The Refugees

The Refugees
by neorenamon

So Granny and Applejack set out to serve up everyone with Zap Apple Pie and vanilla bean ice cream while they waited for Big Macintosh and Jifar to finish upstairs. They figured that the smell of the pie would eventually bring them down to the kitchen. Soon enough, the two of them came down about the time everyone else was about to dig in. They noticed that they were both wearing Big Macintosh's bathrobes, which seemed to fit her fairly well.

"A little casual for company?" asked Granny.

"The smell from here was so great," said Jifar, "we decided bathing could wait. But honey-bun thought it would be too much to see if we had come down nakedly."

"Darn straight," replied Applejack.

Twilight noticed the yearning look she got from Jifar, so she turned to Spike and asked, "So how has your day been?"

Spike was sitting with his arm on the table supporting his jaw as he stared at Bakabaka.

"Spike?" she asked, "Anypony home?"

He seemed to snap out of a trance as he looked at Twilight and said so smoothly, "Huh?"

While focused on Spike, she didn't notice that Jifar had come up behind her and hugged her from behind. Her head was almost swallowed up again into the cleft of Jifar's bosom, but at least it wasn't nose first this time. This time, her hug was lower, being about her shoulders instead of about her head.

Granny glanced at them, and said, "Lansakes, she's a friendly one, ain't she?"

Big Mac simply hugged her from behind and said, "E-yup!"

"So are ya gonna marry Big Mac?" asked Apple Bloom as she looked them.

"Since I love him truly," said Jifar, "he is the only one for me."

"E-yup!"

"I bet yer gonna be just an awesome big sister in-law!"

"E-yup!"

"Well sit yerselves down an dig in," said Granny, "Y'all don wanna let yer pie get cold or yer ice cream hot."

Twilight sighed in relief as Jifar let go of her. She was starting to feel oddly warm again. Looking over her shoulder, he watch Big Mac pull out a chair for her like the gentlestallion he was, and then pushed it in as well. Then he took a seat right next to her. Twilight realized in that moment that Jifar was right next to her, looking back and forth between the two of them.

She wondered if the giraffe had said anything about the two of them while upstairs, and the measured way he looked at her made her subconsciously confirm her suspicions. Looking down at her plate, she decided that focusing on the wonderful food before her would take her mind off the other things.

'He has no reason to love me,' she thought, 'I've never said anything about it to him. I'm sure there's plenty of other mares that are prettier, sexier and just plain friendlier than me. It's just a foal's dream to believe I ever stood a chance with him.'

"Granny?" asked Big Mac.

"Yes dearie?"

"Since Jifar ain't got no kin here," he said slowly, "I wanna take her ta Canterlot an see if'n I can get the blessing of Princess Celestia instead."

"You're really takin this all serious like, ain't'cha?"

"Well big brother don't like ta do things half way, does he?" asked Applejack.

"I reckon not," replied Granny, "Go ahead and see what you can do. I'm sure I can get the rest of the clan to go along with whatever y'all decides."

"I am as happy as I can be," said Jifar, "to join this loving family. And while I am to this land new, I wish for the goddess to join us too."

"Well," said Twilight awkwardly, "I'm sure I can spare some time to come with you... to see Princess Celestia again... if Big Macinosh doesn't mind..."

"It's all good with me an all, sugar-snookums," he replied amiably as he looked into Jifar's eyes.

"And that is how I truly know," she said as she leaned over to kiss him on the cheek, "that I truly love you so!"

Apple Bloom cringed at their mushy talk. It reminded her of the time that the Cutie Mark Crusaders tried to get Big Macintosh and Miss Cherilee to fall in love on Hearts and Hooves Day when they accidentally gave the two of them a love poison instead of the love potion they were trying to make. They spent all their time speaking to each other in such a sickeningly sweet baby talk.

Then Twilight noticed that Bakabaka was leaning over near Spike as she said, "I noticed your ice cream is going flat. Do you plan to finish that?"

Spike pushed his half eaten pie and ice cream over to her with what Twilight clearly saw as dreamy eyes as he said, "Sure. Go right ahead."

It only seemed like a couple of seconds later that his plate was clean as well as her own.

"You should be wary of those eyes," chuckled Opa as she watched Bakabaka, "for she can eat much for her size."

"Well I'm sure we got plenty for seconds or thirds," giggled Granny.

Twilight noticed that Jifar and Big Mac were now taking turns feeding their food to their mate, and she blushed a bit watching how they licked the others fork or lapped at the others spoon. She was beginning to think that Apple Bloom was getting a little green under the gills as she looked around for something else to pay attention to.

Between the lot of them, about six whole Zap Apple Pies and three gallons of ice cream vanished without a trace. And Twilight could just about have sworn that about a third of that went down the hatch of Bakabaka. Spike was far too busy staring at her to eat anything more himself. She had never seen Spike look at any mare besides Rarity like that in his whole life. The kitchen seemed to shake as she belched as loud as she had ever heard Big Mac belch.

Spike smiled and unleashed a belch of his own almost as great. Twilight could see a few puffs of smoke in his belch as well. It was never entirely safe when a dragon belched, after all.

"Manners, Spike!" hissed Twilight.

"Excuse me," he said as he kept looking into her eyes.

"What is this thing that Spike had done," asked Bakabaka, "that he should make excuse to everyone?"

"It just ain't polite ta belch at the table an all," said Applejack.

"Than surely I should be sorry too," she replied, "I knew not what not to do."

"Oh, it's all right," replied Granny, "It's just that Spike over here should know better than that."

"In our land so far away," said Opa, "Belching like that is okay. Surely a high compliment on how well a dinner went."

"Well, then I reckon I just has ta say," said Big Macintosh before unleashing the biggest belch yet. It also was longer than the rest by several seconds. Twilight could almost swear the breeze from his mouth has enough to push her hair back.

"BIG MACINTOSH!" said Granny sharply.

"Excuse me."

Everyone burst into giggling.

"I reckon dinner around here is gonna get real interestin," giggled Applejack.

"Now go an get yer bath afore I decided to just wash your mouth out here," snapped Granny as she shook her fist at Big Macintosh.

"Yes Granny," he replied as he grabbed Jifar and hauled her upstairs again.

"I wonder when he'll want to take Jifar to Canterlot?" asked Twilight.

"With that look in his eyes an all," observed Applejack, "I'm sure he'll wanna be goin real quick."

They all sat quietly for a moment as they heard the bustle and noise from upstairs.

"Hey Twilight," said Applejack as she started collecting the plates and silverware, "Granny an I will be busy takin care of these here dishes. Why don't ya go upstairs and make sure there's enough of the big towels fer when they're done with their bath an all?"

"Oh I could..." began Apple Bloom.

"Don't ya have homework ya should be working on, sugar-cube?"

"I guess I do," she sighed, "But I should be helping you pick apples out in the fields."

"When you're done with schoolwork for the year, I'm shore ya can pick apples with us until ya can't take it no more."

Twilight stood, nodded to the others, and started up the stairs. She could hear the two of them splashing in the tub together. They sounded like they were having the time of their lives. Having used the giant zinc bathtub in the common bathroom, she knew it was quite large enough to take the two of them fairly easily. She stepped over to the closet and took out about four of the largest towels she could find. When she got to the slightly ajar bathroom door, she paused. She was almost too scared to go on, but after taking a deep breath, quietly opened the bathroom door.

With the shower curtain closed, she could only see their silhouettes against the curtain, but he was sure that he was all about fondling her motherly breasts as he sat behind her. Creeping across the bath mat, she came up and set down the towels on the small stand just outside the bath/shower.

With a pained look, she thought, 'No. I can't bother them now. It's not my right. I know... I'm just not worthy of him... of his love...' So she turned and quietly slipped back out. As she came down the stairs, she noticed that Applejack was waiting for her.

"So what all did big brother say?" she asked.

"I... I..." she stammered, "I couldn't bother them. Not now."

"Well if not now, when?"

"I... I just don't know," she replied, "Just Pinkie swear you won't say anything to them about it."

"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," she replied.

They both looked around as if they half expected Pinkie Pie to appear from nowhere, but she didn't.

"Thanks so much," she replied.

"I figure y'all well bring it up when tha time is right, sugar-cube," replied the orange mare, "Like on that there trip ta Canterlot an all."

Twilight nodded glumly.

"Did ya notice how Spike was eyein' that there Bakabaka?"

"I've only seen him look at Rarity like that," she replied.

"Maybe Rarity got herself some competition now?"

She nodded.

"But I have the feeling that this relationship is even more one-sided than his relationship with Rarity. At least Rarity is willing to acknowledge Spike as a dear friend of hers."

Applejack nodded.