I can’t believe Fireweed didn’t do anything to help poor Lullaby cause he didn’t know that she was being abused by his twisted cousin cause he was busy moping over his daddy’s recent death and Thistle was still too far away to get back here in time.
 
Fireweed was only able to hear the commotion at the barn and only witness Lullaby running away scared and hurt then ask Rusty what happened so that hypocrite Rusty said some lies about what he was doing to her was right and Fireweed stupidly gulliblely believe him but is still worried about her well being.

A Storms Lullaby Pg.47  
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@dSana
 
It doesn’t matter what those fools believe; vicious cycles of abuse and neglect, physical or otherwise, have to be broken somewhere, sometime, somehow. Or generations will continue to be miserable wretches.

@Background Pony #527B  
I understand :) But I’m glad to hear that.

@dSana  
Thanks for your response.
 
I understand why you decided to portray him the way you did, but I still would’ve preferred him to be driven mad by his thirsty revenge instead of being an outright sociopath.
 
That said, I’m curious to see more of him and what he’s up the next.

@redweasel  
Oops yes it’s a typo. Thx.

@dSana
 
in the ‘states they call it a whoopin’ but…
 
I think maybe the word you were looking for is “thrashing” not “trashing.”

@Amethyst_Crystal  
Heh, well I guess such lenghy analysis means I managed to make him a little bit interesting after all. That’s good to know. And I don’t mind calling him names, he really is an unplesant guy who copes with his problems in rather unplesant way. It’s funny to write a guy who wants to do right things but lacks emotional capacity to pull them off.
 

 
Oh, tell that to all those seemingly good people who so vehemently protest smacking ban my country is introducing! The idea that it may not be legal to hit people in their care simply terrifies them. What Rusty meant by “thrashing” is what so many people still see as valid parental option.

@dSana
 
I think it helps the tension if rusty’s naturally a jerk. bad things don’t always happen to good people, and what do you do if underneath all that suffering and pain, he’s actually kind of an asshole who grew up rewarded for pushing around his kid brother and is happy to invalidate others the same way he was, because he feels like everyone deserves it? you can’t just beat him up, but you can’t just hug him and wrap him in a blanket and give him warm milk and cookies. plus he’s kind of got a point lullaby is a total liar.

@dSana  
Thank you for your measured response to the discussion!
 
I know I called Rusty a ‘piece of shit’, but to elaborate on my earlier comment: certain combinations of social issues and personality disorders can result in a person who is easily perceived that way. I think most commentator are viscerally responding to the very last panel, where Rusty takes things to a sudden extreme. Regardless of his personal situation, it’s very difficult to hold sympathy for someone who would hit a child. Even if, perhaps, being a cruel bastard is Rusty’s way of coping with the loss of an uncle he loved.
 
That being said, I do like how Rusty seems to have this attitude of ‘violent indifference’ throughout these past few pages, as though he doesn’t care too much, yet chooses to be threatening and hostile anyway. In a way, Rusty’s attitude isn’t too different from Tempest’s own… or rather, the way she was in the movie.
 
I did not expect to spend so many words analyzing this pony who’s barely been around yet before Lullaby Dusk or Thistledown, but there you have it, lol.

@Background Pony #527B  
@Amethyst_Crystal  
@Starswirl  
@Tetrominon
 
It’s not inasmuch as hammering it that he’s an evil jerk, but creating a character that is unpredictable, lacks scruples and feels very little including fear for himself.
 
One of the reasons I have decided to write him this way was Tempest herself. When I first wrote Rusty and Fireweed as “good guys going bad” the script lacked tension because Tempest is so overwhelmingly OP nothing those ponies said and done felt truly threatening. But Rusty cannot be reasoned with and has geniue reasons to go after Tempest. The tension is up.
 
I can only hope that the way I am fleshing him out throughout the story will make him more interesting. Just from this page you can already tell that despite his cool Lullaby’s vulnerability irks him so much he feels the need to assert himself.
 
Anyway thanks for reading & commenting!  
K.

@Amethyst_Crystal  
Hm. Not very complex, is it? Ah well, he was framed like a supervillain while a young boy, so I should not be surprised it would take this route.

@Starswirl  
@Background Pony #527B  
There’s a couple comment subthreads on the source page talking about Rusty,  
and the author elaborates that he’s basically a sociopath with Antisocial Personality Disorder.  
Aka an uncaring selfish piece of shit.

@jdb1984  
Yes.  
Fireweed tells her so on this page and Lulu refers to Rust Wing on this one.

So does Thistle know that Lullaby lived with her cousin for a time?

finally! somepony brave enough to fight back against their evil oppressor!
 
…what? >_>

@Starswirl  
Funny enough that was exactly what I thought when I tried to come up with a “justification” for his behavior. But like you said, that’s very unlikely.

@Background Pony #527B  
It’s still possible he’s not just kicking puppies, but that lashing out at a convenient target is his way of coping with the hurt. Unable to express it comfortably, he gets angry at those who cry because it reminds him of his own pain. Do I think that’s the case? Doubtful, at this point.

Looks like the author really tries to hammer it in that Rust Wing is an evil jerk. Considering how he’s portray so far, it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if it turns out that he doesn’t really care about his uncle and only goes after Tempest for some very selfish reason.
 
To be honest, I’m not a fan of this turn of events.. Rust Wing being so blinded by his thirst for revenge that he would go as far as hurting a filly sounds a lot more interesting than a puppy-kicking villain we don’t feel sorry about when Tempest whoops his butt.

@Tetrominon  
Just a tad. He’ll need a few more years to grow that twirly mustache he should obviously have.

Tempest: finds out about this  
Also Tempest: peace was never an option

This guy is dead, if Tempest know about this.

Uhhhhhhm. This is laying it on rather thick.

Now I feel really bad for what Lullaby has been through