This is about a young boy who was blinded by the venom from a serpent conjured from black magic. Chapters 1&2 describe the boy and how he got to Equestria.
A young boy born with a strange birthmark has unique favorites. Because of how unique he is, he is beaten and ridiculed by his peers.
Trouble brews as he grows older and seeks a remote spot where he can read in peace. When he finds this spot, he doesn't realize that his life will change soon. When he meets an elf from Equestria, things seem to turn around for Roland. An evil sorcerer created a magical serpent from black magic. The venom from the serpent left the boy blind but would have killed him if Rose hadn't done something.
Our story begins in a small village outside the forest eight years back. So sit back and open your minds. For the story I'm about to tell you is true to the very last word.
About eight years ago, a young farmer and his wife were about to give birth to a baby boy. As the farmer sat outside his house, he could hear the cries of severe pain and agony. He tried to block out the sounds he heard to no avail. Tears ran down the farmer's face as he wished he could take away his wife's pain. A few hours had gone by before he heard the sound that meant it was all over. A baby had been born. As he ran into his house, he noticed that there was an off feeling about his house. He couldn't put his finger on why it felt different. But as he saw his wife lying still, he realized his answer. Tears flowed with renewed force down the farmer's face. He turned to the doctor who was holding his baby. The doctor said" Congratulations sir, it's a boy." As he finished congratulating the farmer, he handed over the boy. When the farmer held his son, he noticed a strange mark on his shoulder. As he looked closer, the mark cleared into a dragon devouring his tail.
The doctor said" The mark is not harmful to your son. It is a birthmark. I'm sorry that I was unable to save your wife."
It was with his apology that the doctor left. The farmer had still to decide on a name for his son. As he thought about it his eyes wandered back to his son's birthmark. Maybe his name could be tied with his mark. As the farmer fell asleep holding his son, he had a dream. Wandering through a meadow, the farmer came across a stream. On the opposite side of the stream, there sat a dragon. The dragon's hide was as blue as a sapphire and sparkled as such. The dragon spoke to the farmer. Everyone knew in the village that if a dragon decide to bless you by visiting you in your dreams to tell you something, you had better listen. The dragon said
"I am Elionida. Your child shall be named Roland Firedrake.
" The farmer replied" I thank thee great Elionida that you blessed me with your presence and helped me find a name for my son." The dragon bowed and the farmer bowed lower to show respect. The farmer woke up and looked at his son in his arms and said" Roland." As he heard his name, his son smiled.
The next morning, the farmer set out to find the elder.he found the village elder, he asked for an audience. The village elder invited the farmer into his house. The village elder had grown tired of being called elder so he said" Please, call me Isaac." The farmer replied" Isaac, I was blessed with a dragon visiting me in my dreams. The dragon spoke to me."
When Isaac heard this, he said" Would you honor me by repeating what the dragon said to you?"
The farmer" Yes Isaac."
The dragon said" I am Elionida. You will call your son Roland Firedrake."
Isaac listened intently for it was extremely uncommon to speak to a dragon in a dream which was why that when a dragon does speak to you in a dream, you listen very carefully. It is even more uncommon to be named by a dragon.
As Roland grew up, he began to notice he was different than his peers. He enjoyed reading. He went to visit Isaac everyday so Isaac could teach him how to read. Isaac was impressed that Roland was a quick learner. After he was done working, Roland would go off by himself to read. Eventually the other boys grew curious as to what he did when he went off by himself. When they discovered that he spent that time alone reading, they began to ridicule him and they eventually began to beat him up. This went on for six months before he finally decided to do something about it. He decided that he needed a new spot to read. The problem was where was he going to pick his new spot. He thought that there needed to be criteria. He wrote a list of things his new spot had to have. 1: Needs to be somewhere remote 2: needs to have light so I can read 3: needs to be comfortable 4: needs to have somewhere I can sit and read
After he finished writing his list, he stuck it in his pocket. He searched around town for his secret spot but it wasn't remote. The most needed was it being remote. The last thing he could think of was the dreaded forest. He had heard stories about how people have went in there and never came out. Some say a wizard lived in there stealing souls to strengthen his magical powers. Roland's father told him that it was alright and they were just stories. Roland remembered his father telling him that and so he decided that he would go into the forest to find his spot. Tomorrow he would go to the forest, Roland thought.
When morning came, Roland woke up early and set off on his journey. It took about fifteen minutes to get to the edge of the forest from the village. He went into the forest about fifty feet. Each time he came back to the forest, he would go a little farther into it in search of his perfect spot. The forest was a little bit on the unnerving side when you looked at it up close. It appeared that it was so dark in there that it looked like it was night. Brambles skirted the outside of the forest, thorns the size of crayons sticking out of some of the trees waiting to cause agony to any one unlucky enough to fall onto them. Roland maneuvered around the brambles and thorns and found himself safely inside the forest. Being the smart young boy he was, he took his knife and he used it to carve his initial into the tree to mark his way back to entrance to the forest.
A few months went by and Roland still didn't find his perfect spot. Worried that he might never find his perfect spot, he uttered a cry of despair. He began searching harder and harder. He usually didn't come home until noon. It was sometimes even later. He began to pack himself a lunch to take with him while he searched for the perfect spot.
The village holds the dragons for it was a dragon who gave them the ability to settle that village. Some may be wondering why that is. Well a long time ago there was a warlock who practiced dark magic. He had cast a spell upon this land because this very village tried standing up to him. A wise white dragon saw the suffering brought about this spell. The dragon walked into the village to seek out the elder. William, the village elder, set out to meet the dragon.
The dragon said" I am Icefire, the dragon of the northern mountains. I've seen the plight of your people and wish to help."
William said" We would be most grateful for your help. We've been trying to grow food here for a long time. Except that everything we plant seems to die."
Icefire replied" The warlock put a curse upon this land. I'll need you to trust me completely. Ok?"
William bowed and replied" Yes, great dragon."
Icefire then proceeded to tell William about his plan. After a few hours they left the meeting. William told his village" Icefire has decided to help us, but we must trust her. She will burn this entire village to the ground and scorch the ground with her fire."
The entire village cried out at what their leader had said. Dozens of complaints rang out above the noise of the crowd. Some feared that everything they owned would be lost. Others feared they would die from the elements. One man picked up a stone and threw it at William. With the stone hitting him squarely on the head, he fell of the platform. But before he could hit the ground, Icefire caught him. As she turned around, she saw the villager who threw the stone.
Icefire said" Villager. Step forth."
The villager stepped forward. As he walked forward, he felt the weight of all the eyes in the village on him. Shaking as he walked up to the dragon, he finally stopped when he reached the front of Icefire.
Icefire said" You've dishonored your elder in public. Face the consequences."
Icefire then breathed her fire onto the villager causing him to cry out with pain and terror. As the villagers watched with horror and awe at the same time. When the dragon finished breathing her fire, the villager was not but a pile of ash. As the dragon turned to William, she noticed he hadn't waken up. She put her head to his chest to hear a heartbeat. While it was still there, it was really faint. The dragon opened her powerful jaws and released a flame as blue as sapphires. As the flames licked around William, a mark appeared around his right eye. A blue dragon.
The dragon turned to the villagers and said" This mark shall make his pain my pain. I've helped William and saved his life. Now will you trust me? All of your possessions will be safe."
As they left their village for awhile, each villager placed their hand over the dragons foot for asking forgiveness. When the procession was over, the dragon began to burn the village to the ground. A sound of a child stopped the dragon in her tracks. As she looked around, she found a young girl surrounded by fire and extremely terrified. The dragon swooped down and placed her on her back. When everything was burned to the ground, the dragon moved to the surrounding fields. She left the fields smoldering.
As two weeks had gone by, the dragon returned to the village. She breathed fire this time except this time it wasn't blue, it was white. The young girl watched from her back in awe of the dragon's great power. It was just as the dragon had said. All of their possessions were safe. They all bowed and thanked the dragon.
Roland made his way to his secret spot unaware that it was at this spot that his life would change forever. He made himself comfortable in his perch and began to read. While he was reading, he had an uneasy feeling that someone was watching him. A she elf named Rose was watching over him. Rose found Roland intriguing. Rose kept her distance unsure of how he would react. He had a strange feeling that this tree was meant for him. Rose watched over Roland to make sure he'd be safe.
Rose had been watching over Roland for a few months now. She finally had enough courage to go and introduce herself. As she emerged from the shadows, Roland's jaw dropped. Never in his life had he seen anyone or anything so beautiful.
She said" Hi. My name is Rose."
Roland replied" Hello. My name is Roland."
It was with this quaint little introduction that they began a great relationship. They shared their favorite things to do. They met at their favorite tree everyday..
His father noticed a change and asked why he was smiling. The answer surprised him, but he said" I thank thee whoever taught my son to smile again."
As several weeks passed, their relationship grew stronger. One day while at the tree, Rose didn't show up. He kept going but he never saw Rose. When she got to the tree, it told her of how Roland's tears have soaked its roots. Rose waited at the tree and soon saw Roland emerge from the tree line. They ran to each others arms and gave hugs. They sat and talked for awhile. When Rose told Roland about what the tree told her, he was shocked.
They decided that their special tree needed to have a name. Roland thought R&R was a nice name. Their initials. Rose agreed with Roland upon the name. They met there everyday. While reading his book, he was unaware of the danger that slithered towards him from below. Rose saw the serpent and ran towards him but she was too late. The snake had already bitten him and dissipated. As she saw the snake dissipate, she realized that it was conjured by dark magic. Holding Roland tightly to her, she cast a spell to travel back to her home. When she picked up Roland and walked through the portal, she arrived at her home in the Dragon lands of Equestria. A small village of elves lived in the forest that could be found there. Crying out for help, Rose entered the village. Members of the elven doctor unit ran to assess the problem. Rose had a young boy clinging on to his life just barely due to the venom from the serpent. The doctors had to put him in a coma to slow down the spread of the venom through his blood. Rose was weeping for she feared she lost her best friend. What made her feel even worse is because she couldn't do anything to help him.
A few weeks and several enchantments, Roland pulled out of the coma alive with almost no ill effects from the venom. The only effect was that Roland was now blind. As he woke up and opened his eyes, he realized he was blind. Tears ran anew for his favorite thing to do in life was read. Rose wept for she understood all too well what having something you hold most dear snatched away from you. She watched and held Roland as he cried himself to sleep on Rose's shirt. When she was sure that Roland was asleep, she went to the village elders. She requested permission to take him to the Dragon stream in the middle of the forest. She was given permission.
The next morning, Rose woke up Roland early. Roland asked " What time is it?" When Rose replied the time, he freaked.
Roland asked" Why did we have to get up so early?"
While Rose walked beside Roland, she reached for his hand to help guide him. Questions ran through Roland's mind as he was being led towards their destination. They walked in silence listening to the birds of the forest. Songs so beautiful that were never heard before by Roland. As they were halfway towards their destination, Roland began to ask questions about where they were going.
Roland asked" Where are we going?"
Rose replied" We are traveling towards the Dragon river."
Roland asked" Why is it called the Dragon river?"
Rose began to tell him the story of how it got its name but stopped as they had finally reached their destination. They stopped and sat for a bit. Rose reached and grabbed his hand and gently guided it to the water.
When he felt the water, Roland exclaimed with awe and wonder in his voice" It is warm!! Why is the river warm?"
Rose said" The water is warm because it was created by a lonely dragon."
When Roland didn't understand, she began to tell the full story.
Rose said" A long time ago, there was a dragon who was different than the rest. She never frightened the elves or tried to cause them harm. When the elves saw her troding up the road some went to greet her while others hid in fear, a fear which was rather unjustified. The dragon of skin as white as snow and eyes as blue as sapphires, had allowed the young elves to climb onto her back. She carried them halfway to the center of the village before they jumped off. The elves befriended the gorgeous dragon and honored her.
While the dragon played with the young elves, another dragon watched from the shadows. Skin as black as obsidian and eyes as red as fire. This dragon had a heart to match his skin. The white dragon left for the day and went home. While sleeping in her cave, she awoke to the heart shattering screams of terror and anguish. When she arrived at the village where all her friends lived, not a single soul was left alive. She sat above the second highest peak of the mountain and wept. She cried and cried for two centuries. The other dragons heard how one of their own had harmed her, they sent a few to try and console her and the rest went to search for the one who had hurt her.
When the dragons found the young white dragon, her cries of anguish broke their hearts. The pain, the loss, and the suffering that this young dragon had to bear alone was too much. As they approached the young dragon whom they knew, they noticed that her eyes had changed from their beautiful sapphire blue to a deep shade of purple and they had lost their twinkle as well.
The dragons told her that they were searching for the one who committed such a heinous act.
This made the white dragon rear her head and say" when you find him, bring him to me. I want him to know the terror, the pain, and the suffering this act caused. I will deal with him personally."
Well they eventually found the black dragon and he was given to the white dragon. When he noticed that this was the same white dragon from the village he had attacked, he felt the ice cold grip of fear. As the white dragon opened her eyes, the black dragon noticed her eyes had changed colors and lost their twinkle. This made the black dragon even more terrified of the white dragon because every dragon knows that when a dragon's eyes change color and lose their twinkle, that that particular dragon has lost everything which they had held dear. It was these dragons which were the ones to be careful of. The white dragon walked up to him and began to torture him. She used her claws to take off his wings first. She gave him deep gashes all over his body, and while he cried out in pain and terror, she felt nothing. No sorrow, no remorse, and no pain. Then finally she killed the black dragon with a claw to the jugular. The white dragon went back to her peak on the mountain and her tears flowed with renewed force. She couldn't figure out why she still felt empty. She had killed the razer of the village but she still felt empty. Her tears eventually flowed their way to the river, and imbuing it with dragon magic. It is the dragon's magic that made the river warm."
As Rose finished telling the story, Roland's sightless eyes widened in amazement. He never knew that a dragon had magic or had even cried. It was strange because he could kinda relate to the dragon. He also noticed many similarities from the dragon story in his village to this story. It made him feel sorry for the dragon.
After a few minutes she left Roland so that he could get undressed and get into the river. When he waded into the river, he couldn't help but feel relaxed. He closed his eyes and just floated around. About an hour later, he heard the sounds of leaves rustling and branches breaking. Everything had become eerily silent after the noises from the trees. Roland became terrified.
Roland cried out" Rose? Rose is that you? Rose?"
No answer came from the familiar voice. When no one answered his call, he began to relax a little bit but was still cautious. He swam around the part of the river he was at for awhile but then decided to get out. When he had finally got out of the river, he felt a warm breeze on the back of his neck. It felt quite nice he thought. The more he thought about it the more he realized it was a dragon. The dragon then spoke to him asking him a single question.
She asked" Why do you not run in terror from me?"
Roland said" I can't see you."
The dragon then knew that the young boy was helpless because he was blind. She took care of the boy. She made a fire for him to warm himself by. She covered him with her wing when he fell asleep. Not to long after, she fell asleep as well. Twenty minutes after the pair fell asleep, Rose came by to see how he was doing.
When Rose saw the dragon guarding him like her son, she left as quietly as she could to inform the village of this phenomenon. When she arrived and told the chief, he decided he would see for himself. As the chief arrived, he saw it was true. He then returned and nodded that it was true. The entire village gasped with awe.
While he was ten in human years, the dragon saw him as a baby. As the dragon began to nurse him, his skin changed. It was going from pale to the dragon's skin color. When they woke up, the dragon flew Roland and her to her cave. They stayed in the cave for a few days and then she returned him to the village.
While Roland was there, he spoke with the dragon.
He asked" Are you the dragon from the story rose told me?"
The dragon replied" Yes. It is I from the story. My name is Ashira Brighteyes."
Roland sat there awestruck. The story was real. He also realized that his skin had changed as well as his ears had. They flew towards the village and they landed outside the village. Roland got off of Ashira's back with no problem at all. Ashira and Roland walked into the village side by side. Rose knew the dragon immediately.
She said" You're the dragon from the story I told Roland at the river, aren't you?"
The dragon said" Yes. I am. My name is Ashira Brighteyes."
The entire village bowed to show respect. Dragons were honored and revered in many cultures. A dragon's name is its most precious treasure. To know a dragon's true name was considered the highest honor a dragon could give.
Ponyville. A quaint little town where everypony knew everypony. The day started out normal with the birds singin their little hearts out and the ponies each working at their own little shops. Applejack worked her apple stand. Rarity working on a new dress, Fluttershy working with her animals, and Twilight working in her library. Pinkie usually works at Sugar Cube Corner. Mr and Mrs Cake said" Sorry, Pinkie didn't show up for work to day." This news made some of the ponies sad. Sometimes they go there just to see Pinkie Pie.
Twilight was busy reading a book about different magical beings. While in the middle of her book, the entire room started to shake. Twilight looked up and saw Pinkie Pie vibrating with her pinkie sense.
Pinkie said" Twilight, there is going to be something very big that will change your life tomorrow, as well as the rest of our lives as well." Twilight watched as Pinkie vibrated herself out the door. Nothing like a seriously cryptic statement like that to cause Twilight to panic.
She called" Spike!!" Running as fast as his legs could carry him. As he tried stopping before he reached the stairs, he ended up skidding and sliding. He tumbled down the stairs but Twilight was able to catch him with her magic before he hit his head on the floor.
Spike said" What's up Twilight?"
Twilight replied" Pinkie just came in here with her pinkie sense all acting up. She said that today would be a day that would change my life and the rest of Ponyville as well. I need you to help me find my flash cards to help me study if its a test from the princess." Spike helped Twilight find her flash cards.
Spike shouted" Twilight, Ive found your flash cards."
Twilight said" Thanks Spike. Where did you find them?"
Spike replied" They were upstairs in a big box."
There was a total of over a thousand flash cards.
Twilight gave Spike a kiss on his cheek and said" Thank you Spike for helping me find my flash cards. Now since I will be reviewing, you have the day off." As soon as Spike heard day off, he ran to Rarity's to see if she needed any help. When he got to Rarity's, Rarity was making a dress. It was a beautiful black dress with a sapphire collar.
Spike said" Hey Rarity, do you need some help?" Spike almost immediately regretted asking her because five minutes later, he was wearing the dress as a model. Rainbow Dash came in and saw Spike in the dress and began laughing hysterically.
As Rainbow Dash was rolling about the floor laughing, Spike sent a singed her tail.
Rainbow Dash was like "Yikes!!!! Hey Spike, come on I was only kidding. I didn't know Rarity would make you be a model for her." As Rainbow saw the dress, she said four words that Rarity and Spike never thought that they would hear from Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow said" I want that dress."
Spike took it off and handed it to her. Spike said" Well Rarity, I think you have a new model." Spike left Rarity's chuckling to himself. Wandering about Ponyville, he saw Applejack at her stand.
When Applejack noticed Spike looking her way, she said" Well howdy Spike. How are you today?" Spike said" I'm doing ok. Twilight gave me the day off." Applejack's eyes widened in surprise at what Spike just told her.
When Spike met Fluttershy at her cottage, Spike asked if she needed any help. Fluttershy being meek as always said" Oh yes please. I need you to start a fire in that room. It was a sauna. So Spike made the fire big. Fluttershy asked him if he could make another fire to heat up stones. Fluttershy said" I only need a small fire. With two ponies working, the work went by fast. They took twenty minutes to relax. Fluttershy gave Spike a bowl full of turquoise, rubies, and sapphires as payment for helping her. Needless to say that the bowl of gems made Spike an extremely happy dragon.
When Spike finally got back to the library, he discovered that Twilight fell asleep studying her notecards. Spike noticed that she went through all her notecards and studied the thouroughly. When Spike went to pick up the cards, Twilight gave a dainty little snore. Spike finished packing up her cards in their respective boxes, he laid a blanket over her. When Spike finished, he thought" You have the right idea Twilight." Spike went upstairs and then went to bed as well. A few hours later, Spike woke to the sound of his name being hollered.
" Spike, why didn't you wake me up when you came back?"
He replied" Twilight, you needed it. Do you remember the last time something like this happened?" As Twilight thought about it, she agreed when she remembered the time when she warned herself of a future event.
Twilight finally said" Thanks Spike. You were right to let me sleep."
Pinkie had been found nowhere after she visited Twilight. Something strange is about to happen. Twilight grew more courage after the last time and finally decided just to let what happen happen. Twilight fell asleep in her bed. Hours went by and no danger appeared. So everything appeared to be ok. Applejack came into the library to find a book for cooking apples. She found Twilight asleep. Applejack left and said she would return another time. Everything seemed so peaceful that Twilight almost forgot what Pinkie said. So Twilight wrote it down so she would remember.
Twilight didn't sleep well that night. When she woke up, her mane was all frizzy and curly. As she brushed her mane, she sighed. It made her uneasy to know that something was about to happen but didn't know what or when. When Twilight just finished relaxing, Pinkie burst through the door leaving a Pinkie shaped hole in it.
Pinkie shouted" Today is the special day I told you about."
Twilight yelped and jumped out of her seat. Pinkie silently chuckled at Twilight. Twilight looked at her and asked a single question.
"Why are you laughing at me?"
Pinkie said with glee" You do not have a surprise test from the princess."
Twilight frowned as she had just realized that she had let her fears get the best of her yet again.
