Worse Than a Brony

Technically, Virgil wasn't a brony, not by definition, exactly. Yes, he picked up some items that are My Little Pony-related, but he's not a brony. Yes, he has used his sewing skills to create some My Little Pony items, but he's not a brony. Yes, he's occasionally chuckled about the fact Twilight Sparkle is his favorite color, but he's not a brony. Everyone else has made remarks and jokes about him being one whenever he'd pop up. The only reason he doesn't argue is that he cares too much about the group to disturb them with the truth.

Once he was in his room, he continued to sew until his Pinkamena doll was complete, dress and all. The anthropomorphic ball of angst couldn't help it; whenever he sees someone in possession of something related to Rainbow Dash, he thinks of the story "Rainbow Factory." Whenever he hears a story related to a contagious virus, his mind drifts to "The Cough." When he catches a glimpse of Big Macintosh on the screen whenever Emile watches TV, he shudders as he thinks about the story he couldn't go a quarter-way through without drawing a line for himself (what, a storm cloud has to tolerate "Sweet Apple Massacre"?). He knew he could blend in with the bronies online without exactly being one, since there was enough of the show in the stories to give him an idea of whom the characters are. He was also aware that there were people out there like him who aren't necessarily fans of the show, but still loved the stories. Somehow, though, talking to people online about these stories just didn't seem to be enough. The other main sides would be disturbed, as would Picani. Remy didn't have time to hear him out, and things were still a bit rocky between himself and Deceit. There were a few instances that were the closest he felt to the others understanding his obsession.

Virgil was lying on the couch scrolling through his phone, and reading one of the most popular stories, continuing to find awe in the fact that something so dark could come from people who like something so colorful. He saw Logan out of the corner of his eye, and took his legs off the couch, so the nerd could sit down. Logan nodded at him, and sat down reading his book. He was about to suggest, in an attempt at a joke, that Virgil should spend less time on his phone, and more time reading, but then he noticed Virgil was reading on his phone. Virgil noticed and dragged his finger down, so Logan could see the title.

"What's 'Rainbow Factory'?" the teacher asked.

Virgil thought a bit, and eventually decided on a decent way to explain it.

"Think of a combination of a glue factory, magic related to rainbows, and genocide against those less than perfect," he told Logan.

Logan hummed for a while, and put a bookmark in his book before setting it aside.

"Would it be any trouble if you started over?" Logan asked.

Virgil smiled, and made ear buds appear before handing a bud to Logan.

"I've read this more than enough times. A narration can do you one better instead of us fighting over the screen."

Virgil found a narration of "Rainbow Factory," and they both listened to it. He felt satisfied seeing Logan expressing emotions he denied possessing: shock, empathy, worry, etc. He thought it would be the only time he'd share this interest with his family, so he thought he'd make it count.

Another day, everyone else went to the beach in the Imagination. Virgil and Deceit were invited, but Deceit was debating on preferring warmer or cooler temperatures, and Virgil wanted to go when he felt like he was the only one looking out at the ocean without potential drama.

While reading in the kitchen, he saw Deceit watching the movie Othello.

After some thinking, he said "Hey, Deceit. Can you pause that? I want to show you something."

The snake man approached him, and Virgil caught him muttering, "And I thought I was the lie-rant," which caused Virgil to hide a chuckle.

"I've got a story that I think both of us might enjoy."

"Ah, yes, who wouldn't love to join your sudden pony obsession?"

As Deceit started to walk away, Virgil took a deep breath and said, "You know how some parents tend to lie to their children to keep them submissive to their abuse?"

The snake man stopped in his tracks, and turned around to approach the emo allergic to a healthy sleep schedule.

"What did you say the name of this story was?" He asked, which caused Virgil to smile.

"It's called 'A Puppet To Her Fame'."

Virgil proceeded to read the story to Deceit. Probably due to the dark atmosphere, he looked like a giddy preschooler at story time. Virgil still couldn't help but think of the bumps in their chemistry, but he felt glad to share his obsession with another person, like how he felt when introducing Logan to "Rainbow Factory." He wasn't confident that that sort of feeling would last, though.

On a different evening, Virgil was scrolling through his phone again, and Roman barged into the room.

"Hey, Brendon Furie. I'm bored," the Prince announced.

"Where's anyone that isn't me?"

"Remy dragged them all to a music festival, and claimed I wouldn't enjoy it."

Roman walked by Virgil, and saw the name, "Cupcakes," and grew curious.

"Ooh, is this a new recipe for Patton?" Roman asked while grabbing Virgil's phone for a better look.

Once Virgil said, "No, don't! They're like the pies in Sweeney Todd!", however, Roman tossed it away from himself like he tossed away a hot piece of coal.

"Why am I surprised you'd look up something like that?"

"If it makes you feel better, it's not a recipe; it's a story."

Roman put on a brave face and said, "I don't know about you, but I prefer the canon tales, thank you very much."

Virgil was thinking about what happened when he introduced Deceit to "A Puppet To Her Fame," and got an idea.

"How about we make a game out of listening to the story? Braver listener does the loser's make-up, and we both do each other's make-up if it's a draw," he announced with enough words to get the Prince's attention.

Roman sat next to Virgil as he looked for a narration of "Cupcakes." Virgil didn't care as much about the contest as he did about listening with another person. They both ended up doing each other's make-up.

More days passed, and as Virgil went to get himself breakfast, he saw everyone else in front of the TV watching My Little Pony. He kept his anticipated annoyance to himself as he was walking.

"Hey, Virgil, you want to join us?" Patton asked.

"Eh, no thanks," Virgil answered.

As he was walking away, he froze in his tracks when he heard Logan say, "It has pre-'Cough' Ponyville. Maybe the show will help you enjoy those stories more."

He slowly turned around to see Logan, Roman, and Deceit smiling at him, while Patton and Emile were distracted by the screen. He smiled back, and sat next to Patton and Roman. As he sat down, a scratched Rarity toy fell out of his pocket, causing Patton to gasp.

"Oh my gosh, what happened to your toy, Kylo Friend?" Patton asked with concern.

Virgil picked up his toy, and didn't feel right telling Patton about Lil Miss Rarity. He turned to look at Deceit, as if silently asking for permission, and the snake man nodded.

"Oh, I've been doing some horseplay, and forgot this was in my pocket. If you want, I can fix it, and we can play with it," Virgil claimed as convincingly as possible.

Patton smiled as Virgil put the toy back in his pocket. As Virgil was watching the show with everyone, he felt glad he wasn't in total pony-related isolation anymore.