Michael Morones is an 11-year-old boy who was bullied relentlessly at school in Raleigh, North Carolina, because of his love for My Little Pony. Bullied so much that he tragically attempted suicide by hanging himself from the railing of his bunk bed.

Morones was "the kid that never walks. He dances everywhere," his mother Tiffany Morones-Suttle told WTVD. Thankfully, Morones is still alive—his mother and step-father caught him just in time—but oxygen to his brain was momentarily cut off and the extent of the permanent damage he suffered is uncertain.

The brony culture that My Little Pony has inspired forms its own support network online in spaces like the My Little Pony Reddit, but Morones and others seem to face only more harassment now that the community has gone viral. The recent documentary My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic tells the stories of men who love the show but can't bear to come out as bronies to their friends, for the same fears that Morones faced.

Brony culture might be kind of silly, but it's not as idiotic as bullying someone for liking something you don't, especially a cartoon that encourages kindness. Morones's parents don't even want the bullies treated the way their son was. Here's his mother:

I've heard a lot of people say you need to go after bullies and hold them responsible. But you know, I don't think that's what Mike would want. I would rather teach people how to do right than turn around than punish, because punishment doesn't always work.

The WTVD video shows Morones laying in a hospital bed, surrounded by My Little Pony stuffed animals.