Here's the deal. This kid (we'll call him A) is SO self-conscious about his geekery that I'm the only one he talks to about it, he censors out the word brony when talking to me, etc. It's really bad.

He has explained to me previously that he has never before talked to "randoms on the internet," and is terrified of the unknown that is the internet in general from what I can tell. I've tried convincing him that he got into the friendliest possible fandom out there, to no avail.

HALP, I don't know what to tell A to make him feel better. He didn't even want me posting about it on here and is insisting that it's not a big deal anymore, even though it's all he talks to me about.

To give you some insight into how self-conscious he is, and how into the fandom he is, he "confessed" to me today that he wrote some of a fanfic related to the Fallout series of fics, but that it was terrible, and he immediately discarded it, and felt dirty about it. However, he reads fics, he's saved pictures he uses as wallpapers, and watches the show religiously (and won't join me and my two friends on Saturdays for some unknown reason).

What can I tell A to make him feel less...judged? I'm completely out of my league here since I've identified with the furry community since I was 13 (now 23) and I've been on the internet talking to anonymous people in chat rooms since I was 11. Also, I'm a woman, so I guess there's that.

...Yay first post?

-edit- TL;DR: My friend is too self-conscious about liking ponies. How do I help?