Applejack sighed as she gently placed the sleeping colt at the bed. It had been a while since his outburst, the sun now high in the sky. What has she gotten herself into? She'd only be lying to herself if she claimed that the colt was not dangerous, and yet, with a glance upon his sword, she could hardly deny it. He slashed at Pinkie, only for him to break down later on.
Something told her that what the colt said during their visits were true, but the doctors claimed (and even she agreed to it) that was only due to the trauma, something for the colt to make sense of. Now that evidence presented itself, in the form of a colt who slithered and slashed, beating even the movements of the Royal Guard. A colt who, upon getting close to the barn, thought of it as an ambush waiting to happen. He's no ordinary colt; he's a dangerous being! And everypony agreed when they rushed out of the party.
She could only sigh at the memory, of how wrong she was. When she heard her sister and her friends scream, she couldn't fathom the horrors that colt had done. She rushed towards them, only to find the colt crying and the rest of the CMC's bolting away.
He slowly apologized, even when it wasn't his fault. And thus, he told her everything.
And that was the final straw. Gone were the thoughts of danger, now replaced with dread. Here was a colt, sleeping peacefully in a bed, who had suffered more than her or anypony combined. Here was a colt who had gone through so much trouble, only to be rewarded with cruelty. Here, lying on the bed, was no beast, hellbent on danger. Here was a colt who suffered through the pain, smiling at them whenever they visited him at the hospital.
Here was a colt who deserved a second chance to live, maybe live a better life. And here she thought that losing her parents were painful; here laid a colt who lost not only his whole family, his comrades and land, but the love of his life. She couldn't even fathom how he lived through it all. If she were in his hooves, how would she react when her siblings no longer breathe? How would she react when her grandmother, her cousins, her uncles and aunts all perish within a day?
It was heartbreaking. After what the colt has done, surely everypony would be afraid of him, no, they are afraid of him, wary even! They wouldn't be giving him a chance to even apologize. All they'd see is a dangerous colt.
"Is he alright, deary?" Applejack glanced at her shoulder, seeing two figures behind her: her brother and her grandmother, all sitting behind her, looking at the sleeping figure. "We heard everythin', sis. Ah still can't believe he had gone through... so much..."
She sighed after she heard her brother speak. He was right, and maybe she should've listened more to the stories coming from the colt. Deep within her, she wanted to tell her friends of what she knew, but that would only harm the colt even more. There was a reason why he kept that knowledge, that cursed past of his, and only now did he share it. He shared it with her in a rare act of "weakness", as he called it. If she told her friends, would the colt even trust her afterwards? If she told the whole town his secrets, would they even see him as somepony else? It was a difficult decision for her, but she thought long and hard for it.
And in the end, what she knew as common sense won. It was best that he, the colt laying upon the bed on peaceful slumber, should be the one to open up to those who want to listen, given his own time. For now, all she could do was hope for the best, if not for herself, then for the colt.
It had been a somewhat decent week for the Apples and their guest. Their guest seemed so adamant to help, yet so distant at the same time. Upon the first and second days, he would ask for work, and they would give it to him, no matter how many times Applejack refused. Despite telling him to rest, he did not oblige. They'd soon see him walking towards Big Mac and ask for instructions on how to plow the field, or buck the apple trees. From gathering water buckets, to feeding the chickens, no matter how hard or easy the request was, he didn't say no. It was worrying, to say the least.
After the chores are done, he would immediately go to his room and sit in his weird and usual way, with silence coming after. Apple Bloom, the ever curious filly, decided to conquer her fear and see what was going on, but as usual, that fear for their new guest was stronger than her courage, and as such, she could not ask him what it was he was doing. It took a tug to Applejack's tail to garner her big sister's attention and ask Ryoto what he was doing. It turns out that he was simply thinking about what to do tomorrow, and that he still didn't know how to read.
Surprisingly, Twilight visited along with Cheerilee, both were a bit terrified, however, their sense of sharing knowledge were stronger than their fears. While Twilight knew a bit about their foreign student, Cheerilee was going in without any knowledge of the colt. She was the closest to the door where the incident happened. The eyes she saw were that of a predator, ready to pounce and attack what was in front of it. She saw the eyes that seemed so dead inside. And when he finally drew that blade, all was silent. Even after a few days had passed, she could still remember it quite clearly, a hollow memory of fear. As a pony, she just couldn't handle it, but after learning that Twilight decided to help teach the colt, even when the colt attacked Pinkie, as a teacher, she has to do her job and conquer her fear.
But upon meeting the colt, he was docile in a way. Gone was the rage she saw in his eyes, replaced only by nothingness, something completely different to what Twilight was expecting, apparently. When she first heard of the colt from Twilight, she learned that the colt was somepony who valued knowledge, art, and poetry. It's why she wanted to teach the colt as well, an opportunity to teach the basics on somepony who might see it as new.
When she met the colt, all she saw from that colt was sorrow and agony. What has happened after that dreadful incident? Luckily, she managed to speak her mind and talk to Twilight, much to the other mare's chagrin. It would be best to teach the colt when he comes to a more reactive and jubilant state, rather than teach him in a depressed state. The other mare reluctantly agreed and decided to merely introduce themselves. Gone was a bit of her fear from the colt, replaced only by worry, concern, and confusion.
The next day came and Pinkie decided to visit, with a present on her back and a cupcake tray resting atop her head. She asked where the colt was, to which Big Mac pointed at the west of their apple orchard. Quickly, she zoomed past Big Mac, giving him a cupcake. Used to her shenanigans, he simply rolled his eyes and ate whilst walking towards the barn.
Upon seeing the colt, she immediately called out and waved at him, grinning from ear to ear, as if nothing ever happened. The colt merely looked at her, gauze plastered upon her right cheek, a grim reminder of what he had done. He tried to look away, but the party pony just kept on bouncing towards his vision. Slowly, he stopped and looked at the mare in front of him. She didn't bear any fear, only worry. She smiled at him, even nudging the cupcakes at him. How could this mare ever forgive him just like that? It was a confusing experience, for he thought it was merely a fluke. No one, nopony, would dare forgive someone for lashing out at them so casually, and yet, this mare in front of him, who was talking quite a lot about her day as if they were close friends, forgave him so easily. She continued to defy reality.
And defy reality she did when she grabbed a ribbon from deep within her mane and tied it upon his. She did it twice, thrice, and yet again, trying her best to find what manestyle would fit the young colt. She, after quite a number of different attempts, decided to tie it in a simple ponytail style, one that he used to have when he became a wandering rōnin. And, as if to smack his sense of reality, she, who was the injured one, decided to give him a belated "Welcome to Ponyville" gift. She smiled sincerely when she gave him the present. He opened it with care, something that impressed the pink mare, and looked upon the contents of the box.
It was what they would call a "saddlebag", one with his mane color. Confused, the colt simply checked the contents, only to find a new set of clothes based on his old one. Blue was the main color with black edges, a haori, or at least, an interpretation of one. A gift, once more, by none other than the white unicorn mare who talked to him.
It was then that he wept. He had done nothing, and yet they would give him gifts and willingly teach him their ways. Truly, a miracle bestowed by the gods. As he wept, he did not notice the pink mare gently hugging him. He has to be thankful, he needs to be thankful. And they shared that comforting silence for more than a few minutes as he gently caressed the new clothing he has.
Slowly, ever so silently, I decided to wake to yet another day, with the sun not yet present in the sky. This world, it truly was something else. I stretched and yawned, and did my morning rituals. It was then that I look upon the corner of my room, where my uchigatana lay untouched and unmaintained. After what has happened, I decided to never touch it gain. If I were to hurt someone else, or worse, kill them, I would never forgive myself. I will no longer linger in my past. I am no longer a warrior, but someone who wishes to live. I still live upon my bushidō, but no longer would I live carrying the weight of that damned blade.
Yet another day of waking up earlier than the rest, and with my newfound knowledge of how the chores are done, I decided to walk towards the main entrance of this house. It was then that I heard a clinking sound coming from the kitchen. Gone from my waist may be my blade, but I can still handle myself in unarmed combat. Slowly, I crept towards the noise to see none other than the little sister of my host. A brief silence occurred as we both stared at each other.
"Uh..." she muttered as she gazed at her own mess. Apparently, she wanted to drink water, slipping on the wooden floor. Luckily, the glass didn't break, lest there would be another misunderstanding between the family members. Slowly, I inched towards her and grabbed the glass as I placed it unto the sink. Silence bore the entire room. As I was about to leave, however, she decided to speak.
"Rioto, wait!" She shouted and whispered at the same time. Looking back at her, it was as if she really wasn't supposed to wake up at this hour. She, along with her clansmen, err, clansmares, really reminded him of his own siblings. Scootaloo, proud and free like Asahi. Sweetie Belle, cheerful and optimistic like Hachi, and Apple Bloom, strong and kind like Chiharu. It pains me to make that comparison, and yet, it feels so true. She sighed as I walked towards her. To make things better for the young filly in front of me, I sat down, this time, as how they would sit down.
She chuckled a bit as she commented on how weird it was to see me sitting like a normal pony, only for her chuckle to die down. "Ah get that maybe ya'd be mad at me. Ah've treated ya like some kind'a monster, but when Ah saw ya and Pinkie together, Ah felt that maybe Ah was in the wrong." She gulped as she looked at me. I simply nodded as I waited for her to continue on. "And, well, maybe ya really ain't a monster. Granny said somethin' long the lines of ya bein' one of them soldiers and whatnot, and that ya thought somethin' bad had happened to us. And yeah, ya've hurt Pinkie, but if Pinkie forgave ya, then maybe Ah shouldn't be scared of ya too."
She sniffed as she went closer to me, looking at me with those tear-filled eyes. "Ah guess, what Ah'm tryin' to say is... is... that Ah'm sorry. Ah'm sorry for bein' mean and scared of ya..." After what appeared to be hours, I gently stood up and looked at the filly in front of me, and, as if something has happened deep within my mind, I simply smiled at her. I ruffled her mane and smiled at her, nodding as I accepted her apology. "You have every right to be afraid of me, young one," I said as I continued to pet her head. "I've done something wrong, and I apologize too, for scaring you."
We both basked in the silence once more, but it was a good kind of silence. The silence that I appreciated once more has returned, though some voices still linger. Today may be the start of a better day. She beamed at my words and waved at me as she went back upstairs, whereas I continued on to face the new day that life has brought me. And with a new day comes a new set of chores.