The morning after their attempted escape, they were brought to breakfast much the same way they were the previous day. Granny Smith cooked and served them breakfast. Flim and Flam were unbearably confused but dared not ask what the consequences would be. The Apples seemed to go about things as if nothing happened. Besides the guards being visibly exhausted, so did the guards.
The day proceeded much like the day before. This time Flam went with Applejack and Flim with Big Mac. At lunch they were joined by Princess Twilight. Upon her arrival they immediately feared that the other shoe was about to drop.
As Twilight sat at the table with them she said, “I suppose you two are wondering what the repercussions will be from your escape attempt.” She paused to watch them squirm a moment. “ Rest assured there will be none. We always knew you would try something eventually. Honestly, I thought you'd last longer than two days, though. This isn't meant to be punishment, you know. This is meant to be rehabilitation. I did not sentence you to hard labor on my friend's farm, I sentenced you to to learn the value of honest work from the most honest, hard working ponies I knew.” she paused once again to let those words sink in. “In the end the distinction is up to you. You two can carry on and serve an endless sentence of hard labor, or you could try to learn the rewards of honest day's work and have hope of being released when you prove you've learned the error of your dishonest ways. The choice is yours gentleman.” She said as she finished her lunch.
The Afternoon was uneventful. Flam went out with Big Mac Apple bucking while Flim stayed and helped Granny Smith with her chores.
After the day was over and Flim and Flam found themselves back in their barracks, Flam asked his Brother, “What did you make of what Princess Twilight said at lunch?”
Flim was silent for a good long while. After what seemed like hours he finally answered his brother. “I think she was on the level brother. I think she was honestly telling us why we’re here.”
“I think we're going to be here a long time, brother. Even if we try and learn what they're trying to teach us.” Said Flam.
Things went on much that same as they had the days before. Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months. Two months to the day from their arrival at Sweet Apple Acres, Flam managed to successfully buck his first Apple tree in one attempt. The Apple family celebrated the feat and prepared an extra special dinner for them that night. Flim achieved the same feat a few days later and it was celebrated likewise. Flim and Flam began to become more skilled at other aspects of farm life. Flam found he was somewhat skilled with the farm animals. The Apples even brought Fluttershy around a few times to give Flam pointers and to teach him more about caring for animals. Flim found he was skilled in the kitchen. Likewise the Apples chose to encourage him by letting him help out Pinkie Pie and the Cakes at Sugarcube corner. Both Flim and Flam came to enjoy these times when they were allowed to express themselves and do things that they enjoyed.
It all became very commonplace. The ponies of Ponyville started to acclimate to having Flim and Flam about their town, guards and all. Ponies began to greet the Brothers in the street. Spike, made it a point to drop by once a week to check in on them.
Once the Brothers were called upon to repair a locomotive. The engineer was injured in an accident. Flim and Flam were the only ponies around with sufficient mechanical knowledge to fix it. It felt good to them both to have their skills be put to good use again that day. It still felt strange to them when they couldn't demand a hefty fee in return, but it still felt good to help.
The Apple family, unbeknownst to Flim and Flam, spoke with Princess Twilight. Later that day, the guards went back to their new barracks near Twilight’s Castle and never came back.
Flim and Flam were confused by this, but they kept doing their work and made no fuss. The following day, at lunch, when it was clear the guards were in fact not returning, Flim and Flam could not restrain their curiosity.
Flam finally asked, “Why did you send away the guards?”
Applebloom replied by nonchalantly asking, “Why haven't you tried to escape again yet?”
The Apple family looked at the brothers intently.
Flim said, “I suppose we haven't escaped because we want to try. We want to try to learn what Princess Twilight wants us to learn here.”
“That is why we sent the guards away” said Granny Smith with a smile.
“The fact that you're still here means you've taken your first step. You are proving that you can be trusted not to run. Before long you will have the opportunity to prove yourselves trustworthy in another way. Keep taking steps like this and you could be free in no time.” Applejack said encouragingly.
After a long afternoon of hard work, after a hearty dinner served to them by the Apple Family, Flim and Flam returned exhausted to their barracks.
“Flam?” Flim asked lying on his bed and staring up at the ceiling.
“Yes, brother?” Flam replied doing much the same.
“perhaps for the first time since we got here, I feel like we have hope that we just might leave.” Said Flim.
“...and for the right reasons.” Added Flam.
They both drifted off to sleep contemplating what it all meant for them. Questions about who they were and who they’d be when they finally left churned in their heads that night. They both knew in their hearts that the answers were exactly what they were sent here to find out.