I ran as fast as I could, barely avoiding some of the ponies in my path. If there was even a chance that TD could be saved, that a sample of whatever he had been exposed to was still left on his clothing, then I had to get it before it faded away. TD was right; every time he faded away was a time where he risked not coming back as TD, and if he went fully pony permanently, then I wasn't sure that I could bring him back, even if I did have a sample.
I reached TD's house and pushed on the door. It was locked, but I wasn't going to let that deter me. I teleported inside of his house and reappeared on top of his bed before I hopped off and began wildly searching for anything that might be what he was describing. All else failed, I'd take his entire wardrobe and have him point out what he had been wearing. The only reason he hadn't come to begin with was that so Princess Celestia could keep an eye on him and we wanted to keep this quiet with the town. Nopony needed to know that TD had essentially disintegrated into a pony.
I continued scanning the floor until my gaze landed on something, something that I think was what I was after. A pair of blue jeans lying discarded right next to his bed. I lifted them into the air and examined both of the legs. One of them was slightly damp! It was a long shot that I could get enough to figure out what had happened to him, but it was definitely a starting point.
I encased it in a protective shield and shot out of TD's house like a bat out of Tartarus. TD could very well be all pony by the time I got back, so I had to hurry.
I wouldn't have run faster if a Hydra was chasing me. I made it back to the library in record time and ran down the steps of the basement five at a time. Princess Celestia was sitting next to TD, who was staring intently at the floor. Both of them looked up at me when I reached the bottom step.
"Did you find them?" he asked.
I nodded and levitated the pants higher so that he could see them before walking over to a workbench and laying them out. I took several deep breaths to slow my beating heart before answering. "Yeah." I took a few more deep breaths. "Yeah, I did. They're only damp, so I can't say for sure if we'll be able to get anything out of them, but I'm going to try."
I levitated a scalpel, a few ingredients, and a beaker over to me so that I could take a sample and maybe separate the liquid and test its properties. I could only hope that I was able to find something in time. I slowly dragged the blade of the scalpel across the edge of the pant leg, hoping to get a little scrap of it...
I did not expect everything from the knee down to completely disintegrate at the touch of the blade.
It... it was gone. All that was left of TD's chances of being turned back into a human was little more than dust on my table. I slowly turned my head towards TD, who was staring at my failure to save him. "I... I'm so sorry, TD," I whimpered. "I tried."
TD took a deep breath and poked at the dust. He closed his eyes and shook his head. "I know you did," he mumbled. "I don't blame you."
"You will be well cared for, TD. Do not ever think that I will simply abandon you to this fate." Princess Celestia put a hoof on his shoulder. "You will have my support."
"And I'll like it too." TD tightened his jaw and ran a hoof through his mane. "Doesn't really matter what you do, does it? I'll be dead? No more TD. You might as well tell Ponyville that you found a way to send me home, wait a few months, and then introduce me into Ponyville society."
"If that is what you think would be best."
"It doesn't matter at all what I think anymore!" TD snarled. He batted Princess Celestia's hoof away and shot to his hooves. "I'm not going to be me anymore! I potentially have seconds left of mental capacity! You could throw me in a dungeon and it wouldn't make a lick of difference."
"TD, do not think like that!" Princess Celestia took a small step towards him. "You will not be dead, and we will work night and day to reverse what happened to you!"
"But you can't." TD's expression turned into a glare. "You can't because you don't even know what went wrong. You can't because even if you did, you wouldn't even begin to know how to fix it." TD turned his back on us and walked over to the corner of the basement, where he sat down and stared at the floor. "Just leave me alone to mentally die in peace. I appreciate what you've done to help me, Twilight, but..." He sighed. "I just want to be alone right now."
Princess Celestia and I exchanged another glance, and she nodded at me. I sighed and flattened my ears. "Okay, TD. Feel free to stay as long as you like. We'll get through this, okay?"
He didn't respond.
* * * *
A pony for good. Not even Celestia could help me.
Celestia and Twilight had gone up to talk about something or other after everything had gone to Hell and I realized that I wasn't going to be TD anymore, during which time I switched back again to Pony Mode. Once I switched back after a few minutes... I couldn't even bring myself to get upset about it. I was about to mentally die, but that didn't mean that I had to keep making a big deal about it. I think I was just too drained by that point.
Twilight had come back down the stairs and told me that I could stay the night. I thanked her, and she gave me some books to pass the time. She must have realized that I didn't really want to socialize with other ponies right now. I can only imagine what she was telling Spike. Maybe she had just told him to go play with the Crusaders or hang out with Rarity for the day, or something like that.
So this was going to be my life now.
TD the Pony. TD the Pony that was, if memory served, completely complacent and submissive to Celestia. No more me. Nothing that was me made it into Pony Mode.
I could accept that. I could just... live my life. Once I was gone, it's not like I would know the difference. I wouldn't remember my time as a human, and I'd be completely happy as who I was. But... that sounded utterly distasteful to me. It wasn't me, and it would never be me.
There was nothing I could do about that, though. I had to just lie down and accept that I was going to mentally die, that I wasn't in control of anything anymore.
Or...
My ears perked up as a thought entered my head. It... it was a nasty thought, but it was a solution that I hadn't considered before. I was sure that Twilight would understand once she really thought about it. Heck, seeing as how she, Celestia, and I were the only ponies who knew about what was going on, nopony else had to know...
* * * *
I stepped out of the shower and dried myself off with my magic. The hot water pouring over me did me good, and it helped clear my head. I had laid out several plans for what to do with TD, but none of them seemed particularly enticing. We'd figure something out, though.
I walked out of my bathroom and into the main room of the library. I looked over at the basement door with a sigh. Part of me didn't want to go down and talk to TD. He could have already been all pony, and I wasn't sure how I could handle that. As jarring as it was to see somepony who was completely at odds with Princess Celestia, that snarky, sarcastic being was TD, and he was my friend. That pony who bowed to her and was nervous about meeting her... well, I could see why TD thought that was dying.
Still, I knew that I had to go check on him. I couldn't just lock him in my basement and forget all about him forever; I had to make sure that he was okay, even if I was sure that I wouldn't like what I saw.
Well, I also had to clean up the fragments of what used to be TD's human form. TD pony couldn't live with that around him. I know I wouldn't want to.
I took a deep breath and opened the door to my basement. My heart was pounding, and the back of my mind told me that I wouldn't like what I saw. I couldn't even call out to him. I walked down the stairs slowly, mentally bracing myself for the sight of TD's dumb smile, all hint of the human that I knew gone.
I reached the bottom of the steps and let out a shriek of utter horror when I saw him. I began hyperventilating and backed into a corner, tears streaming down my face. I wanted to look away, but I couldn't. I couldn't.
TD was lying on the floor of my basement in a large pool of his own blood, the veins in both forelegs completely sliced open. He was holding one of my vegetable knives in his mouth, a mouth that was twisted into a wide grin. To top it all off, he had scrawled one word in his own blood in front of him.
Free.
Honestly, if I was going though the same thing T.D was I'd probably off myself too. Better to die as me then to die as a figment of whoever replaces me imagination.
A satisfying end to an enthralling tale.
I believe you did an excellent job keeping everyone in character, and you told the story perfectly.
I'd by lying if I said I didn't hope for an epilogue, though. I'm dying to see Celestias response to TD's last stand. And what about the rest of the Mane 6? They were friends too. What about Fluttershy? Would she feel responsible?
What about the foals?
Dark. Cool.
I agree with The Reaper that it would have been interesting to see a few other characters' reactions.
BA-HA-HA-HA-HA! FINALLY! SOME TRUTH ABOUT ALL THIS SHITTY HIE HAPPY STORIES!!! ALL HIE FICS MUST END LIKE THIS ONE! ALL! THERE IS NO GOOD ENDING FOR HUMANS IN EQUESTRIA!
The author showed us truth. Perfectly.
:o
At least TD went out on his own terms.
no.. more td? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO WHY DO YOU HATE HIM you killed him and lost my respect brony writer.
Well done. You definately managed to pull off dark pretty well. Happy Halloween/Nightmare Night, TD! You can take the poison joke antidote now and go on with your life. Nice use of the fake blood and stuff, but its time to stop acting out the story script!
... TD?
... Crap.
Very well done. Was not expecting that.
3437021 Oh for Pete's sake. DARK TAG! You should have known what you were getting into!
There are going to be a ton of happy moments in Life of a Non-Brony, but really, this is a dark horror story. Why on Earth would I end it happily?
1 I didnt see the tag 2 I still hate you for that and that's why it's outta my FAVS FOREVER!!!!!!!
make a GOOD story and you might gain my respect again.
Why is it that a few are going crazy over this ending? This is what the 3rd dimension of TD. We have the Get me out, with wandering, the Discord forever, and the TD the Alicorn princess. This is just a new 4th. Meh not that big a deal. I continue to enjoy your writings with TD in different scenarios and can't wait for more TD Alicorn.
3437021 Halloween, dumbass!
Make sure to READ the description before the story!
3437046 Then maybe this will teach you to look at the tags before reading a story.
3437057 I have ever scince cupcakes WHAT THE?!?! GET OUT OF HERE OR I WILL USE MY AK! i ment I read them but didn't see it.
3437046 So... all of my TD stories have to be happy forever all the time or I lose your respect, especially if you don't have the common sense to look at the tags of a story released on Halloween when I announced a TD horror story to be released around Halloween?
3437021
You are aware that this is, 'non canon' to the main series of TD stories, right? Cause, I know BronyWriter mentioned that somewhere.
So no, it's not the end of TD.
Besides, it's a dark fic. They don't usually have a happy ending.
3436953
Happy to hear that, but do take your time man. They're your stories, they should be written on your schedule
3437049
DUDE, ITS FANFICTION! Pardon the caps, and the fact that I'm biting into you here, but its entirely subjective. Just because you don't like this one story is no reason to go and try to tear Brony Writer here a new plot hole. Seriously man, voice your discontent in a reasonable manner, explain why you dislike it, and then move on. Just because this is the internet is no reason to act like you're three. It's like some little kid got ahold of something they didn't like to eat, threw a total hissy, and promptly refused to eat again until they were given chocolate or something.
Now I apologize for the rant, but you hit one of my biggest pet peeves. One story you dislike by an author you've obviously been following for some time if I understood the general message in your previous comments is no reason to bitch and moan at that author as much as you have. I wish you well, hope you find something you consider worth your time reading, and ask you to kindly stuff your gob and not go attacking someone who works hard at writing something for others to enjoy. They, that is every author, does not deserve that kind of thing.
Suicide was an obvious ending, but for some reason, I didn't see it coming...
wow, that ending was suprisingly more upsetting then i thought, I feel for the poor basterd, its not the sort of ending i would even wish upon my most hated enemy. The ending itself actually upsets me. It shows how good it really is to make me feel this unsettled. TD is just one of those humans in equestria whos never gonna have a happy ending, but to have it end like this really is dark and disturbing
Huh. Had TD figured more for the hanging type. Did not expect the double arm slice.
3437012 Er... glad you liked it...
3437230
He probably just took the quickest way he had available to him. I can't see most ponies having rope in their homes, but knives? Everyone has sharp knives somewhere.
Hey author. I'm just wondering, does this fit in before or after or during The wonderings of a non-brony? I've just read No I'm not a brony get me outta equestria, but if this fits in between, I want to read this before The wonderings
Does this fit into the canon TDVerse, or is this a small AU like Alicorn Princess is?
3437092I just had that brainwave that, on occasion I think he might have killed him somewhere erlier sooo It's cool with me. he's like a human Tom or Jerry. soo I'm good ur good sall good brony writer. I feel like an idiot and should so Sorry.
JUST SO EVERYONE IS CLEAR! I haven't slept in ( looks at watch) three days so I want you to know that I am sorry for being a FRICKING jerk.
3437349 Oh... three days?
Shit man, if I knew that...
My bad. Though seriously, Halloween dude. Holiday hype keeps it goin for like a week or something.
3437329 AU. Basically a holiday story.
3437357yea I know. I got assulted with a mushy pumpkin. NOT COOL JACK!
3437377 Yeah, people in my area don't mess with me.
'Sides, I have Frostmourne hanging on my wall. Who's seriously dumb enough to try?
3437380meh I have a butterfly knife, 22 pistol on hand AND an AK-47 at my house but they still bother me! okay I'm going to cuss. THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE STYLE!!!
BOTHERATION!
TD, good man, staying defiant to the end.
3437388 ... I dunno if I was meant to read, 'a 22 pistol' or '22 pistols'.
But, I have 3 katanas, 2 wakizashs, two daggers, a machete, three throwing knives and a pocket knife.
... And I'm hoping for another sword or two (maybe three if lucky) in a week.
lol good times that was when I was 6...
3437399pistols. anddd of course I left out my m-16 HOW COULD I FORGET THAT I have army fatigues and dog tags and everything. I LOOK LIKE A GUY FROM NAM'!
Holy shit. I knew he was gonna stab himself tho lol
Ugh, it's endings like this that make me want to read what comes after. All the tears and questions and remorse and the blame game...
Celestia walks into basement. "Hey, good news. I figured out how to fix... oh um... never mind."
TD punches Celestia in the face again, from beyond the grave.
i wannna see fluttershys reaction to him being dead.
epilogue?
3437485
Eeyup.
Then he realizes omg he just punched the ruler of equestria omg-
Then he realizes that he hates celestia, then punches her again.
Then he realizes that he is not dead, and will live as a puman for the rest of his life. So for half of his remaining life he will be punching celestia,
and for the other half will constantly be apologizing.
3437007 Your profile pic makes it look like it's pinkie screaming that. Well done good sir.
You know, if I became the opposite of what I am now, then the world would probably be a better place.
Pony up boys! This isn't a tragedy! This is a HAPPY ending! If you look at it, he literally freed himself from the knowledge, the only way this could be better is if it was the pony TD that died at this last second. So technically he killed his pony self and not himself.
Anyways, bravo, good show, (insert pony clapping here)
Looks like Fluttershy fowled up quite a bit, huh?
i1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii516/Klutzybear/1329096409-chicken_troll-5c08023519_zps130e3126.jpg
I really like this ending, though I would of preferred if he killed himself less violently, like with pills or something because TD's image is now scarred into my mind.
Thanks a lot, Bronywriter.
3437564 We still don't know what caused all this. It could have been, fowl play.