A Slice of Humble Pie

Chapter 2: Unwanted Guests

Applejack was shocked at the sight of the twin unicorns; in more ways than one. Her first reaction was anger at the two swindlers for trying to take the farm the last time they were in Ponyville. She wanted to turn around and leave them to their own devices; no matter how injured they were.

However, Applejack’s anger melted away as she examined them. Flam was lying on the ground, unconscious and barely breathing. Flim, who had barely acknowledged the earth pony’s presence, was gently nudging his brother while tears streamed down his face. Both were dirty from head to hoof and their manes were completely unkempt. What was left of their vests hung loosely from their bodies, while their hats were nowhere to be seen. Their cream colored coats were dull and, (worst of all,) their ribs were showing through their fur.

“What’s wrong Apple-!” Rarity gasped mid-sentence as she beheld the sorry pair. Finally noticing them, Flim looked up. It looked as if he hadn’t slept in days and his eyes were glazed over. If she didn’t know any better, the fashion pony would say she was looking at two living corpses.

Flim stared at them without expression for a good minute before returning his attention to his twin.

“Please. Help him.” He whispered in a cracking voice.

This simple plea exposed the state of his shattered soul. Gone was the confident and upbeat salespony that he once was. In its place sat a helpless and scared foal, frightened out of his mind for his brother.

Applejack shook her head, getting over the initial shock and some of her anger returning.

“Yeah, we’ll help you,” She said with a bit of spite in her voice. “But not because we want to, but because it’s the right thing to do.”

“Applejack, a word please” Rarity said while pulling the earth pony aside. “What is the matter with you?!” She berated in a whisper. “I understand that there is some bad blood between them and your family, but look at them! They obviously been through more than any pony should ever endure! Can’t you at least pretend to be sympathetic?”

“They don’t deserve no sympathy!” Applejack argued. “Not after they tried to take the farm with that machine of theirs! How do we know this isn’t another scam?”

“You can see their ribs through their fur! I highly doubt they could fake that!”

“They’re unicorns! It could be some kind of illusion.”

“What about that heart-breaking look in his eyes? Was that an illusion too?”

“We’re wasting time!” Applebloom suddenly shouted. “Stop your arguin’ so we can help them!”

“Fine!” Applejack said in frustration. “Let’s get them to the hospital and be done with them!”

“Nope.” McIntosh spoke up.

“What do you mean ‘Nope’?!”

“Think about it AJ. We may be able to look past our grudge to help them, but what about the rest of the town? They were possibly even angrier at them than we were.”

“That’s…surprisingly observant of you Big Mac.” Rarity said.

“Ok, then what do you suggest we do?”

“We take them back to our place and have Nurse Redheart examine them there.”

Applejack was about to protest when a horrible hacking sound filled the air. They turned to see Flim holding up his brother’s head as he coughed in his sleep. Flecks of red liquid were expelled with the final cough, staining the ground.

“Hurry.” Flim said with a desperate look in his eyes.

“A-alright.” Applejack relented. “We’ll let them stay at the house. But only until they’re well enough to leave.” She didn’t sound very sure of herself.

Big McIntosh immediately took charge.

“Alrighty then. AJ, you run home and explain the situation to Granny. Scootaloo, go and get Nurse Redheart. Applebloom, I really hate to say this, but I need you to go into the Everfree Forest and find Zecora. She may be able to help if Nurse Redheart can’t. Miss Rarity, can you use your magic to help me get them into the cart?”

“What can I do?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Go with Applejack and wait for us at the house.”

There was a pause for several seconds.

“Well what’re ya‘ll waiting for?” The read stallion asked. “Get goin’!”

“Where are they?” Nurse Redheart asked as she entered the Apple home with her bag of medical supplies.

“Upstairs in the guest room.” Applejack said while leading her to the second floor. “Big Mac and rarity were able to get them cleaned up for you.”

“I appreciate that.” The white earth pony said as she was led into the room. “You have no idea how- DEAR CELESTIA!”

Flam was lying in the spare bed, still unconscious, while Flim sat nearby, anxiously watching over him. The filth had been washed away and their coats no longer had a dull appearance, but that was the only improvement.

“I’ll leave you to your, uh, examination.” Applejack said nervously before returning down stairs.

“Are they going to be alright?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Now Sweetie,” Rarity said. “We just have to wait patiently and see what Nurse Redheart says.”

So they waited. Applebloom eventually showed up with Zecora who was brought up to speed on the situation. After about an hour and a half, Nurse Redheart called them up to the room.

Flim was now asleep on some blankets, whimpering every few seconds. The nurse appeared to have aged several years since arriving.

“Are they going to be alright?” Sweetie Belle asked once more. Nurse Redheart took a deep breath before beginning her explanation.

“I don’t know. They both are extremely malnourished. Flim is fine other than that and will probably pull through.”

“Probably?” Rarity asked in an uncertain tone. Redheart sighed.

“I’m afraid that his brother might not make it. If he doesn’t, Flim may go into a depression, lowering his own chances of recovery.”

There was a stunned silence for several moments.

“W-what’s wrong with Flam?” Applebloom sounded almost afraid to hear the answer.

“He has a high fever.”

“Well that doesn’t sound-“

“And pneumonia.”

Flim whimpered a little louder at that point and rolled over in his sleep.

“What do we need to do; to speed up the recovery of these two?” Zecora asked.

“Well, I need go back to the hospital to fill out a prescription for them. I’ll also need to come up with a diet plan for them to follow…Zecora, I’d hate to bother you, but could you come by every day to help the Apple’s with this? We would normally move him to the hospital, but it would probably make his condition deteriorate and I can’t spare any extra time off from the hospital at the moment.” The nurse explained.

“If it at your insistence; I would gladly be of assistance.”

“Thank you. If you can come with me I’ll show what to give them, unless you have something in mind.”

“Flam’s cough I can subdue; with a special herbal brew.” The zebra answered.

“Now wait a sec’.” Applejack said before they left. “How much is this goin’ to cost?”

“We’ll work something out later.” Nurse Redheart said. “Although, those two probably don’t have any money…”

“I’m willing to cover some of the cost.” Rarity offered. Big Mac nudged Applejack and gave her a glare.

“Ugh. I guess we’ll cover the rest of it then. They can pay it off by working on the farm if, uh, when they recover.”

“We’ll work out the details later. Now if you’ll excuse us.” Nurse Redheart and Zecora left for the hospital.

“We really should be leaving as well. Come along Scootaloo. We’ll walk you home.” Rarity said, taking Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo with her as she left.

The rest of the Apple family drifted to their different rooms to prepare for the night.

Applejack lay in her bed, tossing and turning. Unable to sleep, she decided to make herself a glass of warm milk. As she passed the guest room, she heard Flam’s terrible coughing. Sighing, she decided to check on the brothers. Opening the door just a bit, she was surprised by what she saw.

Flam was coughing uncontrollably while Flim held him close, stroking his mane soothingly.

“Shhh. It’s alright. It’s ok.” Flim whispered to his distressed brother. Then, to Applejack’s further astonishment, he began to sing. Despite the terrible condition he was in, Flim’s voice was just as strong and melodious as that first day of cider season all those months ago.

Hush now, quiet now

It's time to lay your sleepy head

Hush now, quiet now

It's time to go to bed

Driftin’ off to sleep

The exciting day behind you

Driftin' off to sleep

Let the joy of dream land find you

Hush now, quiet now

It's time to lay your sleepy head

Hush now, quiet now

It's time to go to bed

As he sang, Flam’s coughing subsided and he drifted back to a fitful sleep. Flim gently laid him back down and kissed his forehead before returning to his pile of blankets.

Applejack softly closed the door and returned to her bed. She didn’t any trouble falling asleep as Flim’s lullaby was still fresh in her mind. She did, however, have to wipe away a few tears first before she did so.