The Legend of Sunny: Tears of the Kingdom

A green light illuminated the almost dark cave of that place.

The same light was a greenish energy that was being incorporated into a right arm in someone's body. On that arm there were circular bracelets that formed an empty sphere on the back of the hand, and rings on each of the fingers. He also had somewhat longer nails, which almost looked like claws.

After a while, the green light had completely accumulated in the arm, and little by little it faded, until the arm went from green to a very dark gray. It had stuck to someone's body, leaving a kind of tattoo with symbols on the right side.

It was soon discovered that the man to whom the arm had been attached was none other than Sonic, who fell unconscious after having been supposedly saved by the same hand that was now part of his body. He was not wearing anything, neither his gloves nor his shoes. His spikes had even become somewhat longer and messier than usual.

Little by little, Sonic seemed to regain consciousness. He opened his eyes a little dazed, but as soon as the memories of everything that happened hit him like a gust of wind, his eyes widened, and he quickly sat up, analyzing his surroundings.

He was on the stone floor of a small circular room. The room was dark and there was rubble behind him. Roots were sticking out of the walls.

"What the…" Sonic muttered to himself, confused.

He remembered everything that happened perfectly: The ruins they investigated, the green hand that fell off a rotting body, the stone Sunny took, that mummy that suddenly woke up, him losing his right arm and then breaking Excalibur, Sunny falling and him trying to save her, Sunny disappearing in a golden glow…

Sunny. Where had she gone?

Sonic then remembered the issue with his right arm, but… It didn't hurt. To be fair, he didn't even feel it.

He decided to look at his arm, and was both amazed and terrified to notice that his arm was completely grey, just like the long bracelet, the rings, and the long nails that looked like claws. He opened and closed the fingers of that hand. It was a strange sensation, because he felt nothing with that arm, not even pain.

It was some kind of implant that responded to his actions, but he didn't feel it. What the hell happened to his arm? Under the castle, his arm had become a black mass with red veins, a product of coming into contact with the gloom. Now, he had some kind of replacement that he didn't feel at all. He could move it like his normal arm, but he knew very well that it wasn't his.

Suddenly, his arm lit up. It had the same greenish hue as the hand that was on that mummy, the same hand that had saved him from certain death...

And everything clicked then.

The hand that saved him was now attached to him. Maybe the damage to his arm was such that this was necessary, but Sonic wasn't sure if he would get used to having a "ghost" arm with him. Seriously, not feeling anything with that arm despite having it attached was too weird, and he's seen some very strange things lately.

"Ah, Sonic. Finally, you wake," A voice suddenly spoke.

Sonic quickly stood up and looked around, ignoring the fact that he felt somewhat weak. He soon remembered that, when his arm was affected by the gloom, he felt his strength being slowly taken away. Maybe he was finally suffering the consequences of that.

"I've heard a great deal about you from Sunny," The voice spoke again, and Sonic dismissed the idea of thinking he was delirious. That voice was very real, and it sounded very close, too.

'How does he know my name? And how does he know Sunny?' Sonic wondered in his mind, but something inside him told him that that voice, as unknown as it was, was trying to help him. He decided to listen to that small part of himself and trust.

Sonic's arm suddenly stopped glowing, but he didn't notice.

"Your wounds were severe... I am relieved to see you escaped death," Said that voice, and now it sounded calmer and more serene, while before it spoke in a more playful and mocking tone, or at least that's how Sonic felt. "Your arm, however, was beyond saving. I had to replace it, lest the injury endanger you further."

'Did that voice just read my mind?' Sonic wondered as soon as that mysterious being said exactly what he had thought before.

Still, he looked at his right arm again, still trying to come to terms with the fact that it was now a new one. New isn't always a bad thing, but Sonic wouldn't be so scared of this arm if he could feel anything at all. The advantage of the new arm was that he didn't have to learn how to use it, but not feeling anything with it felt unnatural.

Suddenly, Sonic heard a voice in his mind, a whisper. Unlike the voice he had just spoken to, this one was almost incomprehensible. It was a distant murmur, and Sonic thought again that he was going crazy.

He began to look around, looking for a way out, but then he saw a glow not far away. He squinted, and realized that it was Excalibur... or what was left of it. He assumed that the whisper was the sword calling to him.

He slowly walked over to the sword and took it with his right arm. At least he could apply some strength to the new arm, even if he didn't feel it. Still, Sonic couldn't help but feel melancholy and guilty at the state of the now deteriorated Excalibur.

The handle and a small part of the blade were fine, but the rest... the rest was useless. Part of the blade was rusted, and the rest was broken, with holes at the end of what was left of the blade that made Sonic feel even more guilty.

"I'm sorry..." Sonic whispered to the sword, hoping that its power and voice had somehow survived and were still inside the sword. "I was supposed to protect you, and I failed..."

And he hadn't just failed the sword and its spirit. He promised to root out the evil that was beneath Canterlot Castle, and he failed miserably. He had failed all of Equestria as well. His own friends, Tails, Sunny...

Sunny... that voice that spoke to him after he woke up said that Sunny told them about him.

If Sunny had spoken to the source of that mysterious voice, then she had to be around here somewhere. She had disappeared in a flash of gold, after all. She hadn't fallen into the endless darkness of that sudden abyss.

"...Maybe not everything is lost..." Sonic said, a determined look forming on his face at last. "Yeah... I haven't failed yet."

Soon, Sonic realized that the exit was right next to where he found the sword, covered by vines. He took a piece of cloth he found on the ground and improvised a kind of temporary sheath for the sword.

He tied it to his back and then used the sword to break the vines covering the exit. He wondered for the first time since he woke up where he had gotten himself into now. Or rather, where his new arm had brought him, because nothing seemed familiar.

Judging by those vines, he might be in northern Equestria. It was the only place where vines like that could be. The only way to find out was to get out of that confined place.

Sonic used the sword to cut the vines, then immediately returned it to its makeshift sheath. That the sword could still cut at all had to be a miracle.

The next room was much larger than the last. It was clear that Sonic was somewhere in ruins; there were cracks everywhere, and two giant circular structures that should have been attached to the walls now lay in pieces on the white stone floor.

Cautiously, Sonic moved around the room, analyzing everything around him. Up ahead he noticed a pedestal rising from the ground, with two coiled dragons that seemed to be chasing each other. They looked a lot like the Zonai ruins in the north of the kingdom. Maybe he was in the ruins of that region?

As soon as Sonic stopped in front of that pedestal, two things struck him as odd. The first was that he was no longer standing on cold stone, but on something very similar to sand. However, that sand was not golden like the ones he had seen on the beach at Maretime Bay, but rather grey.

The other strange thing was the symbol that appeared as soon as he arrived in front of the pedestal.

In the space between the two dragons' bodies, there were symbols floating in the air. Sonic couldn't recognize any of them; perhaps if Sunny had been there, she would have helped him, but he was alone. In the center of the strange green energy circle was a pattern resembling a hand with outstretched fingers.

Sonic stared at that symbol for a moment, then looked at his new right arm and reached out toward the hand in the symbol. In the blink of an eye, the circle of light disintegrated into dozens of cocoons, which eventually disappeared into the air. The ground shook beneath his feet a moment later, and he heard a strange rumble, like a bell ringing in the distance.

The huge circular structures that remained intact soon began to spin like gears, releasing clouds of dust. And at the back of the room, Sonic saw a door open, giving him passage to continue his search for a way out of that place.

Without wasting any time, Sonic climbed the steps that led to that door, and found himself on a kind of platform that was right over a huge puddle of water that could easily be mistaken for a lake. This made him feel a bit panicked because he doesn't know how to swim, but he doesn't think he has enough strength to do a Spin Dash and avoid jumping into the water.

Resigned, Sonic dove and fell... then swam to the surface and was confused. How was he swimming without knowing it? He then noticed that his new right arm was glowing green again, and that made him think that maybe the arm was helping him swim. It didn't make much sense, but he decided not to question it, so he headed to the shore, and when he stepped on land again, he continued forward and climbed a stone wall, still wondering how he suddenly knows how to swim.

He barely made it to the top, however, when he had to stop to catch his breath. Doing all of that would have been very easy before, and he would have done it without breaking a sweat. However, because of the gloom that drained him of his energy, that was no longer possible.

Sonic took a moment to catch his breath, leaning against a wall as he looked around. The air was heavy, and a feeling of oppression enveloped him. He knew he had to keep going, but every step reminded him of the lack of strength he felt.

Excalibur's murmur returned, clearer this time. It seemed to come from all directions, as if the walls themselves were whispering. Sonic tried to concentrate, trying to understand the message that was escaping him. However, before he could catch the words, the whispering ceased, leaving an awkward silence.

The hedgehog looked ahead. The only option was to continue exploring, hoping to find some clue as to Sunny's whereabouts. Despite his exhaustion, the determination in his heart burned stronger than ever. He couldn't give up.

He resumed his path, and again, he reached another platform suspended over a lake. He suspected that this lake and the previous one had been formed over time, as drops of water fell from everywhere.

He dove into the water without thinking, and when he returned to the surface, he found himself swimming to the shore. He was still in disbelief at seeing that his right arm glowed as he swam, but decided not to give it much importance for the moment. As he continued on his way, he found another platform, but in this case, it was suspended about 12 meters above a body of water.

Sonic knew very well that his body would end up in pieces if he tried to jump from such a height, especially without something that could slow his fall. He was reckless and he knew it, but this was suicidal even for him. However, he saw that on the banks of that body of water there was an exit, as the rays of sunlight filtered through there.

That was his ticket to get out and look for Sunny.

Taking a breath, Sonic looked at the body of water below. He nervously took a few steps back, then broke into a run, diving into the body of water and closing his eyes, waiting for the painful impact that awaited him.

However, when he finally hit the water, he felt no pain whatsoever. Instead, he felt as if he had suddenly been enveloped in a warm embrace that had protected him from certain death.

When Sonic returned to the surface, he took a deep breath, and looked around, truly making sure that he wasn't dead. How had he survived such a jump?

He then noticed again that his new right arm was glowing with a deep green hue again. He then deduced that the power of that arm had protected him and had also granted him the power to swim. If so, it would be the second time that it had saved his life, if the voice from before was to be trusted.

He finally swam to the shore and shook himself a little. He made sure that he still had Excalibur with him, and then he noticed a chest not far away. As he approached, it glowed with the same symbol that he saw earlier on that pillar that opened the door.

He brought his right hand closer to the symbol, and when it dissipated, the chest was no longer sealed. He opened the chest, and inside he found a kind of gray skirt and a pair of sandals with ribbons. Sonic grimaced at seeing that he would have to tie those things, but it was better than being completely naked, and barefoot.

With effort, Sonic put on the sandals, and only Chaos knew where he had gotten the strength to not lose his patience tying those things. When he did, however, he didn't feel any better. They weren't all that comfortable, but then again, he preferred that to hurting his feet while barefoot.

He put on his skirt as well, which did feel more comfortable, and then proceeded to head towards that exit.

It was a narrow but short hallway, followed by a somewhat longer walkway. The sunlight would have blinded him if he hadn't started blinking to get used to it. When he did, he noticed that the sky was completely blue, with no clouds in sight. That felt strange to him, but he ignored it for the moment, so he decided to get to the end of the walkway.

When he did, he felt like he was suddenly out of breath.

The reason the sky was so blue was because he wasn't under the clouds, but above them. Below, there were hundreds of islands floating in the air for some reason. That should be impossible, or at least that's what Sonic thought. He also spotted some sort of temple on one of the islands below. He wondered how the hell he got there if he was underground.

He looked at his right arm again. That arm, and he assumed that the owner of it, had saved him from the gloom and, recently, from turning into a pool of blood when he hit a body of water from a great height. Maybe that was what brought him here.

But why so high up? Why so far from the safety of solid ground? Was he even still in Equestria? So many unanswered questions were going to drive him crazy sooner or later.

Sonic looked over the edge, and below he saw a lake, on one of the many islands floating in the sky. If he jumped and calculated things right, he would fall into that lake. The power that protected him from the jump before should protect him again, right?

"Damn, I'm going crazy..." Sonic scolded himself with a laugh that was half nervous and half scared. "Yeah, I think I went insane... No one in their right mind would jump from this height into a lake or any other body of water..."

Sonic debated whether to go back to the cave he just came out of and look for some cloth that would work as a parachute, or just jump out and pray to every god he knows of that his new arm would save him again.

In the end, he took a deep breath, took several steps back, started running, and then dove into a dive.

He spread his arms and legs as he fell, and as he did so, he was able to see the landscape around him better. There were many more islands, and other structures, floating in the air in the distance, thousands of miles away that he wouldn't be able to reach from here. He also saw huge pieces of land floating, some connected to each other, others completely isolated.

The further he went down, the better he saw that temple he saw from above. With a better view, he noticed that it was built with pale stone and geometric in shape. It couldn't have been built by ponies, or by any tribe he knew of. That temple looked much more imposing and majestic. Not far away, an orange dragon flew that he had never seen before.

To his right, he saw a snowy area that gave him chills just looking at it. If he survived that jump he made, how the hell was he going to explore that area without being well equipped?

The closer he got to the body of water, Sonic decided to look at the clouds and squint, hoping to make out something familiar. He managed to see a huge mountain with something coming out of it, and he recognized it as Mount Crystal. That means he's still in Equestria, luckily.

Finally, Sonic was face to face with the lake, so he dove in, accelerating, and when he hit the water, he felt himself once again enveloped in a warm embrace that protected him from what should have been certain death.

He surfaced, taking a breath of air again, and then looked around. He was safe, thankfully.

He swam to the shore, passing by the stream of water lilies floating in the water. He could see that his right arm was glowing brightly again, but he already knew why at this point. When he reached the shore, he knelt on the ground and allowed himself to catch his breath. He hated feeling so weak because of the gloom, but with his new arm he at least felt a little more secure.

He stood up and began to look around. He was in a picturesque landscape, and not far away he saw mushrooms and apple trees. He also saw a wooden stick on the ground and a tree branch. He decided to take both to use as a weapon, just in case. After all, Excalibur was useless. Why use it?

He cautiously made his way down the path, and decided to take some apples from the apple trees. One of them was completely golden, to his surprise. He found that strange, but decided not to question it and kept it anyway.

The stone path Sonic was following led him to a strange artifact. He slowed his pace and approached the artifact. It seemed to be made of green stone. There were three stone flowers adorning the top. The artifact was not familiar to him at all, and it barely reached Sonic's height.

Suddenly, in the middle of the artifact, a yellow symbol very similar to a broom lit up, and the object began to move. Sonic stood on the defensive, holding the wooden stick he found earlier in his hand, just in case. The artifact released dust as it moved, and soon, it suddenly stood up, forming a green stone head with a single eye and the three flowers just above it. The head was attached to the body by floating stone rings, joined only by a greenish energy similar to that of its arm, the same with its huge stone hands.

That artifact shrank its neck and looked at Sonic closely, analyzing him, while the hedgehog remained on the defensive. However, after a while, the artifact retreated.

"Sonic. I have waited for you," An unnatural, mechanical voice suddenly said, coming from that thing.

"...What?" Was all Sonic managed to say. Everyone seemed to know his name, but he didn't even know where he was standing... literally.

"Sunny Starscout left something for you in my care," The strange artifact said. Following that, a part of its body opened like a drawer, and right inside, was Sunny's phone. "This is Sunny's phone. I am told it is an invaluable tool that will provide you with direction."

Sonic looked at Sunny's phone with wide eyes. He took it in his hands, examining it, then turned it over to see the screen, which immediately lit up, and soon he felt a sudden relief he didn't know he needed.

He wondered internally where Sunny went since he woke up, but if her phone was here, then Sunny couldn't be far away. Also, this thing told him that Sunny left it for him, so that was one more sign that Sunny is alive.

"I received it from Sunny Starscout. I have now passed it on to you," The artifact suddenly said, snapping Sonic out of his thoughts. "My records indicate that Sunny Starscout is waiting at the location marked on its map. My message has been delivered."

The artifact turned around, signaling that it was going to leave, but then Sonic stopped it. "Wait a minute…" The hedgehog said, gaining the artifact's full attention. "It seems you understand me… If so, do you know where am I?"

The artifact seemed to study Sonic for a brief moment before answering. "I see you're disoriented," The machine said, and Sonic had to swallow a snort. As if he didn't already know he was lost. "I'm a steward construct. There are more like me all over the Great Sky Island. If you have questions, don't hesitate to come to us for guidance. Anyway, you want to know where you are, right?"

Sonic thought he had his answer. Apparently it's on the Great Sky Island... It didn't ring a bell. He assumed that all those floating earthen clubs, including the one he's on, formed that Great Island.

However, Sonic just nodded at the construct, as the artifact called itself. He assumed that being a little more specific with his current location wouldn't be a bad thing.

"We stand in the Garden of Time," The construct replied, then turned and looked at the temple in the distance. "The Temple of Time is visible from here. It was used in the distant past. Many rites and ceremonies of the kingdom were held there." He turned back to Sonic. "But no more. Now it is a lonely place. No one visits."

Sonic felt like his mind was going to explode. The Temple of Time sounded familiar to him, but he wasn't sure what. Maybe he heard the name one of the many times Sunny tried to explain the Zonai civilization, but he's not completely sure.

"Do you need help with anything else?" The construct's voice brought Sonic out of his thoughts again.

Sonic just shook his head and looked at Sunny's phone still in his hands. He opened the map he never knew Sunny had installed on her phone, and discovered that she was right in the place the construct pointed out, the supposed Temple of Time. If she was there, he had no time to waste.

He put Sunny's phone away and walked over to a pedestal identical to the one in the room next to where he woke up. He walked over and placed his hand on the symbol once it appeared. As it dissipated, a smooth stone bridge suddenly joined together, allowing him to reach another platform suspended over a lake below.

This time, Sonic didn't think twice and dove headlong into the water. Upon impact, he was once again enveloped by that sensation that replicated a warm hug. He surfaced and swam to shore, shook himself off a bit, and then continued on his way. There wasn't much time left to reach the Temple of Time and reunite with Sunny.

He hadn't lost his touch.

On his way to the Temple of Time, Sonic encountered a pair of constructs that, unlike the one that gave him Sunny's phone, tried to attack him without remorse. Luckily, Sonic was able to use the wooden stick and tree branch he found earlier, finishing off those two like nothing.

When he defeated them, they both dropped two items. The first was a kind of sphere with a greenish energy inside it, identical to the one that emanates from his arm when he jumps into bodies of water from a great height. The other item was a rather sharp horn. It seemed to be perfect to be used as the tip of an arrow, or even the tip of a weapon.

Sonic figured that those horns could be useful to him later, so he took both horns, as well as the two spheres, and put them away. In turn, he took the spear and wooden stick that those constructs had used against him. They could be useful to him as well.

When he reached the temple, Sonic had to swim a short distance, then climb the rubble of what had once been stairs, and then he had to defeat another construct that was not far from the entrance to the temple.

That construct had a wooden stick, but also a shield. Sonic knew that both would be useful, so he pulled out his spear and approached the construct, attacking it only when it moved the shield out of the way to attack. Sonic, however, still knew how to handle weapons perfectly, so when the construct was about to attack, Sonic moved out of the way at the last second, jumping back.

Time seemed to suddenly stop, and now Sonic was moving faster than his opponent. Soon, he began to attack the construct mercilessly with his spear. When time began to run normally again, the construct fell defeated, leaving behind its horn and a sphere, just like the other two constructs.

Sonic took the sphere and the horn, putting them away. He also took the shield, which was made of wood, and in the middle had the same eye as that fallen pillar beneath Canterlot Castle. Sonic asked himself, for the first time since he woke up, why the hell he hadn't taken a shield with him when he traveled with Sunny to the castle's foundations. Maybe with the shield he could've blocked the gloom.

'Or maybe I would have ended up like the sword,' A cruel voice in his head told him, and he decided to shake off those thoughts. 'Now's not the time to regret. Sunny is waiting for you.'

He approached the giant closed doors of the temple, and in the middle, he saw the same green symbol with the hand in the middle that was already becoming familiar to him. He approached it and put his hand on the symbol, but unlike the three previous times, he suddenly felt a spark of electric current in his arm that made him back away.

That gave him a feeling of surprise and relief at the same time. At least his arm wasn't completely dead, for some reason he could feel the spark. He looked at the door again, but now he was confused. The green symbol was replaced by a red one with a big X in the middle, and Sonic's right arm suddenly started glowing. Sonic examined his arm, confused, and then...

"That door will open only to those with sufficient power..." A familiar voice suddenly spoke.

Sonic turned around abruptly, frowning and adopting a defensive stance.

He found himself facing a tall creature with an animalistic snout, long pointed ears, and a thick mane of white hair that reached almost to the ground. Its eyes were deep and blue, and between them, on its forehead, there seemed to be a third closed eye. Two small golden horns sat just above it.

Its body seemed to be covered in hair, but it didn't look anything like a beast. It wore a kind of robe that covered it from below the shoulders, leaving its torso bare. Its legs were covered by a toga with symbols on it that he couldn't quite identify. Jewels adorned its neck. An owl-shaped pendant hung from its belt. The creature seemed translucent; it gave off a blue glow. If he squinted, Sonic could see the landscape through its body.

'A spirit,' He guessed to himself. 'And it looks a lot like the statues I saw with Sunny. Is it a Zonai?'

Sonic stopped to look at the creature's right arm, and noticed that it was glowing green, as if the arm wasn't part of the spirit. He was starting to get suspicious about this spirit.

"I'm sorry—I did not intend to startle you," The spirit apologized, as he raised his right arm and showed it to Sonic. "It was I that spoke to you earlier. That arm originally belonged to me. I am Rauru."

Rauru lowered his right arm, and Sonic looked at his own before looking at Rauru again. He didn't understand how the hell his arm had gotten to him and become part of his body. And the strangest thing of all was that the spirit's name seemed awfully familiar to him.

"You... were the one who saved me down there, weren't you?" Sonic asked, although there was some distrust in his tone.

"That's right," Rauru nodded. "Forgive me for appearing to you in this manner. Unfortunately, I no longer have a physical form."

The spirit bowed its head in apology, and Sonic knew then that the spirit did not seek to harm him.

He had saved him from certain death under the castle, and his power must have been what enveloped him in a warm embrace when he jumped into the water from a great height, not to mention that it allowed him to finally swim. Now it appeared before him in peace.

Therefore, he decided to let his guard down, to show the spirit that he would not attack him. His arm suddenly stopped glowing, but he didn't give it any importance.

"How... how did you give me your arm?" Sonic wanted to know, and risked asking.

"My Zonai magic survived the passage of time. I recited a few words that did the job," The spirit replied, confirming Sonic's suspicions: He was a Zonai, and if he really knew Sunny as he claimed before, she must have almost lost her mind from excitement at meeting an actual, living Zonai. "In any case, that arm should allow you to open this door. It seems to have lost the power to do so."

Sonic looked at his right arm again. He was starting to get used to it, although he would be lying if he said he didn't miss his old arm. The one that made him feel things.

"You might be able to restore it, but you would need to enter a place filled with sacred light..." The spirit spoke, rubbing his chin. Then, an idea came to his mind, and he looked towards the east of the temple. "Ah, of course. Why not visit the shrines on this island?"

Sonic followed Rauru and his gaze, coming across a rock building in the distance, on top of a small hill with steps around it. The same rock was surrounded by a pair of pillars with dragon symbols in front that connected just behind the shrine.

And just above it, a green spiral with symbols that Sonic still didn't recognize appeared, identical to the one that protruded from the arm above that corpse under the castle.

"The shrines..." Rauru said, looking at Sonic, who looked back at him. "Yes, I am sure they are the key."

After saying that, Rauru disappeared, and Sonic was confused. He didn't had time to ask him about Sunny or how he knew her, and he really wanted to do so. However, he already knew that Sunny was on the other side of the temple doors.

And if he wanted to open them, he had to recover the powers of his new arm, so he decided to trust Rauru and set off towards that shrine, as the spirit called it.