I’ve seen a TON of aus where Pony drowns in the park but I’ve never seen one where Pony and Johnny swapped places in the church fire and Pony died instead so it’s got be wonderin if you’ve got any hcs for that!
(AND!! If you’ve ever seen a fic like that I’d love to see it :3)
I've actually seen a few fics where pony dies in the fire! I can't remember the names though, but they exist!! the only name i remember is wildflower wildfire by arigdw but there's more out there!!
Warning, this one is gonna be a bad one. And by bad I mean super fucking depressing and maybe even a bit graphic. (okay so this is me after i finished the post. it turned into a character/media analysis of how certain characters are necessary for the gang to stay alive and be okay due to the complicated connections between them)
I've somewhat discussed this before, but Ponyboy represents all the greasers' hopes, dreams, and innocence. He is The One Who Will Make It Out, and he's representative of the hopeful, golden side of the greasers, before the world makes them cold and hurt and mean. So, upon his death, it'd be a blow to everyone who knew him. It'd basically be a sign from a universe, saying 'there is no hope. the best of you put himself in danger to save innocent lives and he paid for it. do not be kind, there is no point in trying.'
I fully believe that, in universes where Ponyboy dies, the most likely thing to happen is that the rest of the gang follows.
Johnny dies because of the guilt, and is the first to go. He knew he should have chased Ponyboy off - forced him to go back to his brothers. He killed Bob because he was gonna kill Pony, and Pony died anyways. Ponyboy was gold, he was gonna go somewhere and be somebody, he had all these hopes and dreams and talents, and now he's dead because Johnny couldn't protect him. He loves the gang, but Ponyboy was his. The one person who could understand him without a single word. His best friend. I imagine he dies either via suicide, or baiting Socs into following him into a hidden alleyway and jumping him. Cats hide when they believe they're dying.
Dally goes next. Same way as canon. He couldn't protect Ponyboy, and he couldn't protect Johnny, so what's the point? He risked everything to make sure the police wouldn't get them and they still died.
Soda follows pretty quickly after. Ponyboy gone. Johnny gone. Dally gone. He tries to hold on and stay alive, but the depression eats at him. After the death of his parents, he'd been dependent on Ponyboy. He used Ponyboy as a reason to get up in the mornings, and work, and smile, and try to move on. Pony needed him. And then Pony died, and Sandy left with a baby that isn't Soda's. He really does try to hold on - for Darry, for Steve, for Two-Bit, and for the brothers who would've wanted Soda to live on despite their deaths, but he just can't. He stops eating, doesn't go to work, and the state is so close to taking him away because of Pony's death. In the end, it's malnourishment and sickness that gets to him. He stopped eating and drinking, his body weakens, he gets sick, and doesn't have the mental or physical energy to fight it off.
Darry finds him and follows almost immediately. His parents gone, his brothers gone, there's nothing left. He doesn't tell anyone Soda's dead, just does whatever legal stuff needs to be done so he can change his will. Everything is left to Steve and the Mathews. Except his dad's gun. He knows they won't want it after what he does with it.
Steve is second to last. He lost his family in a matter of weeks. He couldn't help them. I'm not sure how he goes. Maybe he baits his dad. Maybe he baits Socs. Maybe he goes out like Darry. Maybe he stops treating any injuries he gets. The method doesn't matter anyways, the result is the same.
Two-Bit lasts the longest. Longer than anyone expected really. He stays alive to plan everyone's funerals with his mom, and get all the legalities sorted, and reach out to any friends or family. Once that's all over, he drinks himself into kidney failure. He didn't mean to. He has his mother, and his sister, and lord knows he loves them. He hangs on for a year, maybe longer, but his Ma doesn't even have the money to buy fresh veg, much less schedule appointments and treatments and all that. She has to think about her daughter too, and what could happen if they go into debt. Two-Bit either dies via kidney failure or by pissing the wrong person off when drunk.
Now, this isn't the only outcome that I believe can happen in au's where Pony dies in the fire, but it is the most likely, considering what Pony represents and stands for in the book. I think that it's also possible that Johnny lives for Dally, and because he knows Pony wanted him to live. It's possible that Soda pushes himself to get better for the living instead of dying for the dead. But I do believe that if Pony + someone else dies, the rest will follow because of their strong bond, and because they're already pushed so close to the edge. They're all greasers with okay to terrible home lives, no hopes for the future, and no real belief that things will get better- they have nothing to live for but each other, and they've known each other their entire lives. If Pony goes down then he'll take Soda and Johnny with him, who'll take Dally Steve and Darry, and then Two-Bit. If Pony goes down but only takes Soda then Soda still takes Darry and Steve, and chances are Johnny wouldn't be able to deal with losing them all so he goes down and takes Dally with him, and Two-Bit follows after. Do you see what I'm saying? In canon, Johnny goes down and takes Dally with him because Dally is strongest connected to Johnny, and Johnny is most strongly connected to him and Ponyboy. The only reason Pony doesn't go down is because literarily, he is hope. He's the one who has a solid chance at a future, and believes he can make his dreams a reality, no matter what life throws at him. Not to mention that in canon, all three Curtis brother survive, not just two of them like in this AU. In canon, Ponyboy has his brothers to fall back on, and they have him. Them being alive and thriving relies on the three of them surviving, and the three of them surviving is what the rest of the gang relies on! I could probably go on about how the Curtis brothers (and their parents) are like load-bearing pillars, who are able to keep going so long as there's 3 of them to hold the weight and be a foundation for the others to lean on, BUT I've gone on enough and this is less of a hcs post and more of a character/media analysis post so I'll stop here.
