//------------------------------//
// Interlude Part 2: Hostility at Home 
// Story: Innocent 
// by Puzzle Piece 
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The group of refugees that arrived the day after the volunteers left for war was only the first. The next morning another hundred ponies arrived. And although some of them chose to seek safety farther east, the number staying in Ponyville was doubled. By that evening, two more groups had arrived, smaller this time, but most were willing to stop for at least one night’s rest. The camp on the south side of town was finished by then and efforts were being made to expand it in anticipation of further arrivals. As dawn broke the following morning, the town became a bustling hub of voices and movement.
The residents who were hosting another family ate breakfast with their guests and went about their work as usual. The foals played together in small groups, kicking a ball or just chasing each other through the streets with laughter that defied the reason for their situation. Meals were sufficient, kept lean by the new rationing guidelines. With so many ponies to feed, the tension was kept in check by an understanding that they were all working together. But as Bon Bon watched them pass by, she could see that the tension was still there. The laughter of the adults was too forced, the greetings too mechanical and the smiles faded much too quickly.
Bon Bon knew they were all worried and that they were doing their best to hide it, for their own sakes as well as the foals. But she also knew they wouldn’t be able to pretend much longer. Somepony was bound to snap. Still, she was doing her part to hold off that inevitable moment. She finished hitching up the cart she would take down to the camp. It was laden with toys donated by fillies and colts from across Ponyville to help the refugees cope with the loss of nearly everything they owned. Having a toy to play with would keep the young ones placated, which in turn would relieve some of the stress on their parents.
Bon Bon made her way down the street, her hoofsteps and the trundling of the cart was lost in the commotion around her. She liked it that way, blending into crowds and slipping unnoticed. It was second nature for her. But ever since she and Lyra had moved in together and their relationship had become public, she’d had disapproving eyes following her everywhere she went. All of her skills in the art of subtlety couldn’t hide such a glaring detail from every neighbor in town. Now though, her love life wasn’t the most engaging subject on everypony’s minds and she used that fact as a social smokescreen to make her way unopposed.
Reaching the edge of the camp, there was a subtle shift in the atmosphere. Foals still raced between the neat rows of tents, laughing and playing. None of them seemed to be the least bit perturbed by their situation. But the adults were much more subdued, hushed conversations between mares cut short when younger ears were nearby and worried glances to the west from stallions as they helped each other keep the camp. Bon Bon could see the fear glistening behind their eyes. They’d never before imagined their lives could be intruded on by such violence and danger. She shook her head. She didn’t want to believe it could do the same to her, though she knew better than most ponies that it likely would.
Other ponies began to take notice of her and her cart as she made her way toward the administrative tent set up at the camp’s center. Mayor Mare had assigned a few of her staff to be present and able to address the concerns of the refugees. They kept a head count, coordinated the delivery of all the supplies sent to the camp and made sure that every need was met as quickly as possible. Bon Bon pulled the cart up alongside the tent and unhitched herself. Already a small crowd of foals had gathered, anticipating what she might do with so many toys.
She checked in with the pony minding the administrative tent and started unpacking the cart. She smiled invitingly at the foals and held out the first toy to the closest. The filly took it, said a quick thank you, and ran off gleefully to her waiting parents. The others edged closer and Bon Bon gave each of them one toy from the cart. Their faces lit up when the toy became theirs. Bon Bon loved to see such simple joy. Most of the toys she’d brought were being carried off by their new owners by the time the line of foals was dispersed. She unloaded the rest into a box by the tent that had been set up for them and started to hitch up her cart.
That was when she saw Ditzy. The delivery mare was in the administrative tent but she was looking around at the foals that were playing with the new toys nearby. She giggled at a pair of foals as they raced by with pinwheels. The administrative pony passed Ditzy a stack of papers for her to deliver. Ditzy tucked the papers into her bag and turned to leave. She fell into step with Bon Bon as they both headed back toward town.
“That was a thoughtful thing to do,” Ditzy commented.
“Me? All I did was haul the cart out here.”
“And give out the toys by hoof,” Ditzy added. “You looked those foals in the eye and smiled with them as you gave them a reason to smile. Other ponies would have left the cart there for somepony else to sort out.”
“You’re acting like I just solved all of their problems,” Bon Bon objected. “A few smiles aren’t going to fix the trouble they’re in.”
Ditzy stopped and put a hoof on Bon Bon’s shoulder, bringing the other to a halt as well. She fixed Bon Bon with a serious gaze, both of her eyes nearly lining up from the intensity of her concentration.
“You have no idea how much good it does for a parent to see her daughter smiling in hard times.”
They were both silent as Bon Bon thought it through.
“So it helped,” Bon Bon said at last. “Maybe even a lot. But doing a good thing doesn’t mean I deserve a medal for it. I’m just doing what’s right.”
“You are. And I wish more ponies would.” Ditzy looked away sadly.
“I know what you mean,” Bon Bon said solemnly.
They walked a ways wordlessly. Bon Bon wondered how many small acts of kindness it might take to make up for the hardships these families had faced. When they were nearing town hall, Ditzy broke their silence.
“I’ve got to get these papers to the Mayor for signing,” she said, turning to leave.
Bon Bon nodded absently, still lost in thought. Ditzy’s attention was on Bon Bon’s forlorn expression when she left the other’s side, so neither of them saw the others until it was too late. Ditzy stepped directly in front of a pair of Unicorn mares and they collided. Ditzy was knocked to the ground, dropping her satchel and spilling its contents into the street. One of the other mares tripped over her and went down with a grunt. The second mare started with a yelp and dropped the box she was carrying with telekinesis.
“Are you alright?” Bon Bon asked, helping the first mare up.
“I’m not hurt,” she grumbled.
Ditzy scrambled to pick up the scattered papers before the wind took them. The second mare picked up the box she’d dropped and inspected it for damage. Finding none, she brushed off a bit of dirt and rounded on Ditzy.
“What in Tartarus, Derpy!? Can’t you keep yourself from being a menace for just one day!?” She stamped a hoof indignantly. “We’ve got enough trouble now without you making more.”
“I’m sorry,” Ditzy mumbled, stuffing the last of the papers back into her satchel.
“You’d better be a lot more than sorry,” the mare huffed. “Your mistakes could cost us precious time and resources that would have helped with the war. It might even get somepony killed.”
“I really am sorry,” Ditzy said, avoiding eye contact.
“Why are you even here, anyway?” the second mare asked, her tone laced with scorn. “You should have been the one to go off and die instead of the Doctor. He’d at least be useful here.”
Ditzy clamped her mouth shut so hard Bon Bon could hear her teeth snap together. Her face tightened up as she tried hard not to cry. Smirks lurked beneath the cruel scowls that the two Unicorns cast down on her.
“What’s the matter with you!?” Bon Bon snapped. “Nopony should tell anypony they’d be better off getting themselves killed.”
The two Unicorns exchanged a quick glance. One of them smiled wickedly.
“Charging in to defend your new marefriend?” she asked.
Ditzy looked up at the Unicorn in confusion and then questioningly at Bon Bon. Bon Bon frowned.
“She’s not my marefriend, and she doesn’t need to be for me to want to help her.”
“You’re right. She wouldn’t be your marefriend,” one of the Unicorns said with a fake sigh. “Not even Derpy is messed up enough in the head to want you.”
Bon Bon gritted her teeth. But before she could retort, the mares turned to each other, whispering loud enough that they were sure Bon Bon could hear.
“It hasn’t even been three full days and she’s already chasing a different mare.”
“I know. No wonder Lyra ran off to get herself killed. I wouldn’t be able to stand the thought of being with her any longer either.”
They both laughed, casting spiteful glances at Bon Bon.
“If somepony you loved were out there, risking their lives, you wouldn’t be joking about it,” Bon Bon snarled. Then a malevolent sneer appeared on her own muzzle. “Oh, wait. That’s right. No pony you love has the salt to do something that courageous.”
Both mares looked stung, even more deeply than Bon Bon had intended, but they recovered quickly.
“Call it courageous if you want,” one of the Unicorns laughed. “It just shows that your sick relationship wasn’t meant to last.”
“Go take your overinflated sense of self-importance and shove it in a dark hole,” Bon Bon said, flipping a hoof at the two.
Then she felt a hoof on her shoulder that turned her forcefully around.
“If your tasks are so important,” Ditzy said to the Unicorns as she marched off, steering Bon Bon with her. “Then get back to them instead of spending your time bothering us.”
The two Unicorns laughed and called after them before turning away.
“Sure! We’ll leave the two of you alone. Just hope Lyra and the Doctor don’t find out!”
Ditzy led Bon Bon very roughly for almost a block before looking behind her and relaxing when she saw nopony following them. Then she sat down against the side of a building and smacked her hooves against her head.
“Stupid. Stupid! STUPID! Why can’t I stop messing up?” she cried.
Bon Bon slipped free of her harness and held Ditzy’s hooves in her own so she couldn’t hit herself anymore.
“Stop that,” she said gently but firmly. “It happened, and all of the self-doubt in the world isn’t going to change that. A hundred things caused what happened and not but a few of them had anything to do with you. You might blame yourself for it, but you can’t beat yourself up over it.”
Ditzy sniffed as she tried to pull herself together but she didn’t respond. Instead, she got up and straightened her satchel. When she started walking away, Bon Bon stopped her.
“Ditzy? Are…are you actually okay?”
“No, but I’m no worse than I ever am,” she replied neutrally. “I wish I hadn’t caused that incident. And don’t tell me I didn’t, because it wouldn’t have happened if I’d been paying attention. But it happened.”
She sighed and stared down the road. The distance in her eyes told Bon Bon she was seeing something much farther away than the hills.
“We’re all feeling pressure from this situation,” Ditzy went on. “They’re snapping at us because it’s easier to vent some frustration at us than to face their real troubles. I won’t let it get to me.”
She trailed off, repeating those last words under her breath like a chant to ward off darker thoughts. Bon Bon watched her as she trotted off toward town hall, unsure if she should do something more. Ditzy was certainly under the same pressure she’d spoken of. Time Turner’s absence might be taking its toll on her in more ways than worrying for his safety. He was a pillar of stability in her life and a source of support when things were tough. Bon Bon knew exactly how much Ditzy was hurting, because Bon Bon could feel the ache of missing Lyra in the bottom of her heart as well.