Mystery
Zecora made short work of Ray’s various wounds, her soft cream stopping any flowing blood and hardening into a protective coat over the open inner flesh. As fascinating as the healing process was, however, his focus was not on the zebra that treated him or the words of Skalos, but on Twilight and Discord. They both seemed, for lack of better words, shell-shocked by Ray’s full display of his fighting prowess, something he didn’t remember being so skilled in. His other fights had always been primarily him reacting to attacks and somehow doing the right thing at the right time. With this encounter, he had analyzed and tracked what was occurring, not simply reacting to everything.
His eyes flitted over to the bodies just in time to see Discord turn them back into the smoke he’d seen them as, the purple drawing into Discord’s outstretched claw. He hadn’t thought of it before, but as soon as he saw that it was Discord who had made the figures, he assumed that it was also the draconequus that was in control. Frowning, he glanced down at his shoulder, barely able to differentiate the skin from the soothing cream that covered the wound. It still hurt, although the pain was like that of a paper cut compared to its actuality.
When Twilight finally turned away from the dissipated bodies, her face was less shocked and more contemplative, as if she had been struck with a thought. Whatever it was, she didn’t have the opportunity to share it as Skalos suddenly tapped his hoof sharply against a stone, drawing Ray’s attention. The Fallen commander gave him an impatient look before nodding his head ever so slightly towards the top of the bluff they were standing on. Confused for a moment, Ray suddenly realized what the stallion must have been referencing as the softest sound of somebody moving over grass interrupted the silence.
“I’ll handle it,” he told Skalos, who’s only response was the slightest of smiles and another nod.
“Ray,” Discord abruptly called out before he could move. Glancing over at the chaotic being, Ray saw a nervous look on his friend’s face. Painting at his now bandaged side and the still uncovered shoulder, Discord apologetically said, “Sorry about all of that. I wasn’t in control of those… things I made. It just... happened to happen, you know?”
“Yeah, it’s fine,” Ray dismissed thoughtlessly, waving it away with his hand. With a cheeky smile, he added, “You gave it a hard go, but I’m pretty sure I’d beat you in a fight now. I mean, four of you couldn’t.”
“Technically- “
A quick cough from Skalos interrupted their competitive conversation before it could properly start as the Fallen pointed out, “Our unwelcome guest is getting away.”
“Right,” Ray sheepishly noticed. Turning, he began sprinting up the hill, knowing that he had no hope of actually catching up with a pony, but still wanting to make a show of how he was perfectly fine with only a few scratches. Only after he had crested the hill did he realize he was lacking a shirt, but deciding against returning for the ruined clothing, he continued through the trees. By now, he was becoming familiar with them, the straight rows of trees no longer monotonous and unending. The Acres felt and looked large, but in reality, they were very small once you began to recognize the scenery. There were still parts that he hadn’t been to, where the Everfree had slowly begun consuming the lesser used grounds, but otherwise, he knew the Acres like his own neighborhood.
He slowed down ever so slightly as he made his way to the gate, noticing immediately it had been shut and locked. Frowning, he reached for the lock, but knew he didn’t have any way to unlock it. The gate was often closed to ensure none of the animals got out if they happened to escape, but it was never locked. With a shrug, he hopped the fence, the wooden posts meant to keep others much smaller than him out and in.
As he finished the jump, he heard a soft gasp from somewhere behind the house, followed quickly by the shuffling of movement. He furrowed his brow as he wondered what was going on, but considering the slight ache in his shoulder and what caused it, he figured whoever he was chasing was intentionally avoiding him. Whether they were afraid of him now or just processing, he didn’t know, but he got the message, smiling sadly. He turned and began walking away, making a show of taking his time to let whoever was escaping him know he hadn’t ever meant any harm. Contemplating whether he should return to Skalos and the others or simply go home, he saw Twilight flying down from between trees.
“Did you talk to her already,” she asked confusingly, noticing there wasn’t anybody else around.
“I’m going to be honest, until now I didn’t know who I was chasing,” Ray stated truthfully. Looking back over to the house, he asked softly, “Was it Apple Bloom?”
Sharing his glance to where they knew the young mare must have certainly been listening in, she whispered, “Yes. She was petrified like the rest of us until Skalos pointed her out. Ponies… we aren’t ever supposed to see those types of things, even if they are… aren’t real, and for somepony so young to see such things, especially from somepony she looks up to… it’s unhealthy.”
Setting his jaw and turning back to Twilight, he harshly reminded her, “It isn’t healthy for anybody, Twilight. Come on, we should probably just let her go…”
“Yes,” Twilight agreed curtly, also turning away from the farm and opening the gate for them. “We have things I want to discuss with you.”
Raising an eyebrow at the purple alicorn’s back, he asked, “Isn’t that what we did last night? I mean, it’s certainly the thing that led directly to today, so what more is to talk about?”
Twilight suddenly glanced back, her tail swishing ever so slightly as she smiled and calmly said, “You, of course.”
“Obviously,” Ray blandly satirized the comment. “There doesn’t seem to be anything that doesn’t involve me.”
“Quite the opposite, actually,” Twilight wisely rebuked. “The land of Equestria is large and a great deal of important things occur here daily that you never had a chance of figuring out. Perhaps you know of the civil war within the dragon nation on our border that further proves that they could never assist us in a war? Apparently, the concept of a female ruler is foreign to them completely, in spite of residing next to a predominantly matriarchal society for millenia. Or perhaps the major riotings in the cities of Baltimare and Manehattan that have slowed the trans-national trade severely? I’m sure you must know of the major marriage crisis, though. It’s been all over the papers.”
Rolling his eyes at the alicorn, he simply retorted, “Are any of those a true threat though? I mean, a marriage crisis? What is that even supposed to mean?”
“It means that so many ponies are getting married, there aren’t enough ponies of authority to marry them,” Twilight answered seriously. “Some couples have been forced to wait weeks before being wed.”
“That felt like a leading statement,” Ray slowly commented, his pace faltering ever so slightly as he realized he’d been dragged into a conversation that didn’t involve world ending situations.
“That’s because it was,” Twilight revealed, stopping as she realized Ray had slowed down. Turning slightly, she had the softest of smirks on her face as she stated wistfully, “Equestria is a land of friendship that affects the citizens of it and other nations, but it is also a nation of love. I’m not surprised by how quickly you found yourself in a romantic relationship yourself. The only thing is, why do you resist it?”
Accepting his fate, he began walking swiftly again as he stated grimly, “You saw why already.”
“If the fact that you can and will kill to protect those you don’t even know is supposed to be a valid reason for you not to fall in love, then I’m going to have to teach you a very hard friendship lesson,” Twilight warned.
“It’s not necessarily that reason, but the different insinuations of it,” Ray angrily told her. “Think. If I were to try and have a romantic relationship, a serious one, especially now that I’m beginning to train fully, I won’t have time to commit to it. I can’t just halfheartedly attempt to meet somebody I say I love. If you know so much, you should know that! Besides, there aren’t any other humans in this world anyways. I mean, I’m at war with the things that are the closest relatives to humans in this place anyways. I never expected to marry on Earth, and I’m not gonna start now. Even if I had the motivation to, I biologically wouldn’t be able to.”
“She doesn’t seem to mind too much,” Twilight reminded him softly. He stiffened at the mention of Fluttershy, still too confused and anxious from everything else to have given her thought. “She might be the only one too. I think the two of you would make a lovely pair.’
“But I’m so much younger than her,” Ray burst, turning furiously to the alicorn. “I’m fourteen and she’s… twenty one? Aren’t there any sort of age laws in your country?”
“Of course,” Twilight assured him. “However, for you, there’s a small little loophole. You see, you’re thinking that our years and your years are one and the same, when in actuality they are quite different. You see, life passes by at the same speed as it did on Earth, but for us, it ages us quicker. By technicality, every one of your years is roughly three of our years. Meaning that, instead of thinking of you as fourteen here, you’re actually forty five Equestrian years old. So, you can either think of us as a third of our age, or think of yourself as three times your age. Either way, you’re older than Fluttershy by your standards.”
Opening his mouth, he realized he couldn’t actually protest the statement because he didn’t quite know how it all worked. Closing his mouth and frowning slightly, he crossed his arms stubbornly. He had resolved this issue already, with himself, but for some reason, the whole world wanted him to focus on it. “It doesn’t matter, Twilight,” he told her pessimistically, beginning to walk once again. “She had Discord, and quite obviously had him before I came along. I’m not going to ruin a perfect relationship for something that I don’t even need.”
“If you think that you don’t need love, then you’ve learned nothing by your transition between worlds,” Twilight told him bluntly. “But we both know that you value, possibly even crave, the attention and love that others give you, because seeing others value you puts aside whatever else is causing you uncertainty. You just have this strange little voice in your head that keeps telling you that you are always the problem. It’s why you were so devastated by the transition to Equestria. And yes, I acknowledge that I wasn’t anywhere near as kind or open hearted as I should have to somebody I’d just kidnapped, but the truth is, I already cared for you.”
“Cared for me,” he raised his eyebrow questioningly. “What do you… mean by that?”
“I felt myself wanting to help you,” Twilight admitted. “I saw the cards that life dealt you on Earth, and I couldn’t simply let it be the way it was. I saw the spirit you had, the spirit of someone determined to defend those that they love to the greatest extent possible. You put others above yourself every opportunity you get, and that’s what originally attracted my attention to you. Then I thoroughly analyzed every single thing about you until I knew you better than you. You wanna know what I found, what your biggest weakness is? It’s putting yourself down while lifting others up.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean,” Ray asked furiously, though he was beginning to develop a strange sense of fear. In the back of his head, he knew that everything Twilight had said was true, hitting painfully close to home, making him defensively resist her words.
“It means that you degrade yourself, make yourself feel worthless when you’re just as valuable as everypony else,” Twilight firmly told him. “Ray, you’re one of, if not the most, important person in the world, and have been ever since I discovered you. You will always be that way, until the day a new threat that somepony else has to handle appears. What you don’t always have to be is disdainful towards yourself.” Pausing, she looked him up and down before nodding with absolute assurity. “You are more than just somebody brought here to fight a war that wasn’t ever yours. You’re here to live, and I want you to remember that. If you think of yourself as only a soldier, you’ll become a slave to that ideology, a brainless killer. If that were to happen it… would be my greatest failure as both a ruler and the Princess of Friendship. It would also leave nothing for you to do after the war but live as a shell.”
Twilight’s eyes were now intensely set on his, her gaze an iron grip on his attention. “Don’t live like you have one purpose,” Twilight instructed him, the soft tone of her voice contrasting the unyielding strength of her gaze. “You aren’t an objective, you’re not a soldier, and you aren’t a killer. “You’re a living, breathing, thinking, loving human being that addresses the issues around him and does something about it. You aren’t just another heartless monster used to defeat others like you. If you don’t stop to distinguish the differences between you and the enemy, you either end up as one of them or fight the wrong thing.”
“I know,” Ray felt himself hoarsely say. The devastating truth was hard to hear, his prideful hate for himself still resisting the blessed reality. “I just don’t… can’t stop.” Tearing his eyes away, he mumbled, “Every time I see something I do go wrong, it feels as if the world is cursing my name, laughing at my failure while blaming me for it. I can’t shake that, the failures of what has happened to me before. I know it isn’t my fault and know that I don’t hold responsibility for most of what goes wrong, but I know I can do better as well. Hell, I’m supposed to hate you for bringing me here, yet here I am confessing all of this and just… hating myself for knowing you’re right.”
“There was more than one reason for me wanting to begin having discussions with you,” Twilight softly told him, stepping closer, forcing him to look at her. “The others don’t know who you are without the mask you always wear, the one you sometimes don’t even realize you put on. It’s begun to slip off around Skalos, I’ve noticed, but whenever you’re around ponies you care deeply about, or even just ponies you know, you hide yourself. Beyond that, it changes with every individual and circumstance, your emotions and actions being fluidly differing in every interaction. It may be how you make others see everything is alright, but the mask you put on is just a lie, another delusion that imprisons you more every time you wear it.”
“And what if the real me does more damage than the person I want to be,” Ray questioned. “What if there comes a point when the mask becomes my face?”
“That won’t happen,” Twilight firmly asserted. “Nopony’s personality can be forced to change on a whim and lie.”
“Yeah, no pony,” Ray reiterated. “I’m not a pony like everybody else here. I don’t have a mark on my rear telling everybody what I am, defining myself for the rest of my life. Humans are infamous for their strange habits and sudden transitions in personalities, and maybe because it’s too dangerous to remember, but a majority of the time you know it’s for the worse. It’s in our very homogeneous nature to change and develop differently as a person and individual. There isn’t a single person in my world that hasn’t changed what they prefer to be or what they like, and many have had personality changes from what they were to what they are now. Unlike ponies, humans can’t be boxed into one specific type of individual. So what if I pretend to be something better?”
For a moment, there was a dreadful silence as Twilight seemed to realize for the first time that she wasn’t talking to another pony. A slow line drew itself across her brow and a slight frown overtook her as she opened her mouth ever so slightly and muttered, “Sometimes becoming better in your own eyes only scares those who want to know the real you, the one that isn’t afraid of the truth. Do you want to know who came to me completely concerned for you?”
“That’s a trick question, isn’t it,” Ray accused the Princess. “Fluttershy has been fretting about me ever since… well, you know.”
“It isn’t Fluttershy,” Twilight solemnly told him, much to Ray’s surprise.
Blinking at the confusing revelation, he tentatively questioned, “Discord?”
Twilight shook her head curtly.
“The Apples, any of them?”
“No,” Twilight whispered mournfully with another short shake of denial. “It was Pinkie Pie.”
“What,” Ray exclaimed, shocked. “But why would she? We don’t talk that much anyways.”
“She pointed that out quite specifically,” Twilight stated. “She explained that she was concerned about you, and that she needed to tell me herself. So, I met with her a week ago, and she explicitly told me everything she felt was going wrong. Something you wouldn’t quite expect from her is her excellent judgement of character, and the way she’s able to deduce a person’s entire personality just from the few emotions they let truly spill. She told me that she didn’t quite think you were ‘living’. At the race, she saw a bit of the true you, and that was all she needed to realize that you were beginning to emotionally kill yourself. At least, that’s what she told me, and from there, I found the same results.
“She wouldn’t know anything like that though,” Ray protested, gesturing in mild frustration. “She’s childish and cheerful all of the time!”
“You’re serious and depressive a majority of the time, yet you still laugh and enjoy the company of others now and then,” Twilight sharply prodded, leaning into his argument and blatantly satirizing it. “Just like you can sometimes let yourself live without real regret, she can sober up and see an issue. The Element of Laughter has a darker side to it, a side that knows when to laugh with a pony, laugh for a pony, or laugh to distract a pony. Pinkie is one of the youngest of us all, but she may be the most emotionally aware of us Elements, and certainly one of the most intelligent psychologically. I trust her evaluations more than my own.”
Biting his lip, Ray held back any further comment. He wanted to keep fighting the persistent argument, but he was quickly forgetting what they were arguing about exactly. Taking a deep breath, they let a bitter silence settle between them as they continued walking. Begrudgingly, they kept their heads turned away from each other, but the bitterness was slowly giving way within Ray to a slight warmth, a slow realization that these ponies, whether they be ones he’d rarely communicated with or had forgiven of a grievous misdemeanor, cared for him beyond his basic use. He let out a soft sigh, releasing the last of his anger. He was being idiotic to deny the truth,, and there was no excuse for it. He had to grow into the general this world needed, and that included as a person, for the betterment of more than himself.
A twinge of guilt twisted within him at the thought of doing for himself, but with a firm resolve, he pushed it away. He didn’t have to worry about helping put food on the table anymore, rather making sure that he and others would continue to need it. A sudden statement came back to him from his and Twilight’s conversation before the argument had begun. Furrowing his brow, he thought carefully. Twilight had said that in this world, time passed three times quicker than on Earth, which meant that he should be forty-two technically. However, when Twilight had told him his age, she’d told him he was forty-five, which meant that by his standards, he was fifteen, not fourteen. Considering, however, he didn’t know the date, and that it had been nearing his birthday almost, it was possible he’d missed his own birthday. Instead of feeling sad, however, he felt more… alone, as if he’d finally begun losing himself as a human and somebody who wasn’t born Equestrian. He was being consumed by this world, and while it felt terrifying, the prospect of losing his human identity, it was also almost a relief that he was developing and accepting his new home.
A lonesome smile crossed his face as Twilight suddenly took a sharp turn to the right, onto a rather dusty trail. Stopping, he glanced slightly down the road, where the town lay not even a hundred feet away, then back at Twilight, who had continued silently.
“Hey, where are you going,” Ray questioningly called to her.
Without pausing, she yelled back over her shoulder, “You’re shirtless and wounded. Not a good combination for a rather superstitious and sensitive populace. Besides, I shouldn’t be seen in Ponyville without any form of announcement. The ponies will panic that they didn’t prepare for my arrival and attempt to keep me here as long as they can. It’s touching, but even after only a couple years of being ruler of Equestria, it’s become tiresome.”
The surprisingly personal confession caused Ray to smile. Whether the Princess had wanted to add that or not, it was heartwarming to hear something that felt extraordinary human. Relatable, and humbly so. Even if it wasn’t a copy of what he felt like, the emotions the Princess had allowed to show as of yet were… well, uptight. She was still very much afraid of him, he could tell, but no longer because of his larger appearance or aptitude to violence. She was afraid of him now because she didn’t want his disapproval. The very thought of it finally snapped Ray into the broader scope of things and to a revelation that he should have received long before now.
He was important, beyond anything he had realized yet. More than an individual and living person, he was politically powerful, a leader of his own, but also a general. He was, perhaps, the most important person, like Twilight had told him, and his mind was slowly wrapping around that thought. He wasn’t just some kid training to fight, like he’d thought of himself just this morning, nor was he simply a general-to-be. The reason that Twilight was introducing him to the other leaders of the world wasn’t because she wanted to flaunt him around or give them hope. She was making a statement to both them and Ray that he was both an independent and key political force.
“You okay back there, Ray,” Twilight suddenly inquired, looking concerned. “You seem a little pale. You aren’t feeling sick about… anything, are you?”
“No, not sick,” he answered shortly, his voice surprisingly cheerful. While he was shaken by the revelation, he felt more exhilarated, even determined, than before. He wasn’t just performing the duty he’d given himself for the ponies- though they were first and foremost -but the whole world. He’d forgotten already that there was more than just the equine nation, but he was quickly catching himself back up. Slowly, his mouth dry from the lack of water, he softly asked, “How do you think of me, Twilight?”
In front of him, the alicorn froze, turning to him with a frown. The Princess eyed the human up and down as he too halted, awaiting the mare’s appraisal. “I think of you as a mystery,” the pony answered truthfully, her eyes still darting all over him. “But not a mystery I want to solve, rather, something I want to simply observe. You’re an enigma of a person, completely perplexing in nature, but utterly determined in your own traits, ever persistent in fulfilling them. Inexplicable, unexplainable, unpredictable, and impeccable. It’s a sheer wonder to watch you fulfill actions that seemed impossible and at the same time watch your emotions from doing the unthinkable. But that might not be what you truly asked, so I’ll elaborate even further.
“I see you as if you were somepony I wanted to be friends with, however, I’ve already skipped the steps of needing to know you because I’ve seen your entire life and the real you. But you only know me as the reason you’re here, and that complicates the process quite a bit. However, I also want to let you live how you want, while making sure you do the job you were brought here for. I don’t want to displace you for nothing, but I also hate seeing you in such a negative mood all of the time. It’s a constant conflict around you, wondering what to do and whether everything leading up to that choice is correct or mistakes. And then you do something that equally reassures me and breaks you a bit more.”
Twilight paused earnestly for a second, rubbing her chin with a hoof as she attempted to get the correct words out. Then she suddenly smiled in enlightenment, giving him an almost comforting smile, “It’s why I don’t try to solve the mystery that you create. If I did, it would only serve to change the truth into whatever I manipulated into concept, not give me the actual answer I’m looking for. I have to take everything you do with a future look, not try to see what the product in the moment may be. It challenges me to be both a better friend and ruler, not just to you, but to everyone else as well. Nearsightedness is the greatest killer of rulers, after all.”
“I mean, you looked into the future,” Ray pointed out cheekily. “I’m not entirely sure how you could be nearsighted after that.”
Twilight laughed shortly at that, nodding in agreement. “Yes, that I did.”
Another short silence, this time calm and thoughtful, overtook the pair. Ray glanced around, realizing that they were practically on his doorstep, his house only a couple dozen feet away from Twilight. He looked to either side of him, noting the foothills to his right and the town to the left, then back at Twilight. She was staring out over the town forlornly, a distant, nostalgic look to her face. It was only then that he, for once, saw the true ruler underneath her anxiety and perplexment, the determined, loving mare that she really was. It was evident in the way her eyes slowly scanned the town and watched over the small moving figures within, the sadness of missing a home she had once lived in.
The touching moment ended fittingly, a single tear forming in her eyes but being quickly blinked away as a smile replaced the lonesome frown. Looking back at Ray, the alicorn didn't bother attempting to compose herself, only stating formally, “I do have a great many things to attend to today, and while I truly wish I could stay, I’m going to let you be. Don’t worry about returning to the Acres or anything. Skalos already knows what a day you’ve had, and I’m sure Apple Bloom will… well, at the very least she’ll know why you aren’t around.”
“Thanks for that, Twilight,” Ray gratefully spoke as the mare steadied herself to leave. “I think I understand now. All of it, I mean.”
Smiling at the alicorn, he dipped his head down slightly, and in his peripherals, he saw her do the same. They weren’t unlike one another, not too much. Merely their species and society differed them, and even then, not so much as it should have. Now, however, they held each other in truly equal respect.
“I look forward to the next time we talk,” the Princess said, a warmth to her voice. With the simple parting, Twilight disappeared with a flash.
Ray stared at the spot for a moment, simply taking in their conversation. He had felt worn out, compressed even, by the topic, yet now that there were true answers to so many questions he didn’t know he had, he felt light, as if he could sprint forever. Still smiling ever so slightly, he turned to his home, where he caught the briefest of swishes from his curtain. His smile broadened once again as he approached his home.
Throwing open the door, he shouted, “Surprise.”
“Surprise,” a chorus of voices answered immediately after.
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Twilight needs to butt out of his love life. If it happens it will happen even without her help. Plus of course he not totally happy she wants him to be a hero whether he wants it or not and has guilted him into agreeing to this business.
11012170
Ah, the controversy! However, Twilight did explain herself a bit:
I don't want to spoil anything in the future, but let's just say this insinuates other possibilities.
Also, on Twilight butting into Ray's love life, it's more of her attempting to personalize with Ray like she would with other friends, Rarity, per se. Without realizing it, though, she personalizes with him more when she drops her mask, the one she didn't know she was wearing. By doing the same thing she's asked Ray to do without either of them knowing, letting deeper emotions show, it both opens herself and Ray up more to each other (may or may not be the main idea of this chapter).
Thanks for the questions though!
11012515
Maybe but she been told lying is bad and yet she hiding this from everyone and I doubt her friends would agree with what she is doing with this guy. She doesn't even realize that the more she pushes for what she wants the more selfish she becomes. She may want to save her people from a possible threat but the future isn't written in stone and she might have run right towards it trying to avoid it. He has been kidnapped and guilted into being a hero and she wants him to make more than the enemy suffer should he die.
11012723
Hm. I guess I didn't answer the last part to your question so well, so here's round two.
I'm not quite sure what lies you're talking about, since everything Twilight has said since (I think) "Vows" has been true, so lying isn't the issue, rather, obliviousness to reality. Also, keeping a secret isn't lying, merely failing to reveal information. And for good purpose. Her friends don't agree with her choice, merely forgave her for it. This was all addressed some time ago. Well, apart from her trying to be involved with Ray and Fluttershy's romance.
Interesting you point this out. I'm not sure how Twilight is selfish in attempting to save hr world (through a pointedly twisted way) but she knows if she pushes Ray for her agenda, it will become a selfless thing. In fact, the whole spiel in which Ray realizes his independence, and the independence that Twilight gave him, is a complete counter to this statement.
The old paradox. Well, actually, as I explained in previous comments, the minotaurs attack without warning or interaction from the ponies. By bringing him here, she wants him to defensively prepare for war, not attempt to invade the land itself. The thought that she could cause the event has obviously crossed her mind as she has prepared for defense, as a few chapters prior discussed.
Well, it's interesting to see that Twilight is more positive than the readers. You see, by actually watching what Ray can do, she believes he must be practically invincible. There is the possibility of death, and she knows that, but now she believes that he could, at the very least, survive. Also, while it was partway guilt tripping, it was , (and I'll add this) for the most part, Ray's choice. He didn't feel guilty about letting random ponies die, rather, he felt obligated to help those who had so quickly accepted him, i. e. Rarity, Fluttershy, and the sorts. Twilight did hardly anything to persuade him. In fact, of the little guilt tripping that existed in the earlier chapters, a majority was Ray guilting himself.
Alright, I hope that clarified a bit more for you. There is still a whole bunch more to the story. Right now, we're still in the part I call the "Homecoming Arc", in which Ray, as we've seen, adapts to Equestria and trains. A majority of these questions have been answered in previous chapters, though toward the end more will be answered,
11014079
Just tell me, how long does it take for him to slap the shit out of twilight and ponies for their deed...
11014081
Verbally or physically?
11014083
Why not both, I like a verbal beat down just as much as I like narcissistic pony beat downs
11014094
Well, Ray never physically causes them suffering. You'll see (if you continue to read) a sort of Frankenstein's monster conflict. However, I have no problems with causing Twilight some harm. Only when the time is right though. (Sorry for delay. I had school)
11014319
Then I'll delve deeper than I thought sooner, I just don't like it when *insert protagonist* essentially forgives *insert pony/creature* immediately without penalty... thanks and I also understand your delay...
11014321
The penalty, as I think you've seen, is constant mistrust. However, if you read the next chapter, you may see why there are so many rapid changes in Ray's mentality.
11014580
Well as long as he isnt.... bitch-made, I plan to read chapter 6 and beyond in the morning... blood for the blood God and gore for the skull throne
11014583
*Skulls for the Wraith King
Ray needs to remember that a soldier doesn't fight because he hates those in front of him, but because he loves those behind him.
Caring about others will do more to propel him in the darkest times then hatred of the enemy.
11016759
Some lessons are hard to learn until the last hour... though Ray seems to be wisening up.