(Darby was hanging out with Isabela, talking about her crushes.)
Darby: … and then there’s Eggsy, my high school sweetheart. Aww
Isabela Calabreeze: OMG, you like Eggsy?! Me too!! He’s just soooooo attractive!
Darby: I know! And I can’t believe he exists in Equestria!
Isabela Calabreeze: Yeah… wait, what?
Darby: It’s true. Eggsy’s a real pony. Just look him up if you don’t know what I’m talking about.
Isabela Calabreeze: Let me see… (looks up Eggsy on her phone to see if there’s any information, but to no avail) It doesn’t say anything about him being real.
Darby: Really? That’s weird. Maybe you’re just using an… old phone? Sweating a little…
Isabela Calabreeze: does the stare Darby, are you lying to me?! Stare
Darby: No, I’m not lying! Eggsy is indeed a real pony, just like you and me, it’s just that he… only exists… in my imagination?? 😓
Isabela Calabreeze: Darby, are you telling me you believe that fictional characters are real?!
Darby: nods Mm-hmm.
Isabela Calabreeze: Do you realize how much harm you’re causing for having these beliefs?!
Darby: starts to choke up But I’m not hurting anyone for simply believing that fictional characters are sentient beings.
(Grace arrives when she witnesses Isabela yelling at Darby.)
Isabela Calabreeze: How old are you, 21? Ponies your age should already know the difference between fiction and reality.
Darby: Isabela, I’m sorry, I… (starts crying and runs away)
Grace: (after a moment of silence) Sister, what happened?
Isabela Calabreeze: I messed up, Grace! I was trying to help Darby to know the difference between what’s real and what’s fake, but I guess it didn’t work. :( (Sad)
Grace: Isa, you know you shouldn’t shame somepony for having beliefs that are different from yours. The best thing you can do is to respect them.
Isabela Calabreeze: Where are you going?
Grace: I’m going to find and talk to Darby. In the meantime, I want you to think of your actions and how they affected you and others.
(Grace leaves to find Darby while Isabela ponders in silence.)
Isabela Calabreeze: Great, thanks a lot, Isabela. So much for being “Little Miss Perfect.” Facepalm
***
This story is based off of an IRL experience I had with my old therapist Grace. Basically, what happened was that I told her about my crush on Eggsy Unwin from Kingsman, and I personally believed that he was real, but instead of respecting my beliefs, she just yelled at me and told me to know the difference between fiction and reality, and looking back, I feel pretty embarrassed. I know it’s silly to believe that fictional characters are sentient beings that hypothetically exist in another universe, but if I’m not hurting anyone (Seriously, it’s not like I’m going around stabbing people who disagree with my beliefs. Cue the Slenderman incident), why should it be a problem? Plus, I didn’t want to keep this to myself, so I’ve decided that writing this story would help me process the incident (Not to mention it gave me an excuse to draw Isabela and Grace more often and explore their characters).
There will be multiple parts to this story, so stay tuned for that.