//------------------------------//
// Chapter Four: No Shirt, No Shoes, No Stone Mask (Pt. 1) 
// Story: Twilight's Villain Reformation Clinic 
// by Mal Masque 
//------------------------------//

“Alright, who do we have for today?” Twilight asked, shuffling the papers around in her magic. Starlight flipped through her clipboard papers and located the latest case of the day.
“Let’s see… Either this one has a really long and weird name,” Starlight said. “Or we got three people who signed up under the same spot. I’ll go grab them from the waiting room.” Starlight ducked back out of the doorway, leaving Twilight a chance to ruminate on her thoughts. 
Three villains at once? She thought. This might either be my greatest accomplishment or most difficult trial yet. A knock at the door broke the Princess of Friendship’s concentration, signaling her next cases had arrived. “Oh, come on in!” The instant the doors opened, what the lavender alicorn saw… defied all manner of realism and expectations (*). Three overly-muscular, half-naked, and overall gorgeous humanoid men, wearing naught but loincloths, assorted headwear, and a few other accessories, stood shoulder to shoulder in incredible poses in the doorway. The one on the right had tan skin, a headband sporting a few long sharp bangles underneath his top of blonde hair, a dark blue chest-piece over his pectorals, golden ringed braces on each wrist, a purple box-like tattoo going around his eyes, and a golden ring in his lip. The one on the left had shiny bronze skin, long white hair kept under an orange and purple colored headwear, paddings that appeared to be sewn into his abs, shoulders, and the sides of his thighs, a purple ‘x’ tattoo across his face, and a golden ring on his nose. The one standing dead center had pale skin, a black loincloth, black arm braces, back boots, had most of his head covered by a purple cloth, and exhumed this almost haunting and unnatural aura that sent shivers down Twilight’s spine.
“Um… Hello, gentlemen…” Twilight nervously said. “Please, take a seat.” The three muscular men broke their pose, grabbed an individual chair, and sat down in front of the desk. As intimidating as the three men were, it was almost comical to Twilight how they were too big for the chairs, and the Princess tried her hardest to contain her laughter.
“Does something amuse you, equine?” The middle man said, glaring harshly at Twilight.
“N-nothing, nothing at all.” Twilight said, calming her nerves a bit. She pulled out the case files from her cabinet and quickly flipped through them. “Okay… So you three are the Pillar Men, correct?”
“Yes, we are the Pillar Men,” The bronze-skinned man said. “The pinnacle of existence and all-powerful beings!”
“Great warriors of skill and combat,” The blonde man said. “We have existed for thousands of years, entombed in stone until the day we had awoken to claim our rightful place in the world.”
“Right, and it says here,” Twilight said, putting a hoof on their files. “You three are ‘Aztec Vampire Gods’, under description.” The three men glanced at each other briefly with slightly mute looks. Finally, the bronze-skinned one spoke up.
“That was written for us.” He said. Twilight’s eyebrow decided to investigate the northern realm of Forehead-Land before returning to its companion at that rather… bizarre statement.
“I see… Care to introduce yourselves?” Twilight asked.
“WAMMU!” The blonde-haired man loudly proclaimed. “Master of the winds and the Divine Sandstorm!”
“I am Esidisi,” The bronze-skinned man said, a neutral look on his face. “Also known as 'The Burning King’.”
“And I am Lord Kars,” The middle man harshly said. “The Ultimate Lifeform.”
“Quite a bold claim, Mister Kars.” Twilight pointed out, although immediately shutting her mouth when she saw the horrifically hostile face Kars was giving her. “Um… Okay… So, how were you recommended to the Clinic for reformation?” Kars turned and shot Wammu a bit of a dirty look.
“After our… recent incidents,” Kars explained. “We were left almost purposeless in a void of nonexistence. It wasn’t until Wammu vouched with a higher power for a second chance, and we were instructed to apply here for a reformation program.” The look intensified to one of anger. “I feel we were better off in the abyss…”
“And I feel that we made terrible choices in our lives that guided us to ruin.” Wammu said, folding his arms. “Seeing the humans fight against us and JoJo’s act of mercy at the end of our battle made me see the metaphorical light, as I was blinded at the time. We were giving a chance to better ourselves, and squandering it would have been the ultimate mistake.” Twilight turned to face Esidisi, who had been quiet the entire time.
“And what about you, Mister Esidisi?” Twilight asked. “Where do you stand in all of this?” For a moment, no words were spoken, only an air of menace drifted about the room. Finally, he spoke.
“I’m mostly along for the ride at this point.” Esidisi admitted. “I may serve Lord Kars, but I agree with Wammu’s ideology. If anything, I go as the wind carries me.”
“The wind is my thing and you know it.” Wammu snapped. The three Pillar Men sat in silence, refusing to look the other in the eye. The sheer amount of hostility in the room was so thick, you’d need a chainsaw to even make a dent in it.
“It looks to me like you three have a few problems to sort about amongst yourselves.” Twilight noted. The three muscular men simply grunted and turned their heads away. “It seems that in order to begin the reformation process, you’re going to need to start mending bridges between each other.” She dipped her quill in an inkwell. “So, individually, tell me what issues you have with each other.” All three of the Pillar Man shot up in their seats and pointed at the other, posing dramatically in the process.
“THEY’RE dishonorable in the field of battle!” Wammu accused.
“THEY’RE acting like petty children!” Esidisi shouted.
“THEY’RE both incompetent buffoons bound by petty codes!” Kars snapped. Clearly there were a lot of issues to work out. Luckily Twilight knew the right crew of ponies to aid in this trial.
“Well, I think I have a perfect idea on how to make you all connect with each other again.” Twilight said as the Pillar Men sat down. “We’ll go out and meet with a couple of good friends of mine and have a few activities set up.”
“It will have to be done after sunset.” Esidisi spoke up, Wammu nodding in agreement.
“Why do we need it done after…” Twilight asked, but immediately realized why. “Right, Aztec Vampire Gods… Sunlight… Right…” She chuckled in embarrassment and rubbed the back of her head with her hoof. “Well, I suppose we can wait around and talk for a bit, or do whatever it is you usually do.” The instant she said that, the three Adonis-like Pillar Man shot up from their seats and began posing. As incredible as that was, Twilight felt like a vein was going to burst in her head if this was what she had to put up for the next few hours.




Several Hours of Posing Later….




“Any reason you woke me up during my late evening nap?” Rainbow Dash complained, rubbing the last bits of sleep out of her eyes. 
“Darling, it’s six o’clock in the evening.” Rarity tittered. “If this is late evening for you, I dread whatever you claim to be early morning.” The prismatic Pegasus simply blew a strand of stray hair out of her eyes and continued to flutter in the air. “But Rainbow Dash is right, darling. What did you need all of us for so late in the hour?” Twilight had Spike send a late-night message to the rest of the girls informing them of a ‘dire need of assistance’. So, all six of the mares had now gathered in the Map Room, sitting in their chairs (with Starlight sitting in a folding chair until they could carve up a new one) with slightly tired looks on their faces.
“I wouldn’t call you girls so late without a just reason to do so.” Twilight admitted. “Now, this involves my recent case with the Reformation Program.” A few concerned looks passed between the mares. “It can also be counted as bit of a friendship problem, seeing as there are three of them and they aren’t getting along.”
“Uh, no offense there, Twi,” Applejack interjected, tapping her hoof on the table. “But ain’t it a good thing that these villains ain’t getting’ along?”
“Yeah, wouldn’t these guys working together mean bad things happening?” Rainbow Dash added. “Like… what if they wanna conquer the world and become supreme beings of all life or something? Them being all buddy-buddy would be a bad thing.” A few nods of agreement came from the rest of the gang, much to Twilight’s chagrin.
“I know, but I have a feeling that if we work together,” Twilight continued. “We can not only make these three friends again, but turn their lives around completely and make them better for it! So please,” She pressed a hoof to her chest. “Help me with this.” The gang glanced around at each other, their looks of concern vanishing and replacing with glances of affirmation.
“Aw shucks, Twi,” Applejack said. “Y’all got my helpin’ hoof on this one.”
“Even if these guys get outta hoof,” Rainbow Dash boasted. “I can take ‘em down a peg if needed.”
“I wouldn’t be a proper lady or friend to turn down your request, Twilight.” Rarity said, fluttering her eyelashes. “We’ll follow you to the ends of Equestria for our friendship!”
“Friends shouldn’t be fighting with each other, evil or otherwise.” Fluttershy softly said. “We have an obligation to help them… Even if they’re not good…”
“I have the victory party cannon prepped and ready!” Pinkie Pie cheered, running a hoof along her precious festive artillery. 
“And you know both Starlight and I got your back in all of this.” Spike said, puffing his chest out while Starlight nodded. Twilight beamed, her eyes meeting each and every one of the ponies she called her dearest friends, a swelling feeling of pride and gratification blooming in her heart.
“Thank you all, so very much.” Twilight said, bowing her head slightly. She hopped out of her throne and trotted to the door. “I had asked the trio to wait outside until we finished, so they’re waiting around for me to get them.” She knocked on the door, getting everypony’s attention. “Let me introduce you to the Program’s latest cases, the Pillar Men.” (*) Twilight opened the doors with her magic, swinging them open to reveal the Pillar Men, struck in magnificent poses, the air of menace bursting through at their mere presence. Granted, everyone else was just gawking at the bizarre scene before them.
“Did… did you plan this, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked, not once taking her eyes off the posing, half-naked Pillar Men. “The… entrance with the hairless monkeys?” Kars’ eyes narrowed upon faintly hearing the comment.
“No, they just sort of… do that…” Twilight somewhat explained. She blinked for a moment, and noticed that Kars was no longer amongst the bunch. Rainbow let out a panicked yelp when she saw the leader of the Pillar Men standing less than a foot away from her.
“Forgive my hearing this, Rainbow Equine,” Kars said, his purple eyes boring into Rainbow’s magenta eyes. “But did you refer to me as a ‘hairless monkey’?” Rainbow swallowed her fear for a moment, prodding a hoof at Kars’ chest and staring at him with steely determination.
“Yeah, so what if I did, b-b-big guy?” Rainbow accused, unaware of Twilight’s frantic hoof signals telling her to ‘back the buck off’. “You going to do something about it?” Wammu and Esidisi both simultaneously groaned, the latter placing his face into his palm. Rainbow Dash blinked again, and Kars was gone. Suddenly, she felt something grab her by the back of her neck, and something cold and sharp poking her neck. Everypony gasped and saw Kars was holding Rainbow like a scolding puppy, with a sharp blade springing up from his own forearm pointed at her jugular.
“Rainbow!” Fluttershy cried out, hopping from her seat and flying over to her friend. “Put her down this instant, mister!” Kars quirked an eyebrow, a slightly amused smirk appearing on his lips for only the briefest of instances.
“Could you repeat that, Equine?” Kars said, retracting the blade into his arm. “Put her down?” He slowly moved his free hand to the base of the cyan mare’s hind-legs. “But why should I listen to a lesser life form?” Much to everypony’s surprise, Kars began using Rainbow Dash like an air guitar, strumming at her hooves as he tightened his grip on her back. Letting out a brief laugh, Kars looked and saw Fluttershy now giving him the dreaded Stare. For the first time in an extraordinarily long time, Kars felt unbearable unease, like he was under the scolding influence of a mother. In the instant Kars was enraptured, Rainbow Dash broke free and ducked behind her chair. In that very same instance, Kars realized what was going on and returned with a Stare of his own, catching the butter-yellowed Pegasus off guard. 
“Did he just counter ‘the Stare’?” Pinkie asked, vocalizing her surprise for everyone else. Esidisi let out a brief chuckle while the pony and Pillar Man engaged in the world’s most intense staring contest.
“Lord Kars is the Ultimate Lifeform, due in part to our last escapade.” Esidisi explained. “He has become the pinnacle of evolution and is capable of godlike actions unlike any have seen before. He can mimic human capabilities, create life from nothing, become one with nature itself... In other words,” He gestured to the ongoing battle of pupils. “Anything you can do, he can do better.” The exchange between the two became increasingly more tense, the very air becoming rife with menace and determination, with each opponent glaring not only deep into the others eyes, but into their very being. What Kars saw was a pure soul, someone who only strived to make the world into a better, kinder place, and would search for the inner child within to find a common ground. What Fluttershy saw, deep within Kars’ eyes, was oblivion, hatred, and emptiness, nothing to relate or connect to, and it terrified her. 
“Enough of that.” Wammu said, getting incredibly fed up of the whole ordeal. He stepped between the two and snapped his fingers in front of their eyes, breaking their gaze and concentration. “We have to deal with the matter at hand.” Fluttershy nodded her head and shakily drifted off to her seat, while Kars simply scoffed and folded his arms. Wammu turned to Twilight and apologized on behalf of his master. “My apologies, Lord Kars has become extremely irritable as of late.”
“Noted.” Twilight said. After the hassle, Twilight turned to properly address the newcomers to her friends. “Everypony and Spike, these are the Pillar Men: Kars, Esidisi, and Wammu.”
“WAMMU!” Wammu shouted. The ponies and dragon briefly glanced at him in confusion, but decided to let it be.
“I need each of you to split into pairs to work with each of the Pillar Men to help kindle the peaceful and friendly sides of these powerful Aztec Vampire Gods.” Twilight explained, as though it were the most natural thing in the world. “Rarity, Applejack, you work with Wammu. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, you two help with Esidisi. Pinkie, Starlight, try and do what you can with Kars. Spike and I will work on a project to bring these three together like friends again.” She clapped her hooves together with a smile. “That sound good?”
“… Mind running that ‘Aztec Vampire God’ thing by us one more time?” Applejack asked.
“Alright, BREAK!”





“Forgive me for saying this,” Wammu cautiously stated, his body tense from being told not to move so much as a hair on his head. “But I’m not sure of this purpose of this bonding exercise.”
“Ah gotta agree with the big feller here, Rarity.” Applejack hesitantly agreed. “Ah’m not sure why y’all think this is a good idea for the whole bondin’ thing.” 
“Applejack, I can assure you, this is a tried and true method in reconnecting with friends.” Rarity snipped, her magic levitating several objects at once in the air. “Now please, raise both of your arms at length, I need the proper wingspan measurement.” After Twilight had instructed everypony to handle the Pillar Men, Rarity wasted no time dragging Wammu and Applejack all the way to her Boutique to do, what else but, get him fitted with a dashing new suit. Hence why Wammu now stood upon a small pedestal as Rarity ran several measuring tapes across his body. 
“I don’t quite understand.” Wammu said, still a bit confused. “Why would a suit help my masters realize the folly of their ways and accept the reformation program?” Rarity clicked her tongue, jotting down the measurements she recently acquired.
“Darling, if all my years in the fashion industry have taught me anything about clothing and social functions,” Rarity said, levitating her notepad away. “It’s that one’s own attire can properly convey a message.” She hopped on the pedestal and stood on her hind legs, placing one of her hooves on the Pillar Man’s biceps. “You require a suit, darling, that tells your brutish friends ‘I care for this world and you should, too’!” She hopped off the pedestal and trotted over to several rolls of fabric.
“But my attire already ‘speaks a message’, as you put it.” Wammu said, thumping a fist to his chest. “It announces to all my status as a warrior, a man who seeks to prove his strength through honorable combat! Amongst the Pillar Men, strength matters above all…” He sat himself down upon the pedestal. “At least, that is what Lord Kars and Master Esidisi have taught me since I was naught but a child.” Applejack recognized that look on Wammu’s face. The warrior’s face beheld a look of forlorn contemplation, the kind she once had upon her face when she herself had doubts on what she wanted to do with her life. It was the same face she wore when she left the Apple Family Farm for Manehatten. Right now, she was seeing the same face in Wammu.
“You’re confused about a lotta things right now, aint’cha?” Applejack asked, putting a sympathetic hoof on Wammu’s shoulder. “Like where y’all stand now that y’all are doin’ this reformation shindig?”
“All my life, I was led to believe that the Pillar Men were destined to rule all,” Wammu said, his gaze not lifting off the floor. “And yet, when I faced JoJo amidst that honorable battle, I came to realize that our way might have been… wrong.” He looked at the Earth Pony farmer with a somber gaze. “He made me realize our way, Lord Kars’ way,” He spat out that title with the spitefulness of venom, both Applejack and Wammu unaware that Rarity had returned with several spools of thread and blankets of fabric. “Was naturally evil, it was dishonorable. It was not the true Pillar Man way.”
“And what, if you don’t mind me asking,” Rarity said. “Is the true Pillar Man way? Stand up, please.” Wammu complied, rising to his towering height as Rarity began to work her magic.
“An honorable way of the warrior.” Wammu said, a slight glimmer appearing in his eyes. “Despite Lord Kars attempting to bewitch me with his teachings of the way of the Pillar Man, Master Esidisi taught me our true history, a culture that thrived upon honor and pride, living alongside the race of humanity for eons.” He moved his form slightly while Rarity began weaving fabric around his body. “While the Pillar Men held no true kinship with the humans, Kars simply viewed them as cattle to be used to sate our desires. These views have been imprinted in my mind since I was an infant.”
“Now that’s just despicable!” Applejack objected, stamping her hoof on the ground. “Fillin’ yer head with lies about yer own kinfolk since you were a baby!”
“I completely agree! A little to the left, darling.” Rarity added, carefully running a thread and needle along the side of Wammu’s body. “How such a malicious and cruel creature like Kars could become your leader baffles me!”
“A realization I have come to all too late,” Wammu admitted, twisting his body slightly. “And one I feel Master Esidisi is slowly making as well. Lord Kars led us to our own demise, and we should have been condemned for our crimes! If I hadn’t realized this when that great power offered us a second chance…” His shoulders sagged slightly. “We would have been trapped in eternal nothingness.” Both Rarity and Applejack exchanged glances, sharing a conversation between their minds and facial expressions.
“Well, it sounds to me like y’all are really committed to this here reformation hootenanny.” Applejack said, adjusting her hat. “And if yer spirit is really in it…”
“You can certainly sway Esidisi, maybe even Kars, to your rational thinking.” Rarity praised, placing her tools aside. “Especially in this dapper new suit top of yours!” Standing up, Wammu was slightly surprised to see that, throughout the entirety of the conversation, Rarity had worked upon him and created a fantastic top half of a suit, complete with a frilled orange undershirt featuring golden buttons and a lovely green suit jacket, with intricate designs of winds blowing around the cuffs and shoulders. Seeing himself in this wondrous outfit that had taken mere minutes to construct, Wammu felt a feeling of confidence and determination.
“You two equines are right!” Wammu exclaimed. “With the warriors spirit burning within me, and my resolve gifted to me by JoJo, I can bring my old comrades around and into a newer light! WAMMU!” At his final declaration, Wammu flexed his muscles and posed triumphantly. However, apparently the suit top wasn’t built to withstand such powerful posing, as the instant Wammu came to cease his movement, the shirt and jacket exploded from his body in a shower of fabric shreds, leaving the Pillar Man in his standard garb and armor. “… Might want to skip the suit part.” Only response that got was Rarity landing on her fainting couch.





“Believe me when I say this, Mister Esidisi,” Fluttershy softly said as she, Rainbow Dash, and the Pillar Man walked along the pathway towards her cottage. “Spending time with my critter friends is definitely the best way to rekindle friendships. Maybe even form new ones.” Throughout most of the night, Esidisi said very little, rather simply taking in the scenery and keeping his thoughts to himself. While Fluttershy was content with this, Rainbow Dash didn’t waste a single moment with at least one of her eyes trained on the Pillar Men, watching warily for the big villain to make any sudden movements. “Oh, here we are!” 
“Quaint little cottage you have.” Esidisi noted, seeing the small home and the various animal houses that surrounded it. “You seem to be at one with nature, little one.” Fluttershy blushed at the comment, trotting off to go unlock her door. Before Rainbow Dash could trail after, Esidisi tapped her on the shoulder.
“I have seen the looks you give me when the Shy one is not glancing our way.” Esidisi coolly noted. “I recognize these looks of mistrust and contempt.” Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes, wondering what this muscular man was getting at. “You believe that I will bring harm upon your friends.”
“Well, yeah!” Rainbow Dash retorted, jabbing a hoof at Esidisi. “After your boss held a blade to my neck and played my legs like a guitar, I don’t trust you guys one bit!” She glanced at Fluttershy, the animal caretaker working on unlocking her stuck door. “These girls are my best friend, and while I get that Twilight’s reformation project is important to her, I just don’t want to see any of my friends get hurt because of you… villains!” She spat that last word with venom. Esidisi furrowed his brow, contemplating the words before him. The Pillar Man never considered himself or his companions to be villainous, rather staking a claim in a world that belonged to them. Well, it’s obvious where that ended up, and, in hindsight, maybe what they had done could be considered truly evil.
“I see.” Esidisi said. Much to Rainbow Dash’s surprise, the Pillar Man got down on a single knee and bowed his head. “To ease your concerns, I will make a warrior’s promise that I will not harm you or your friends, nor allow them to come to any harm during our stay.” While Rainbow could tell that the promise seemed earnest (or Esidisi was doing a very convincing act), she still didn’t entirely trust him.
“I get the warrior’s promise,” Rainbow Dash said. “But you gotta make a Pinkie Promise to seal the deal.” Esidisi lifted his head up, a faint hint of confusion on his face. Rolling her eyes, Rainbow Dash went through the motions and said the mantra. “Now you do it, if you’re serious about the promise.” As childish as the ritual was, Esidisi knew that he would get nowhere without complying. Filled with reluctance, Esidisi rose to his full height and towered over the hovering mare.
“… Cross my heart, hope to fly,” Esidisi recited the mantra, his hands moving to match the movements until reaching one of his eyes. “Stick a cupcake in my eye.” Satisfied, Rainbow gave a confirming nod as she heard Fluttershy unlock her door.
“Great, now come on, big guy.” Rainbow Dash urged. “Let’s get you acquainted with a couple of critters.” The two reached the cottage, but came across a rather problematic situation involving size differences. Fluttershy glanced between the Pillar Man and her own door and sheepishly blushed.
“Oh, um, I don’t think you’ll be able to fit in.” Fluttershy meekly stated. “Don’t worry, though! I can get my animal friends ready in the back!” She turned to Rainbow with a smile. “Could you take Mr. Esidisi to the backyard gate for me, please?”
“Yeah, sure thing, Flutters.” Rainbow said, casually waving her hoof. Fluttershy thanked her friend and shut the door to her cottage. “Alright, big guy, follow me.” The cyan pony guided the white-haired Pillar Man around a more off-beaten path on the cottage, coming across a little red picket fence that barely came up to the Pillar Man’s knee. Esidisi felt one of his eyebrows raise when he saw Rainbow Dash push the gate open and expect him to go through it. Letting out a sigh, Esidisi simply stepped over the fence and entered the backyard, much to Rainbow’s annoyance. Once Esidisi came to a halt, he was incredibly surprised at the diversity of the menagerie the butter-yellow pony possessed. When he heard she was a caretaker of animals, she assumed she cared for domestic creatures like dogs and cats, but he saw a wide birth of creatures both large and small congregating around the grassy yard. Flamingos, elk, bats, chickens, serpents, rabbits, tortoises, fish, and even a large bear, this timid little Pegasus housed and cared for them all, and she sat proudly in the center of the group, surrounded by her various animal friends.
“Welcome to my home, Mr. Esidisi!” Fluttershy announced, several animals letting out their own various chirps, barks and yowls in excitement. “Please make yourself comfortable, I’ll have some tea prepared while you get acquainted with my critter friends.” Fluttershy quickly flew off into her cottage, leaving Rainbow Dash and the slightly confused Esidisi alone with a bunch of nature’s finest.
“What… does she expect me to do?” Esidisi asked, noticing the smaller animals starting to creep up to his feet. 
“Just start petting ‘em, dude.” Rainbow Dash calmly noted, rubbing the shell of her own tortoise pet. “Fluttershy does this thing called ‘pet therapy’, where she has ponies come and play with the critters she cares for. Says it’s really relaxing and makes ponies really happy.”
“And it really works!” Fluttershy softly called out, re-entering the backyard with a tea set on a tray carefully balanced on her hooves as a certain white bunny rabbit bounded after her. “I’ve read several books and studies that show that being in company with a bunch of cute, fuzzy and friendly animals can help calm the nerves and relax them.” She set the tea tray down on a tree stump as several chipmunks and squirrels started to gather around, while Esidisi sat bow-legged opposite her. “I believe that calming your nerves will help you reconnect with your friends.” She gently gestured a few of the critters towards Esidisi, who approached the Pillar Man out of curiosity. “Go on, try it out.” As the critters began to approach Esidisi, the Pillar Man was slightly reluctant to lay one of his massive hands upon the little creatures, not out of fear of them, no, rather how silly it would make him look. He was a Pillar Man, one of the pinnacle life-forms on the planet! He had now intentions of doing something as menial as ‘playing with animals’, it was beneath him! Even if they looked upon him with beady, adorable little eyes, their small noses twitching with curiosity, and those cute puffs of fur that covered their bodies, there was no way it was making him weak to such frailty and frivolous actions – and, he’s already gently petting the head of a family of squirrels. 
It was working, Esidisi had started to open up, petting a few of the critters that had approached him, while a few birds had even perched themselves upon his head and shoulders. The Pillar Man, this giant of a man who seemingly had the power to crush everyone with ease, was now sitting in a field cuddling with animals. He even let out a small chuckle as he reached his gargantuan hand towards Angel Bunny, intent on giving the guy a little scratch under the chin. Rainbow Dash turned and saw the pleased look of joy and excitement on Fluttershy’s face, the look someone gives when they’ve succeeded and changing someone’s life. The smile was infectious, as the prismatic Pegasus felt herself join in.
“I believe I am truly enjoying this,” Esidisi said, smiling as he rubbed one of his large thumbs under Angel’s chin, unaware of the bunny’s blatant dislike. “Dare I say, I’m having a good time!” Fluttershy beamed, glad that once again, her furry and feathered friends helped bring joy to yet another person.
*CHOMP*
“GAH!” Esidisi yelped, yanking his slightly damaged finger away from the rabbit. “The pest bit me!” Fluttershy gasped in shock, quickly moving to admonish Angel while Rainbow Dash looked on in worry.
“Angel Bunny, how dare you do that to Mr. Esidisi!” Fluttershy admonished. Esidisi clutched his finger, watching the tiny trickle of blood leaking from the tiny bite marks, trembling and shaking violently.
“Oh, this can’t be good.” Rainbow commented, hiding behind the large bear. Fluttershy took notice of Esidisi’s growing emotional state, and debated heavily whether she should attempt to comfort the creature that could snap her like a twig or duck behind the nearest safe cover. 
“N-n-now Mr. Esidisi,” Fluttershy stammered, cautiously inching backwards from the shaking Pillar Man. “I know Angel can be a bit… r-r-rambunctious at times, but he really does mean well.” Angel, having realized the beast he might have unleashed, quickly changed his demeanor and nodded frantically, ducking behind his caretaker’s leg for fear of his little furry life. “So, um… p-p-p-p-please don’t smush him.” However, no anger or violence came from Esidisi, no explosion of rage and destruction. Instead, a stream of tears began leaking from his eyes.
“I can’t believe it…” Esidisi sniffled, the tears dribbling down from his face. Finally, after a few seconds, the mighty Pillar Man burst into a shower of tears and crying, bawling his eyes out in an almost tantrum-like fashion. “I CAN’T BELIEVE I-I-I-IT! HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEY!” Everyone present was… confused. Rainbow Dash had expected Esidisi to utterly lose it like Kars did, and probably start demolishing the place in retaliation. Fluttershy felt like she needed to comfort the poor man, even if he was intimidating and scary. Angel genuinely felt bad at what he had done. All the other animals could do was sit and watch the uncomfortable burst of emotion. 
“What?” Rainbow Dash softly asked herself. She saw Esidisi continue crying loudly as he looked at his partially bleeding finger.
“GAHAHAH, MY POOR FINGER!” He cried. “WAAAAAAHAAAAAAHAAAAAAAA!” This continued for another solid minute. Eventually, Fluttershy decided to take the initiative and comfort Esidisi, but the instant she moved her hoof, the crying immediately stopped. Both Fluttershy and Rainbow let off startled gasps as Esidisi rose to his feet, completely silent. The animals felt an instinct of pure fear, like they were drowning in an ocean of menace. Finally, Esidisi spoke, his face neutral as the instant he made his face in Equestria. “I feel so much better now.”
“WHAT?!” Rainbow Dash loudly exclaimed. “You looked like you were gonna kill Angel Bunny, then start crying like a baby who bumped his muzzle, and now you’re just okay?!” She flew right up into Esidisi’s face, eyes wide as dinner plates. “WHAT ARE YOU?!” In response, Esidisi gently pushed Rainbow away and wiped his bleeding finger off on a tree. 
“I’m a bit emotional at times, that is all.” Esidisi calmly said. “I believe we are done here now.” With that said, he turned about and started to leave, all eyes gaping in shock and confusion the entire time. Just as he opened the gate, Esidisi stopped and turned about. “Oh, and if that little rabbit of yours decides to do that again, I know a few excellent fast recipes for Hasenpfeffer.” Angel let out an audible gulp as he watched Esidisi leave with what he SWORE was a smirk on his face. Once everyone came to, Fluttershy smelt an odd odor of burnt wood. She followed her nose and saw one of the trees had a hole burned right through it, the same tree Esidisi had bled on. 

To Be Continued ====>