A Slice of Humble Pie

Flim awoke to the sound of soft knocking. The unicorn groggily opened his eyes and scanned his surroundings. With a jolt of panic, he realized that he had no idea of where he was. The knock came again.

“Flim? Flam? Are ya’ll awake?”

Wait, I know that voice. Flim thought. The events of the previous day suddenly came rushing back to him in a torrent of blurred memories. He looked around franticly before spotting his brother who was still in an uncomfortable sleep. He sighed in relief. So it wasn’t just a dream…

“Flim? Flam?” Applejack called once more, impatience creeping into her voice.

“C-come in.” Flim responded hoarsely. The orange mare walked into the room while carrying a tray on her back. The sweet smell of apples and cinnamon wafted through the air, causing Flim’s stomach to growl ravenously. The stallion paled and leaned over, clutching his skinny abdomen with a grimace of pain. Applejack watched him with a vacant expression as he groaned in discomfort.

“Here’s your breakfast.” She said curtly while placing the tray on the nightstand next to the bed. “Doc’ said you gotta eat it slowly so don’t go and wolf it down.” Flim nodded and shakily moved over to the tray. On it were two small bowls of steaming applesauce and two glasses of water. The unicorn’s ears lowered in disappointment.

“I-it’s not much…” He noted. “B-but it’ll do.” He quickly added when the earth pony scowled.

“It’s not much because you could go into shock if you eat more than your body is currently used too.” Applejack explained crossly.

“Oh…” Flim mumbled. The mare just rolled her eyes. Using his magic, the cream colored stallion levitated a bowl and glass over to where Flam slept. He nuzzled his twin’s head gently. “Wake up Flam.” He called softly. “It’s time for breakfast.”

“Ugh…” Flam’s eyes opened slowly. He looked around without really taking in any details. “F-flim? Where are we?”

“We’re…” Flim hesitated. “We’re somewhere safe.” His brother seemed satisfied with that answer.

“Did you mention breakfast?”

“Yeah.” Flim confirmed with a chuckle. “Open wide.” Flim patiently spooned the applesauce into his brother’s mouth at a steady pace, giving him a sip of water between each mouthful. Once he was finished, Flam almost immediately fell back asleep. His twin watched him for a few moments before turning to his own food. “What are his chances?” He asked Applejack as he ate slowly. She shifted uneasily.

“’Bout half.” She answered honestly. Even though she didn’t like stallion, she didn’t enjoy being the one who broke the bad news to him. Flim gave a sad sigh.

“What’s wrong?”

“He has pneumonia and a high fever.”

Flim flinched as the suspicions he had for the past week were confirmed. He gazed at his sleeping brother with a deep sadness. An uncomfortable silence settled over the room that was only interrupted by Flam’s ragged breathing.

Knowing that she couldn’t offer any comfort to the stallion (not that she wanted to), Applejack silently left the two alone. She paused at the top of the stairs as she heard Flim’s heart-wrenching sobs. The farm pony sighed heavily and shook her head to disperse the oncoming sadness. She had a lot of work to do today and didn’t want any needless distractions.

Flim stared out at the vast apple orchard, his thoughts writhing like a stormy ocean. He tried to disperse the gloomy notions that plagued him by clinging desperately to the only island of hope he could find. While Flam had a fifty percent chance of dying, he also had the same chance of pulling through. The stallion grasped that single glimmer of sunshine with all his might, gradually pulling himself out of the storm of depression. However, before he could fully pull himself onto the shore of positive thoughts, he was interrupted by a knock at the door.

“Come in.” The unicorn called without turning. He assumed that it was Applejack, who had been in and out every hour or so bringing the twins their small meals of applesauce and water. They had exchanged few words when she was in the room, neither of them really knowing what to say. Needless to say, he was surprised when an unknown voice greeted him.

“Greetings, from me to you; how are the brothers two?”

Flim turned to find a strange pony with a striped monochrome fur and mane. Even though the pony’s muzzle was blocky like a stallion’s, he could tell she was a female by the strange jewelry she wore. She was also wearing a satchel and carried the tray of food that Applejack normally brought up to them.

“You’re…a zebra.” He said after staring at her for several seconds.

“That indeed is a true observation,” she said with a chuckle. “And you’re a unicorn if I’m not mistaken.”

Flim blinked in confusion. He had noticed how the zebra’s greeting had rhymed but originally thought it to just be a coincidence. Now he wasn’t so sure.

“Zecora is what you can call me,” the herbalist continued. “What do your names happen to be?”

“Uh…” Flim shook his head to gather his thoughts. “I’m Flim and he’s Flam,” answered the stallion.

Zecora bowed her head in official greeting before resuming their conversation. “I come with a special tea. It should stop his cough, just wait and see.”

As if by cue, Flam began to hack violently in his sleep. Zecora quickly moved to his side, placing the tray on the nearby nightstand. Grabbing a steaming cup from the tray, she gently raised the unicorn’s head and placed it to his lips. After spluttering for a few seconds, he began to swallow the soothing liquid until it was all gone. He coughed a few moments longer before resuming his feverish sleep. The zebra sighed heavily as she pulled out a cloth to wipe away the specks of blood Flam had spewed onto the blanket covering him.

“He is very ill, that much is clear. That he might not pull through is what I fear.”

Flim could only nod in agreement, the storm of depression threatening to pull him under its icy waters once again in an attempt to drown out all other emotions. His vision became blurry as tears began to build up. He held them in, not wanting to succumb to his grief in front of anypony. He looked up when he felt a hoof gently placed on his shoulder. Zecora’s expression was filled with reserved sadness as she spoke to him.

“Do not hold back your obvious grief. As a friend, I hope my shoulder can provide some relief.”

The distraught stallion did not hold back as he leaned into the zebra’s embrace and the floodgates holding back his tears burst. Zecora help him stoically as sob after sob shook his emancipated frame, her simple gesture of comfort doing more than any words could. Flim cried for what seemed like hours until he could cry no more. Sniffing and wiping his face, he pulled out of the hug.

“T-thank you.” His voice was thick and his words slurred from fatigue. “I…I stained your fur…” He noticed.

Zecora gave him a small smile. “It matters not that my fur is stained. I was glad to help a friend that was pained.”

Once Flim had calmed down, the herbalist showed him the medicine that Nurse Redheart had prescribed and explained how much and when the two should take them. When she was certain he understood everything, she gave a few more words of encouragement and took her leave, promising to check up on them the following day.

Flim watched her leave the farm from the window until she was lost in the distance. He turned his gaze back to the orchard as his inner storm returned. It was still bleak and unsettling and his tiny island of hope still seemed impossibly distant. However, he was able to navigate the heaving thoughts and emotions with slightly better precision. It was just as difficult as always, but he now had the support of a piece of driftwood that kept his head above the water. For some strange reason, the small life preserver was white with black stripes.

I may be terrified that Flam’s life might end, but at least now I have the support of a friend.

For the first time in several weeks, Flim’s mouth turned upwards into a small smile.

“Applejack? Are you in here?”

“I’m in the kitchen!” The orange mare called out.

"Oh there you are!” Rarity exclaimed in her normally dramatic tone as she and Twilight walked in. Applejack rolled her eyes and turned to face her friends.

“What can I do for you two?”

“We wanted to see how Flim and Flam were doing.” The purple unicorn explained.

“How do you know about that?” AJ asked, eyeing Rarity with suspicion.

“Well it’s not like it was a secret or anything.” The fashion pony said in her defense. Applejack sighed in annoyance.

“Who all did ya tell?”

“Only our close friends, and don’t worry. I made them promise to not tell anypony else.” Rarity assured.

“Anyways,” Twilight interrupted, “How are they?”

“You’ll see in a minute.” The farm pony answered as she turned back to her preparations. “I’m getting their next meal ready now so you can come up with me when I give it to them. Now where did that tray get to?”

The three mares turned in surprise when somepony cleared their throat behind them. Flim stood in the doorway with a sheepish expression and the serving tray on his back. Twilight gasped loudly at his condition, causing the cream unicorn to flinch slightly.

“Er…Zecora left this in the room when she left…” He explained lamely, nervous at the stare he was receiving from the purple unicorn.

“Put it on the counter over there.” AJ instructed with a tart voice. Flim’s ears flattened and he lowered his head slightly but he obeyed without comment. Twilight and Rarity shared a look of surprise at the farmer’s harsh words. They gave her a questioning stare but the mare ignored them as she continued to make ready the Twins’ meal.

“Uh, Miss Apple?” Flim began nervously.

“Applejack.” The earth pony immediately corrected in the same short voice. Flim cleared his throat once more before restarted.

“Right. So, uh, Miss Applejack. You’ve already been doing so much for me and my brother and I don’t want to be a bother, but, uh, I was wondering if you could, if it’s possible that is, if you could maybe…”

“Spit it out already!” Applejack snapped with a roll of her eyes, gaining another glare from her two friends. Flim swallowed with apparent discomfort.

“I was wondering if you had any spare shirts that we could wear.” The unicorn was blushing furiously as he gazed at the floor in embarrassment.

“W-what?” AJ’s look of irritation was replaced with one of confusion.

“I know most ponies don’t wear clothes,” the unicorn continued, his blush deepening. “But it’s just that we’re used to wearing something most of the time, so we feel exposed when we aren’t.”

Applejack fiddled with her Stetson as she chewed the inside of her cheek. She certainly knew how Flim was feeling. She had once misplaced her beloved hat for several days and had refused to go into town until she had found it.

“I think we have some spare work shirts in the closet.” She finally offered without the abruptness in her voice. Her two friends were now thoroughly confused at her behavior. AJ walked out of the room and returned a few minutes later with a bundle on her back. The bundle was enveloped in a green aura as Flim picked it up with his magic. In front of him floated two simple, sleeveless, brown work shirts. They were worn and stained from obvious use and had several tears in them.

“These will do.” He said with a small smile.

“They absolutely will not!” Rarity exclaimed as her fashion sense kicked in. “It would be a crime to let you wear those rags!”

“They’re work clothes Rarity. They’re not supposed to look nice!” Applejack argued.

“Nonsense! One can look fashionable while working hard and I’ll prove it to you!” The white unicorn insisted as she wrested the shirts from Flim with her own magic. “I’ll fix these up so they can be worn for farm work and make the pony wearing them look fantastic at the same time!”

“You don’t have to.” The stallion tried to reason. “They’re fine, really…”

“I insist! I can’t let this crime against fashion go unnoticed! I won’t take ‘no’ for an answer!” With that, she placed the shirts into her saddlebag and glared at them, as if daring them to protest. Applejack sighed in resignation.

“Alright, do want you want! Just don’t make them all frou-frou like!”

“I promise you won’t be disappointed!” Rarity said with a girlish squeal of delight.

“So, how are you?” Twilight asked Flim once the white unicorn had settled down. His ears flattened once more.

“Not too well, Miss…?”

“Twilight Sparkle!” The mare offered enthusiastically.

“Well Miss Sparkle, I can honestly say that I’m not so well…”

“Whatever is the matter?” Rarity asked with sincere look of concern. The show pony didn’t meet any of their gazes.

“I’m not sure you’ll understand…”

“We won’t unless you try to explain.” Twilight reasoned.

Flim sighed as he resented and did his best to bring words to his feelings.

“Imagine having a best friend for your whole life; somepony who has always been there for everything. Every birthday, every holiday, every visit to the doctor, they were there. They’re somepony who knows everything about you; your fears, your dreams, your closest kept secrets. Of course, you know everything about them as well. This friend is always there when you’re upset and you for them because you both know the perfect way to cheer each other up.

“Now imagine that friend being taken from you without warning. The one pony you care for more than anything is gone forever, and there’s nothing you can do about it. You didn’t even get a last goodbye to tell them how important they were to you. I suppose that’s why I’m not doing well. I’m scared that I’m going to lose my life-long friend. I’m scared that I’m going to lose my big brother…”

Flim didn’t know when the tears had started, but he didn’t care. He stood there silently, letting them roll down his face. Twilight was crying as well, thinking about herself and Spike and the day she would eventually leave him; the one friend that had been there since he hatched. Rarity and Applejack, while dry eyed, both wore expressions of extreme sadness.

No pony said anything as they let Flim cry himself out. After about ten minutes, he sniffed and wiped his face.

“Sorry.” He croaked in a thick voice.

“There’s no need to apologize.” Rarity said. “No pony should ever have to go through this!”

“No matter how much they deserve it…” Applejack muttered under her breath so no pony could hear.

Twilight wiped her own face and asked, “How did this happen anyways?”

“I don’t feel like answering that right now Miss Sparkle…”

“That’s fine, I understand.” The unicorn mare said.

“How about you and your friends come back tomorrow?”

“Ok, but why all of our friends too?”

“This way, I won’t have to tell it more than once.” Flim answered.

“We’ll come back tomorrow then. How does noon sound to you?” Twilight asked.

“That’s fine with me.”

“Well it’s been nice chatting with you, but I must be getting back to the boutique.” Rarity said.

“I should be getting back too.” Twilight agreed.

“I’ll see ya’ll tomorrow.” AJ said as the two unicorns left.

There was an awkward silence once Applejack and Flim were left alone in the kitchen. Neither of them met the other’s eyes, gazing at everything but the other pony.

“Your meal is ready.” Applejack finally said while gesturing to the tray of applesauce and glasses of water.

“Thank you.”

“Do you need me to bring it to your room?”

“No, I can do it.” Flim placed the tray on his back and carefully made his way out of the kitchen. “Thanks again…” He said softly as he exited.

Applejack let out a sigh and began to rub her forehead with her hooves. She couldn’t explain it. She knew she should sympathize for the Flim and his brother. In fact, she wanted to feel sorry for them. But for some reason she couldn’t fathom, she didn’t. Even after everything he had said about losing his twin and understanding his sadness, she still felt a twinge of anger at the two unicorn stallions.

Sighing in defeat, the orange mare began to clean up the mess she had made in hopes to distract herself from the confusing thoughts.

Flim watched the sunset with little interest, going over the events of the day in his head. It had been an extreme emotional roller coaster, but he had somehow made it through the first day at Sweet Apple Acres.  The stallion sighed as he remembered what was to come the following noon. It was going to just as if not more emotional reviewing the past several months.

Deciding to turn in early, he turned away from the window. He approached his ill brother and watched him sleeping for a few moments. He leaned down and kissed Flam on the forehead.

“Please get well.” Flim whispered. He settled into his pile of blankets just as Celestia finished setting the sun, officially ending the first of many days to come.