combat so that I don't have to ruin my ceremonial clothes with your blood.”
Dash felt her hackles rise and couldn't help the surge of anger that seared her to her core, but Star already knew what she would be thinking and was formulating a plan on using a public display of discipline and gaining loyalty through a challenge that they could all respect. The look in her eyes gave Star a reason to smirk, especially when Dash thought her smirk was for the comment as she threw her weapon to her second in command.
“This won't be long,” Dash said as she flapped her wings slightly and settled into a noticeably more aggressive stance than Star's and raised her fists before coming to a complete standstill.
“No, you won't,” Star agreed without her smile faltering in the slightest. Dash's only response was for her expression to darken further.
“Should I take my gauntlets off so I don't scratch your pretty face?” Dash asked as she took a couple steps forward.
“You can keep your gauntlets... Might give your punches a little weight,” Star taunted. “Though you can take that helmet off. I'm sure your head's plenty hard as it is...”
Dash scowled and whipped her helmet off, freeing her jaw length hair that fluttered in a gentle gust of wind. “There, you ready to start or what?”
“Let's lay some ground rules first...”
“Sure,” Dash said quickly.
“In addition to the usual submission rule, how about we add a maximum of ten knock downs?” Star said with a confident smirk.
“Why not?” Dash said with a bark of laughter. “That way you won't show up too bloodied and bruised to the Congregation.”
“We'll see...” she simply said. “But apart from that, I see no reason to change or add any more rules.”
“I'm good,” Dash said with a nod. “Ready when you are.”
In reply, Star simply moved into a wide stance completely at odds with Dash's aggressive form. Dash waited a moment to see if Star was doing anything out of the ordinary with her power, but Dash didn't notice anything. After a few moments of inactivity, Star gave a little sigh and beckoned with her off hand for Dash to come, as if she were impatient for this to be over with and be on her way. Dash was more than happy to respond and surged forward with a burst of her innate magic to accelerate and enhance her natural quickness. She closed the distance with a pair of quick steps and let lose a blazingly fast jab that she sent a surge of magic through to make it all the faster. With a smirk, Dash watched as her fist rocketed toward her foe of the moment and could even feel the barometric pressure increase as the distance closed rapidly.
The blow never landed though. With a crack of sound and a rush of white noise, she found herself on her back and staring up at the light blue sky. She tried to take a breath, but fell into a bout of hacking coughs when she realized that she had the wind knocked out of her lungs. When her hearing finally returned, she heard a low, uneasy murmuring coming from behind her. When she finally regained her breath, she could smell the razor sharp smell of ozone in the air, as if a lightning bolt had just struck. Star stood half a step away from her and she was muttering darkly to herself, as if disappointed in herself for a performance that not even Dash had been privy to.
“You gonna stand there talking to yourself, or are we gonna fight?” Dash wheezed as she got to her feet.
“Just waiting on you, slowpoke,” Star said with a snort of amusement as Dash's face contorted into full on anger.
“I'll show you slow!” she said as she allowed her magic to flow through her with barely a thought for her physical well being. The things she saw moved at a snails pace... No... slower than that. It was as if she were watching a frame by frame slideshow of her current sight with a ten second delay between images. The one thing she couldn't see was Star Catcher. The punch she had thought to throw at her taunting foe ended before it even began and as she turned to her left to catch sight of her foe, a flicker of silvery light from her right made her freeze.
A tingling sensation washed from her stabilizing ankle and froze her leg in an instant and she felt it kicked out from under her. She tried to stop her fall with a twist, but a hand slammed into her solar plexus with enough force to counter her momentum sent her careening back to the ground. As she fell, her expression turned to one of disbelief. She caught sight of Star Catcher's expression and felt a shiver run down her spine. She wore the most chilling smile she had ever seen, a maniacal gleam to her eye as if this is what she longed for. Not the tame sessions she attended in the Senate, not the prestige that came with her rank. She lived for the thrill of the fight and had long since given up on it since it was illegal for Citizens to duel Citizens.
Now Dash had just given her a chance to let that ferocious side free. And she was scared.
The ground finally came up to meet her and all the magic she had been channeling fled her in an instant as she writhed on the ground, clutching at the spot on her breastplate that Star had hit. It seemed as if her skin had been set on fire and fought against it.
“Done already?” Star asked in a disappointed tone as silence rang in the air, that chilling smile gone as if she had never seen it in the first place. “Do you surrender? Or do you wish for this to happen eight more times?” A predatory gleam flickered in her eyes for a fraction of a second before disappearing.
Dash had never given up before, but if unfettering her innate magic in an attack ended like this, what hope did she have to defeat this monster? A flicker in her chest burned at the question. “No,” she said in a gravelly voice as she staggered back to her feet. “I'll never give them over to you without a fight!”
“Then I think our duel is over,” she said as she turned and began walking away. “If that's all you can muster as a cohort's Captain, then we can use it to eat a few extra miles. Daylight is burning and I'd like to get to Canterlot while the sun is above the horizon...”
“Wha!?” she exclaimed as she saw the obviously disgraceful gesture of being shown her opponents back. “We're not done here!”
“Yes...” Star said resolutely, brooking no argument. “We are... Now come along or I'll leave you behind.”
Dash felt as though she had been strung along and left hanging in the air with her wings clipped. This Senator was going to challenge her, publicly disgrace her and then end the duel before its conclusion as if she weren't even worth her time? She felt a fire surge from deep within her being and let lose a cry of primal rage directed at Star and felt that power leave her as a blindingly brilliant burst of silver light coalesced in front of her and lanced forth to her retreating foe. Star flickered and was suddenly facing her, right hand outstretched and clawed as it grasped the live bolt of lightning that had somehow formed between the two of them. In the harsh light, her expression was one of a supremely satisfied predator whose prey had fallen into her trap. Her fist gave off a few brilliant sparks of golden light and then the bolt was shattered as thought it had been made of ice.
In the deafening silence that was left behind, a slow clap sounded for those who could still hear after the crack of thunder. “Very good, Rainbow Dash...”Star said with a tiny curve to her lips. “Very good. I see that I underestimated your mettle and determination. The fact that you're still standing proves a testament to your resolve and power. However, as I said, daylight is burning. Let's get going...” Without waiting another moment, Star turned back around and took off without looking back, leaving Dash's second in command to give the call for the troops to depart and for the formation that they had discussed a few days prior. From her Commander's expression, there was nothing she could say or do to bring her out of the daze she was in and took command until she could catch up. After all, it wasn't every day one learned that they had enough power to summon the wrath of a storm...
***
Pinkie had been in a vortex of happiness ever since Applejack had come up to Canterlot and everyone on her staff could tell that she had a little extra spring in her step. Of course, her crush was the worst kept secret among them and no one said a word about it unless they wanted a stern “talking” to from her, so not a one said anything. That is, except Maud, who hadn't gotten the memo. They were sitting in Maud's dining room, eating their morning meals as bright light shone through the windows and glistening off anything that could reflect the morning's glory.
“You seem happy that Applejack's here, Pinkie,” she said as the two sisters sat down for breakfast. It was a veritable feast comprising of a simple fruit salad with clotted cream and an ice cold glass of pristine milk to wash it all down with while her younger sister ate from a plate stacked with a tall stack of buckwheat pancakes drowned in syrup and honeyed cream. Pinkie blushed furiously and mumbled something around the pancake that had found itself inexplicably crammed in her mouth, bits of cream bursting from the corners of her mouth. “Pinkie, manners.”
“I said 'Yes, I'm very happy to see my bestest, best friend in all of Equestria again!'” she said quickly, ending in a high pitched whine that only dogs could hear.
“That's nice,” Maud replied as she speared a piece of honeydew on the end of her fork and inspected it briefly before lightly dipping it in the cream and eating it. “So, what do we have on today's itinerary?”
“Not a whole lot aside from the opening ceremonies for the Congregation,” she replied from memory. “We had everything else squared away that we needed to take care of last week, so unless there's an emergency, nothing should come up during the festival.”
“Good,” she replied with a small smile. “So that means you deserve a bit of time off... Why don't you take Applejack out to dinner and a night on the town tomorrow after her meetings? My treat.”
Pinkie couldn't reply as she processed her sisters words, a piece of syrup laden pancake landing with a splat as it slipped from her fork as her face turned a vibrant crimson from her neck to her hairline. “Y-y-you don't have to do that!” she finally said after a few priceless moments of flustered silence.
“Of course I do,” she stated matter of factly. “It's what anyone would do... Plus, maybe she'll finally pick up on your crush if I plan everything right...”
Pinkie's blush seemed to radiate a tangible heat from her sisters statement as she stared forlornly down at her plate of partially eaten pancakes. “But I don't want to put you to any trouble...” she started, cut off by her older sisters voice.
“It's not any trouble, Pinkie,” she said as calmly as ever. “If anything, I owe it to you. You've always been there for me, whether it be a hectic schedule or a threat against my well being... You need to be able to spend time with someone who you feel something extra for...” Maud let her brief but blunt speech end without an end and let Pinkie fill in the gaps with her own mind. Hopefully, she'd go down the right mental paths this time and reach a happy ending in those unknowable paths that twisted in her mind.
“Okay...” she finally said as she looked back up at Maud with an uncertain expression. “But I want an out if something goes wrong.”
“Nothing's going to go wrong, Pinkie,” Maud replied without a single tremor of dishonesty in her voice. “You've set me up with the most prestigious arranged marriage suitors in all of Equestria to plan this for you and they're at my beck and call. If I say 'set my sister up,' they'd do it without a second thought.”
“B-but I hired them! I'm their boss!” she practically squealed as she scooted back from her seat and stood up to give a little dance, equal parts of nervousness and frustration.
“By proxy only, Pinkie,” Maud said with a self satisfied smirk. “I'm their real boss... You only acted as my intermediary... So if I say 'jump', they ask 'how high.'”
Pinkie gave a frustrated growl that rattled all the crystal items in the room and finally slumped to the ground with a defeated sigh. “I guess you're right... But you're sure it's going to be fine?”
“My word as your sister,” she replied in an uncharacteristically warm voice. “You have absolutely nothing to worry about.”
“Okay,” she said as she got back to her feet with a slightly manic gleam to her eyes. “But if this goes wrong, you're going to wear a dress featuring every form of produce I can think of!”
“Fine,” Maud said without a trace of worry. “But if you don't confess your crush to Applejack by the end of the night, then you have to go without planning a party for a year.”
Pinkie felt as if her heart had been encased in iced carved from the heart of a glacier. A year? Without planning a party! Seriously?! “Fffffffffine!” she yelled as she darted to the door leading back outside. “I can guarantee that this will be the most fantabuspacular love confession you've ever heard about and wish you could have anything half as romantic!” she said as she slowly slipped her body out the doorway and slammed it shut with barely a second to punctuate the end of her sentence.
“Well, that was easier than expected,” Maud said with a small smirk as she speared a piece of grapefruit and ate it without a trace of expression. “Now, if only she'll remember that I told her that she couldn't plan any parties instead of attend them...” She paused for thought. “I'm sure it wouldn't make any difference anyway... Let's just wait and see if she goes through with it...”
***
Twilight was wearing the traditional garb that she had been fitted for days ago, hand made by Rarity herself. It was surprisingly simple in design, close to her scholars' robes in design, but with a longer mantle that would almost be considered a half cloak. The whole thing was made out of a white fabric that shimmered into a dark blue, creating dancing shadows whenever she would move, though the thread of gold embroidery along the hems helped to give a point of reference should any need it. Despite her regal bearing and garb, she was pacing back and forth in front of the door that would lead her out into the large audience chamber where the other two representatives of the Congregation were waiting in addition to the many upper class spectators. On her arrival. She wasn't sure she could go through with it. The pressure, the focused attention on her every action and word... It felt as if she were several hundred feet underwater and the pressure surrounding her was about to reach a critical point and she'd implode if she even mispronounced a single syllable in her speech.
“Twilight,” said a familiar voice from only a few feet away. “It's going to be alright...” It was Spike. He had come up on her without her noticing and he had managed to snap her out of her furious worrying for a moment, but that was all that it took. “Just go out there and say what was on the script. Then you can get to the fine details when you sit down with the others. Don't think about the others or the situation. Think about what you'll learn from this exchange and how you'll grow from it.”
Twilight couldn't really express her gratitude properly in her current state, but she could manage a brilliant smile as she gave a snort of amusement and stretched with her whole body in an arc that would have many people flinching from how extreme the degree she went to was. She straightened back up and gave Spike a smirk when she saw his grimace at her casual display of ludicrous flexibility. “Thanks for that, Spike,” she said with a laugh. “I lost myself in my mind there for a bit. But shouldn't you be with Rarity right now?”
“Not formally,” he replies with a put-upon sigh. “We still have to wait another three days for the exchange of favors and then I'll be her first official Chevalier.”
“It's a bit annoying, but the traditions are there for a reason...” she said in a half-lecturing tone. “I know I wouldn't be where I am if I hadn't studied it in such depth and applied it properly...”
“I guess you're right, but still... It can be frustrating, going through all the motions...”
“I know, but bear with it,” she said with a knowing smile. “If you can bear with the wait, the reward can be more than worth the wait...”
“I'll trust you on that,” he said with a snort of amusement. “Shouldn't you be getting out there soon? I mean, you have about...” He checked his pocket watch for reference and gave a carefree smirk at the realization of what time it was. “About ten more minutes...”
“I guess I should...” she said in a falsely defeated tone as she turned to the door hoping for Spike to fall for her ruse.
“You're not serious, are you?!” he said as he waived his hands frantically, causing Twilight to turn around and give a snort of amusement at his antics.
“Of course not, silly,” she replied as she stopped and moved to lean against the wall before sliding down it and sitting on the floor. “I'm not that obsessive about being on time...”
“You could have fooled me...” he replied as he walked over and took a seat next to her. “The staff told me you had arrived almost an hour ago...”
She flushed in embarrassment at that and couldn't help but slap him halfheartedly on his shoulder for his trouble. “I was nervous, okay?” she said in a confidential tone. “I mean, the only reason I was appointed the representative of the Magi was because of Master Starswirl's recommendation...”
Spike didn't have much to say about that, but after a moment of thought he replied with a wide grin on his face, “That may be true, but he wouldn't throw you a challenge if he knew you couldn't overcome it... If you're our representative for the Congregation, then you earned that right and have something to learn from it as well...”
“I guess you're right,” she agreed with a sigh as she let her head lean back to touch the chilly marble. “But still... It would be nice if Starswirl told me why he did these things or for whose benefit they were for...”
“He's a bit of an enigma, isn't he?” he said with a rueful chuckle. “I mean, who else would have any prospective students of his hatch a dragons egg of all the things he could have had them do? I mean, it's not that I'm ungrateful or anything, but it would bring any other Magi's intelligence and sanity into question...”
Twilight couldn't help but giggle as she remembered that fateful day. “I know he may seem a bit odd, but there's a method to his madness...”
“If you have a map leading through his mind, then I'm an Alicorn from myth,” he said with a bark of laughter that Twilight soon joined in as well.
“I just think that he knows more than he ever lets on... and that I'm the one out of thousands that he chose to take on his legacy in the decades to come,” she replied with a happy sigh. “I mean, there's just so much out there that's been lost, so much that's been changed or lost between retelling... If only I could connect this dot with that one, then I could rediscover a whole new aspect of Alicorn culture or a branch of magic that had been considered a myth since then...”
“Well, I'm glad you're excited about everything that you have going on with your life, but shouldn't you deal with the most pressing things first?”
“What do you mean?” she asked with a decidedly cite tilt to her head as she looked over at Spike.
“Why were you pacing around for a half hour..?”
“The Congregation!” she said as she hopped back up to her feet to the laughter of Spike.
“You really should get going now...” Since we're the hosts, you should only be so late until it becomes insulting...”
“Oh my gosh!” she squealed as she flickered from her seated position to a standing on at the doors and opened them a crack to see that the audience had already settled in and the representatives of the other two tribes were already waiting. They were sitting at a small marble table, half black and half white with gold leaf stylized in the image of the sun on the white side while the black half had a stylized moon made of silver. She recognized Maud Pie immediately from her time as a temporary understudy when learning about the macroeconomics of the Earthlander's bountiful markets. She was wearing a darkly vibrant outfit of dark brown and green that one would see any common laborer wear, only the cut of cloth and embroidery giving away that these were for formal wear. The Aven's representative was a complete stranger though, but her no nonsense expression gave Twilight a feeling that if she were to say something foolish, she would be given short shrift. She was wearing a light blue linen wrap that hugged her body almost as if it were trying to become a second skin. Twilight blushed slightly at the sight and was thankful that her robes were so modest.
Without any further reason to wait, she walked through the doors while she took a deep breath and let it out as every eye in the room found its attention drawn to her. She walked briskly across the intervening distance at a pace where it didn't seem like she was hurrying, but enough to see that she had things she wanted to do. She finally reached the table and took her seat with a small smile and a nod to each of her fellow Representatives who returned the gesture with varying levels of emotion.
“Sorry for the wait,” she apologized with a slight blush. “But I'm here now and ready when you two are.”
“I'm ready to get this over with,” the Aven said with a slight huff, looking chagrined as she saw Twilight's expression fall slightly. “The proceedings... Not the present company. If nothing else, you two were probably roped into this as well, so we're in the same boat.”
“I was voted to this position,” Maud replied without a trace of emotion. “But it's all a part of my responsibilities.”
“I was recommended to the role by my mentor, Starswirl after he talked to the Queen about it,” Twilight said with a blush at her high amount of clout with the current royalty.
“That old star gazer is still alive?” the Aven said with a muted laugh. “I thought he would have fallen over a balcony by now with his nose in a book the whole way down!”
Twilight almost gasped at that, but then she realized that this woman had probably known Starswirl a good bit if she knew what he was like when he got engrossed in a book. She couldn't help but giggle at that and shook her head. “He's still in fine health and I'm sure if you know him as well as you do, then you should come pay him a visit. I'm sure he'd love to see you again since you seem like an old friend of his.”
“That I am, and I plan on introducing my daughter and nephew to him while we're here,” she replied. “The name's Star Catcher, by the way.”
“Twilight Sparkle,” she answered.
“Maud Pie,” Maud chimed in.
“So, with the introductions out of the way, what do you say we get started?” Twilight said in a happy tone. The others nodded in agreement and stood up to give their speeches.
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been
Oh, where to begin?
The fight scene was awesome! I saw every movement materialize in my mind's eye as I read them, and it was glorious! Dash was totally in character, and Star Catcher proved to be way better than I'd initially given her credit for. A couple Aven-specific questions before I'd like to move on, though.
1) How rare, exactly, is an Aven with the capability to shoot lightning? Are we talking Twilight-levels, relatively speaking?
2) Wasn't Star Catcher a former General, or something? Surely Rainbow would have known her father's rival would be able to defeat her in a fight, right?
The Earthlander part was my personal least favorite, but that was more because I'm biased against shipping. It was nice, though, to see Maud's calculated plans bounce off of Pinkie's highly emotional, illogical ways of thinking in their 'argument'.
And the Magi part, I don't need to comment on that. Everyone was in character, Twilight was adorkable in a very Twilight way, and we're all set for the Congregation proper. I wonder if there'll be trouble? Oh, who am I kidding, of course something will happen! Otherwise, what's the point in the adventure tag?
...but seriously, I am super hyped for the next chapter!
An enjoyable chapter. Good job.
5876627 My bad. I had to rush edit because of thunderstorms that have been plaguing my neck of the woods all week.
Thanks for catching that one!
5876911
Generally, summoning lightning is the make it or break it part for progressing in the ranks of the Aven military above a Captain rank (unless serious commendations from higher ups are taken into consideration) and is moderately uncommon (like getting into Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns). There are quite a few factors that come into summoning it, but let's just say that it's only one of four unique powers that only Avens can utilize. Star Catcher's is another sect and I'll leave the other two a mystery for now. I will say that summoning lightning and what Star Catcher does is intrinsically linked, but the scope of power and mental fortitude to use one over the other is like comparing an anthill to a mountain and I'm sure it shows in her steely determination. Dash may get on Star's level after some intensive training, but not anytime soon.
Also, I love some Apple Pie
There will be some other shipping as well (as requested by CatStatAve), but the Apple Pie is mine 
Something about how the two complement each other sits just right in the romance department for me 
5877641
Alright, well, so long as the romance aspect doesn't overshadow the rest of the fic in a big way, I can deal with it. If this chapter is an indication of the level of romance, then I think I'll be fine. After all, I have read far worse in my time here on FimFiction, I can tell that already.
As for 'what Star Catcher does' I'm not sure if I misread, but I don't think I caught it. Was it that ice attack thing?
Also, I did kinda notice she was an exceptionally gifted individual, with probably years of special training to hone her skills. I'd assume Dash's potential is similar, but untapped and untamed.
This is quickly becoming one of the stories I get really excited about when I see a new chapter. Keep up the amazing job you're doing, and you'll hear nothing but praise from me! ...except typo notifications. Nopony escapes typos.
5877729
The 'thing' Star Catcher did to make herself faster than Rainbow Dash when she was fully unleashing her acceleration magic. The thing where she moves so fast that she appeared to flicker instead of blur, even when attacked from behind with a lightning bolt. The bit with her breaking the bolt of lightning was just her being stronger than the attack
5877875
Oh, I gotcha. I had just credited that to an extreme power difference, but now that I look back on it, it does seem like more.
Though, to be fair, it is the first magically-charged fight scene we've had, so I didn't have much to compare it against.
No wonder Fluttershy's so timid... with a mother that strong, one would have to melt into the woodwork after a bad day at work!
5877891
She had to be strong enough to rebuke challenges to her authority if she were in the field and no superiors above herself were present. To say that she had unquestioningly loyal Commanders under her would be an understatement. The fact that they were also her friends out of duty speaks volumes about her character 
She's an extreme case of being a Tsundere. She seems like she's the roughest hard case out there, but she's only like that because she well and truly cares for those who are under her and doesn't want to see any of them get screwed over by anyone
Her power was one of the main reason she was made a Battalion-Commander as well
5877926
So, mess with Star Catcher's flock, and you'll get messed up. Good to know!
I'm eager to see what kinds of shenanigans might follow, or (heavens forbid) interrupt the Congregation!
I'm also curious as to the history Star Catcher and Starswirl have, but I guess we'll find out when that comes up, then.
Maud feels a bit too demonstrative for my tastes, though I suppose a career in politics would change that. Still, seeing her emote that much is weird.
Aside from that? Cool chapter, especially the chance to see Aven magic in the form of close-quarters combat.