A Friend's Gift

Next Work: Legends: Perfection
A Friend's Gift is a short story and the first in the Perfection Series, written by SharkbyteZ. This page should only be edited by them or Moderators. If there are any spelling, grammar, punctuation, or category errors that were missed, please leave a message on Pluto's wall or leave a comment on this page. It'll probably be fixed at some point.
This story takes place a little over a thousand years before Legends: Darkstalker (some time before 2,000 AS) and will be part of a larger story that explores the mystery of what happened to the animus SkyWings, as well as the research and study of animus magic. 
All of the characters in this story belong to SharkbyteZ/Pluto. 
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Forever. 
That’s something everyone wished they had, wasn’t it? 
Clouds drifted in the sky, day by day, always changing. They swirled, spiraled, and twisted with the chilling breezes that blew over the mountain peaks. Along with the clouds danced countless dragons of red, orange, and yellow. Flags of all different colors fluttered like insect wings with every pull and push of the wind. Music and laughter filled the air; careless, happy, free. 
There was a week-long festival in the Sky Kingdom in celebration of the Summer Solstice. Even during this time of year the mountain peaks remained rather chilly from the cold wind. South east of the Sky Palace sat a wide, open stone plaza in the center of the valley, dominated by mosaic artwork of the sun. Surrounding the plaza were tents with vendors offering from shops, games, and food lined up one after another, filling the valley with life and color the way the vibrant tent fabrics waved and danced.
The grounds were surrounded by numerous dragons and the crackle of fire from torches and pits. The smell of all sorts of roasted foods lingered in the air. Long tails and massive wings filled the spaces between walkways. In the distance loomed a tall, rocky cliff that cast a shadow over most of the fairgrounds during sunset. It was a beautiful sight to behold.
Among the SkyWings flipping through the air above was a charming amber dragonet playing tag with his friends. He swerved and dove away from the talons of a shiny red dragonet and crashed into someone else behind him. He yelped as they both nearly tumbled to the ground. 
“Get your giant honking wings OUTTA MY FACE Horizon!” the other dragonet screeched. 
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” he shouted between laughs. Horizon ducked and landed, shaking out his vibrant fiery-colored wings. He giggled and watched as the current ‘it’ tagged the other dragonet while they were distracted. 
“No fair!” they hissed. Horizon leaped away and swerved towards a more crowded part of the festival, the red dragonet chasing behind him as she evaded the new tagger. 
“Where are you going?” she asked. 
Horizon paused and turned to her, “Don’t worry Jasper! I’m just gonna take a break, maybe get a snack. Maybe…” His voice drifted off. Maybe he’ll finally arrive, he wanted to say, but the words got caught in his throat.
“You’re still hoping Condor will show up, huh?” she said with a disapproving sigh. “You know he’s been hiding away in his house ever since he discovered he’s an Animus. He thinks he’s a ‘danger’ to everyone because he doesn’t know how to use his magic properly.”
Horizon huffed at her mocking tone, irritation prickling through his scales, “Yeah, I know. But that doesn’t make him a menace or a danger or anything! He’s still the same dragon he always has been.” He shouldn’t have to be so afraid of himself, Horizon thought sadly. 
“Clearly Condor doesn’t know that,” Jasper said with a roll of her eyes. 
The amber dragonet’s ears perked up. “Maybe I should go visit him.”
Jasper unfurled her wings as she started turning to head back to the others. “Well, if you’re going to do that, I’ll tell the others not to wait for you to start another game, alright?”
“Oh— OK! See ya!” he called as he started running. 
Horizon leapt into the air and started flying towards the mountains. He flew higher and higher until he could feel his wings slicing through the clouds. Rivers and forests zipped far below him as he soared along a wind current, letting the whistles of the wind fill his ears. 
Condor shouldn’t be so worried about being an Animus, he should be proud! Horizon’s thoughts rambled as he continued flying, The first Animus the SkyWings have had in decades! He’s the most special dragon in the kingdom— no, in the entire world! And he needs to realize that. 
Animus magic had always fascinated Horizon. The power to enchant anything to do anything?! What could possibly be any cooler? Well, the only thing Animus magic couldn’t do was bring things back from the dead. It was unfortunate, since Horizon always wanted to bring a few great historical figures back to life to help him with his history projects.
He had read from scrolls about Animus IceWings that they only used their magic once in their lives, creating gifts for their entire kingdom to benefit from for generations. The most notable was the Gift of Diplomacy, which apparently allowed dragons from other tribes to safely visit the Kingdom of Ice without freezing to death. Then there was the great SandWing warrior Oryx, an Animus who saved an oasis town from being destroyed by a sandstorm with her magic.
There were so many great things that could be done with Animus magic, and from what was known about the mysterious power, it had no costs. How much could the world be changed with just one Animus? 
If I was an Animus, what would I do? he wondered. 
Eventually, Horizon began to dip lower to the mountains, scanning the peaks for the familiar door of his friend’s home. It was a darkened, solid pine door with a wreath of pine cones hung up. When he finally spotted it, Horizon landed on the stone ledge of his friend’s home and eagerly knocked on the stained wood door.
And then he waited.
And waited. 
It was quiet on the other side.
“Hellooooo? Condor?” He called out as he knocked again. “It’s me, Horizon! I was just—”
The moment Horizon said his name, footsteps could be heard panicked scrabbling from a far-off room. Just as he reached to knock again the door swung open. 
“Oh! There you are!” Horizon said with a smile. 
A dark red dragonet with a peach-colored underbelly stood at the doorway. He was only slightly smaller than Horizon, but with his head ducked low he looked even shorter. His pale tan-red wings shook gently as he looked up to the visitor. “What are you doing here?” he asked in a half-mumble. 
“I was just coming to check up on you! You know we haven’t hung out in days, and— hey, are those new glasses?” 
Condor absentmindedly reached to them and shook his head. “No, not really. They’re my old glasses, but they got broken so I decided to fix them and make them look better.”
Horizon tilted his head curiously. “With your magic, by any chance?”
Condor flinched and his eyes drifted towards the ground. “Y-yeah..”
Horizon frowned at his friend’s apologetic expression. Was he sorry for admitting that he used his magic? Why? 
“Cool,” was all he said in return. 
A moment passed in silence. Condor shifted on his feet and suddenly perked up. “Oh! We’ve just been talking by the door this whole time, c-come in!” He stepped to the side so Horizon could enter, but he shook his head. 
“No, no, I was actually gonna ask you if you wanted to come to the festival with me? The Summer Solstice Festival?”
Condor’s eyes widened at the question and he immediately started fidgeting with his talons. “Oh… You really want me to go with you?” He ducked his head even lower, “I don’t know… What if I accidentally set something on fire just by thinking it? Or break something? What if I tell someone to bite their own tail because they’re being rude and they actually do—”
“Look at me, Condor,” Horizon cut him off sternly. “You’re acting like you hatched with firescales, not Animus magic. You’re not a danger to anyone. You’re still the kind, careful dragon who wouldn’t hurt a scavenger. Just because you have magic doesn’t mean you’re suddenly a big scary monster. Just​​— don’t use it? Obviously? And you’ll be fine!” He slowly reached one wing towards his friend, who had shrunk back into the hallway. 
Condor slowly inched himself away from the door and stood outside next to Horizon, who offered him a reassuring smile. “I think… maybe I’ll go tomorrow, if that’s ok?” He hesitated with each word. 
“That’s fine, don’t worry. Besides, the sun will be setting soon and then the only dragons left at the festival will be the boring elders.” 
“Sunset…” Condor said quietly, “Do you think we could… watch the sunset together?”
“Sure!” Horizon replied cheerily.
They moved to sit side by side on the rock ledge facing the setting sun. Condor kept his wings pinned to his sides and made sure there was a bit of space between him and Horizon, who didn’t seem to really notice. They talked about little things. Horizon asked Condor if he was going to try to work for the queen as an advisor or if he was still studying to be a scientist, what kinds of games they would play at the festival tomorrow, and stuff like that. At one point Horizon sneakily brushed his wing against Condor’s and made him jump, laughing light-heartedly at his reaction. 
The sky’s vibrant blue slowly shifted to a softer shade as gold began to creep over the edge of the horizon. The clouds glowed with the change of light. They continued to chatter. Overhead, the sky became darker, but not dark enough to see the glimmer of stars just yet. Eventually the gold faded to a deep red and the soft blue sky fell to dark blues and green, the colors that shone just before night truly fell. When the stars began to glimmer overhead, Horizon stifled a yawn and sat up.
“That was pretty. I think I’m gonna head home now, alright?” He said as he turned to Condor, who seemed to be zoning out. He lightly tapped his shoulder. 
“Oh! Yes, ok!” The dark dragonet said as he sat up quickly. He turned his head back to the door and began to head back inside. “Actually— Please wait out here a moment, I have something to give you!” 
He slipped behind the door and dashed through his house. Horizon waited outside patiently, smiling at his friend’s antics. He’s always rushing himself, geez, he thought with a shake of his head. 
Condor quickly returned outside and hid something in his talons. He seemed to have lost all the energy he had before, returning to his usual shy self. “I, uh, made something for you,” he said slowly as he shuffled closer to Horizon. “I didn’t know exactly what color you’d like most, so if it’s ugly then I can change it!”
Curiously, he tilted his head as Condor lifted his talons to reveal what he was holding. It was a golden hoop earring with a piece of raw citrine attached like a charm. The golden crystals glittered the same color as Horizon’s eyes. 
Horizon could swear he heard Condor hold his breath as he slowly took the earring, his warm scales brushing against Condor’s own. Were his talons trembling too? He lifted the earring gently as if it would fall apart at any second, and admired it for a moment before bringing it to his ear. “I… wow, thank you…” 
“D-do you like it?” Condor asked with an almost worried tone to his voice. 
“I love it! How did you know citrine was my favorite gemstone? It’s so cool!” He nearly flung over to give Condor a hug, but stopped himself, not wanting to spook his skittish friend. Condor was just about hiding in his wings. He looked like he wanted to say something, so Horizon waited patiently. 
“So, uh…” Condor began awkwardly, before pausing and trying again, “I know you, umm, tend to lose stuff, so I also… put an enchantment on it so it would always appear on your ear if you couldn’t find it.”
He really did that for me? Horizon wondered, I thought he was scared of his magic. Maybe he was just trying to experiment with it, and that’s why he’s been hiding? 
“Anyways, you should probably go…” Condor said with a twinge of disappointment. “I’ll see you tomorrow at the festival?” 
“Sure! Want me to meet you there or should I come here first?” Horizon replied.
“I think I’ll meet you there— at around midday? I can try to get there sooner, but I’m not sure if I will. I’ll try though!” 
The amber dragonet nodded. “Alright, no worries!” He spread his wings and leapt into the air. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Condor. And thank you so much for the awesome super-cool gift!”
They waved to each other as Horizon flew away. 
--- 
The sky was cloudless, and the sun shone brightly down on the valley. It was the perfect weather.
The festival was even more lively today than it was yesterday, with countless dragons making their ways around the fairgrounds and vendors. It was quite noisy, even from afar. Horizon hoped that Condor wouldn’t be too scared. 
On his way to the Summer Solstice Festival, Horizon nearly got swarmed out of the sky by massive flocks of birds flying in all different directions, panicking like there was a forest fire. He was worried that something had happened at the festival, or somewhere nearby. Although, he quickly dismissed the thought. It would probably be terrifying for any animal if a massive gathering of giant fire-breathing dragons appeared. He simply shrugged off the strange behavior and continued flying.
The sun wasn’t directly overhead just yet, maybe half an hour or so before midday. Most of his friends from yesterday weren’t around as far as he knew, so he couldn’t play with them. He decided to wander about while he waited.
Horizon took the chance to look for one of his favorite dragons near the edge of the grounds; a bird keeper named Finch. She trained all sorts of birds, from little sparrows and cardinals to falcons and hawks, and the hawks were usually the ones she brought to the festival. Horizon always loved getting to see them perform cool tricks.
He found his way quickly to where Finch usually set everything up, but instead of the familiar cages and birds sitting about, he saw empty perches, an empty cage, and a sign on the center table that read ‘My dear feathered friends aren’t feeling too well. Come back tomorrow!’ 
Well, that’s a bit disappointing, Horizon thought as he walked away. 
He decided to explore for a bit longer as he waited for Condor to arrive. The sun glaring down on him was a lot hotter than what he was expecting. It was less windy than the day before, so the air radiated with an uncomfortable heat. Everything felt more stifled.  
Horizon decided to find a spot where Condor would be able to see him once he arrived. He had perched up on a raised pile of loose rocks close to the cliff. As much as he loved the feeling of sun on his scales, it seemed a bit too bright when it was beaming directly down on him. The jagged claws of the cliff cast some nice shade to cool him down while he waited for his friend. 
With a smile, Horizon reached for his earring again, brushing his talons over the rough yet smooth citrine crystals. I would never lose something this important. 
While waiting, his thoughts began to wander. Should I get him a gift too? Would that seem weird? As much as he wanted to go look around the shops, Horizon didn’t want to leave the shade just yet. Maybe when Condor gets here we’ll go play a game where I can win him a cool prize! Or maybe if he keeps looking at something at one of the shops then I’ll secretly buy it while he’s looking away and then boom! Surprise! He giggled to himself, covering his snout with his talons like some bashful dragonet trying to hide an obvious secret. 
With all of his giddy excitement, he never even felt the rocks shifting beneath him. 
Or hear the quiet, but unmistakable grumbling deep within the earth. 
Suddenly, everything beneath Horizon lurched unsteadily. The ground began to shake ferociously. His eyes shot up and he looked around frantically, rushing to stand up and get away from the shaking ground. He slipped and one of his legs got caught beneath some of the rocks, grabbing him with sharp rocky claws and holding on with a death grip. 
He tried wriggling his leg free, twisting and contorting to get a better look at it, but the rocks shifted again and his tail was swallowed by them as well. It was almost like quicksand. Horizon tried to open his wings and fly away, but he couldn’t find the strength or stable footing to lift off. Small pebbles bounced off his scales from above. He hissed in pain as more rocks dug into his scales. 
“HELP!” Horizon screamed, “PLEASE, SOMEONE HELP!”
He saw dozens of dragons lifting into the air around the festival, some shouting at others, dragonets crying for their parents, and vendors trying to carry all of their stuff with them. He doubted that any of them heard him. A pit opened in his stomach at the thought. 
Where’s Condor? He could stop this, his mind raced. Please, please, please… Where is he? Where—
A loud CRACK split the air, cutting his thoughts off. Horizon looked up with wide eyes. 
The cliffside had split in two. 
A rain of jagged boulders came plummeting towards him, blocking out the sunlight. 
Condor, please— 
---
The distant chirruping of birds stirred him from a nonexistent dream. Everything was still. It was quiet, it was peaceful… 
He jolted awake. 
“Oh no, I’m late!”
The red dragonet shot up from his bed, throwing off the heavy blanket and shaking out his wings. Condor hurried over to a desk on the other side of the room and found his glasses, grabbing them and adjusting them. After checking over his room one last time, he quickly rushed outside. 
He threw himself into the air and flew as fast as he could as worry rose in his chest. Will Horizon be mad at me? What if I can’t find him? Will he have already gone home? 
Anxiety plagued each and every thought. For a moment, Condor wondered if he should even bother flying to the festival. Maybe he should just stay home and tell Horizon later that he wasn’t feeling well. But… He didn’t want to let his best friend down, not at all. He wanted to be with Horizon every single day. Those charming eyes, that mischievous smile, everything about Horizon was warmer and brighter than the sun for Condor. He couldn’t just stay home.
Condor decided to continue flying. 
The landscape swept past him as he soared over the peaks. The rocky, mountainous landscape had become dotted with spiky pine trees and scraggly grass. A river glimmered in the light of the sun that shone overhead, racing between the mountains and off beyond the horizon.
He wasn’t quite sure when he began hearing it, or what it was, but there was a strange rumbling coming from… somewhere. Surely it wasn’t his stomach, he wasn’t hungry at all. 
Condor tilted his head, gliding slower so he could hear the noise clearly. It was like a giant dragon snoring underground. Underground… An earthquake!?
He saw the trees swaying unsteadily, the rumble of loose rocks on cliff sides as they tumbled and fell into deep chasms or down the mountains. His eyes widened towards the distance. 
This could be reaching the festival… Horizon! I need to make sure he’s OK! 
The wind whipped at his wings, clawed at his eyes, but he kept flying at top speed. He didn’t slow down in the slightest until he finally reached the valley. 
The hills billowed with wild grass, shivering and rolling in frantic waves. As the valley came into view, Condor could see how much had been destroyed in just a few minutes. Most of the stalls and tents around the festival had collapsed or fallen over. Decorations were broken, glass was shattered absolutely everywhere. But that wasn’t what worried Condor the most.
Horizon wasn’t anywhere. 
Through the swarm of reds and oranges, a cloud of SkyWings filling the air, not a single one shared the same amber-gold color of his dear friend. 
“Horizon!?” Condor called out. “Horizon, where are you?!”
Shortly after he reached the valley the ground had ceased its trembling, and some dragons were slowly landing. 
“HORIZON!” His voice threatened to leave him. A tiny part of him hoped that maybe his friend had flown back home, to safety, but dread loomed over him. 
Not too far from the grounds of the festival was a massive collapse of boulders, rocks, and earth that had fallen from the nearby cliffs. One boulder had even tumbled onto a poor tent, crushing it completely. 
Landing hesitantly, Condor looked around. Dragons who had gotten injured were already being helped, but none of them were Horizon. As he stepped around a disheveled tree, Condor picked up one of the small sticks that had fallen and quickly whispered to it, “I enchant this stick to point in the direction where my friend Horizon is, right now…!” 
The stick twitched in his talons, pulling him to walk towards the direction of the landslide. His fears grew worse as he slowly approached the uneven ground. Every step Condor took only made his mind race more. No signs of him. His eyes were just about to tear up as he looked around. There was dirt, boulders, and…
No. 
Pinned beneath a few rocks, a fiery orange-red wing. 
No… no, no nononono— 
His talons shook uncontrollably as he ran towards the familiar colors. He desperately clawed at the rocks, screaming, “Get off of him! GET OFF!”
The rocks flung themselves away and landed on the empty grass around him with heavy thuds. He kept moving the rocks away, enchanting the ones that were too large for him to lift. Condor didn’t care that he was using his magic. It didn’t matter until he was okay— 
Dusty golden scales were revealed beneath the rocks. Twisted, crushed limbs. A torn wing. Eyes screwed shut in pain. Blood trickling from countless cuts and bruises.
It was him.
“Hor…i…zon…?” Condor’s voice faltered, unable to breathe. Is he unconscious? He could only hope as much as his shaking talons brushed against his friends’ shoulders. “Horizon… please… wake up…” 
Condor tried to drag Horizon away from the rocks, drag him to safety. As Condor moved him to the softer grass he tried shaking him awake again. He was completely unresponsive. 
The earring on Horizon’s ear flopped over helplessly as his head lolled to the side. Condor felt tears falling down the sides of his snout as he reached to clasp his talons over the small piece of treasure. Please please please heal Horizon, heal him and make him better! 
A cold chill ran across his spine. He didn’t care. Condor looked over his friend’s scales, waiting for the wounds to fix themselves. 
Nothing happened. 
“Heal him…!” He cried weakly. “I e-enchant this earring to h-heal Horizon the SkyWing.” His voice was cut between sobs. “Do it! You’re supposed to heal him…!”
Nothing happened. 
Against all his will, Condor lowered his head to Horizon’s chest, his breath stilled. 
. . .
Silence.
Condor’s eyes widened. He’s gone… He’s gone he’s GONE he’s gone nonononono why WHY WHY?!
Desperately he held his talons over Horizon’s body. “I— I enchant Horizon to come back to life, perfectly healed and safe!” 
Nothing happened.
“HEAL HIM! Please! Just…” He was shivering. It was cold, the same kind of sickening cold that he felt whenever he cast a spell. He was using his magic, so why wasn’t Horizon waking up? 
“Please…”
Nothing.
“Horizon…” Condor choked through his sobs, “I’m so s-s-sorry…” 
This is your fault you could have saved him WHY WEREN’T YOU HERE?!
You killed him. You did this. YOUR fault. 
If you were here sooner you would have been able to stop the earthquake. 
If you had enchanted his earring to actually be useful then he would’ve been safe.  
If you weren’t so slow and stupid he would be alive and everything would have been ok. 
YOU CAN’T HELP ANYONE.
YOU DID THIS.
He heard the wingbeats of another dragon coming to help, but he didn’t want anyone else near him. He wailed as he held his friend’s body closely. I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry… 
The only thoughts in his mind circled around and around, I’m so sorry… Horizon… Please… Warm talons were shaking his shoulders, trying to pull him back, but he pushed them away. 
This is my fault…
He cried and cried until he was completely exhausted, slowly succumbing to numb darkness.
I’m so sorry…
Category:Fanfictions
Category:Fanfictions (Completed)
Category:Fanfictions (Canon)
Category:Genre (Short Story)
Category:Genre (Tragedy)
Category:Mature Content
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Category:Content (SharkbyteZ)