"@Amethyst_Crystal":/images/2185341#comment_8589455
"@Starswirl":/images/2185341#comment_8589466
"@Tetrominon":/images/2185341#comment_8586994
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.
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.