Night had fallen on the Great Sky Island.

Sonic spent the entire afternoon trying to figure out what that dragon head that popped out from among the capsules of the Zonai device dispenser was.

Not knowing what to do, he decided to fuse it to a spear he found not far from the dispenser. The head pointed upwards on the spear, and Sonic decided to pretend to attack with it.

As soon as he did, the dragon's mouth spat fire.

He felt a little startled at first, but then he got used to the weight of the spear until he ended up liking it. He took out a pile of firewood he had collected when he decided to rest for a while and activated his spear, hitting the pile of firewood and creating a bonfire.

With that ready, he took off his weapons and his sandals. He took out a steak he got from hunting an ostrich he saw on the island and roasted it over the fire before eating it with relish. He wasn't a fan of hunting to survive, but he knew well that he had no other option on this island.

The rest of the night he just stared at the bonfire, until he slowly began to feel tiredness take over his body.

He laid down on the uncomfortable stone floor, a decision he was already regretting, but he had no other choice. He stared at the starry sky, which looked beautiful without any clouds in between. He was sure Sunny would love the view.

Sonic made himself comfortable as best he could on the hard stone floor, closing his eyes as the heat from the bonfire began to fade. His thoughts became entwined with memories, and soon, the barrier between reality and dream dissolved, transporting him to a moment in the past that he treasured with every fiber of his being.

Sonic boosted desperately through the castle's landing track.

After reading the lyrics of the song that Pipp has been apparently writing for him, it became so clear now.

He felt like a complete idiot for not getting the signs way sooner: She not only flirted, but she also cared for him. She listened when he needed to feel really open, she comforted him when he broke down multiple times, she even kissed him on her own that time Sparky went missing!

All this time, she always felt the same... and now she felt that all her preparation was worth nothing.

But he was going to change that. He needed to find her first, of course, but he was changing that anyways.

Luckily, he stopped running around the landing track and began to look around for her.

"Pipp?" Sonic called out. "Pipp! Where are you?!"

However, soon enough, he felt his ear twitching when he heard sobs coming from a certain direction.

Concerned, he decided to ran towards the cry origin. And once he approached, his eyes widened, and he felt his heart sink: Pipp was sitting at the edge of the track, sobbing as she trembled and lowered her head.

Sonic hated this sight. He hated to see her sad in general, but this... this was even worse. That's why he decided to slowly approach, but he just stood behind her, also conserving some distance, since he didn't wanted to bother her.

"Pipp?" Sonic called out with worry, but she didn't replied anything. "Pipp... a-are you—"

"I was stupid for making all of this..." Pipp said, as she tried to dry her tears with no success.

"What? You mean the little stage you settled to tell me something?" Sonic asked, but he was not joking this time, he was concerned.

"I mean everything!" Pipp snapped, turning to see Sonic with sadness, and Sonic himself felt his heart sinking more when he saw the broken expression on her face. "I didn't cared if this was super fancy or if it was something casual! I didn't wanted it to be perfect, I only wanted it to be honest!" She cried, with tears running down her cheeks. "But it doesn't matter now..."

"Pipp, that's not—" Sonic tried to say, but she cut him off again.

"I was so stupid thinking that someone so amazing like you could like a pop star princess like me, anyway..." Pipp interrupted, and whatever Sonic was going to add immediately died as he felt his face blushing, his heart racing, and a smile unconsciously drawing on his face, but said smile faded away once Pipp spoke again. "I mean, everything I do is sing and dance and be cheerful on livestreams... and you literally saved the world so many times that not even you can count them... It was dumb to think I ever had a chance..."

Sonic was now speechless. Hearing directly from her that she liked him was a bit unexpected, and he cannot describe the amount of joy he felt when she said that... But he couldn't believe Pipp could undervalue herself like that. She really thinks this way? Sonic couldn't believe it, and he definitely wouldn't allow it either.

"Pipp, that's just a lot of nonsense!" Sonic finally spoke without being interrupted. "I saved the world several times, but you? Pipp, you are the actual savor of magic! Has anyone ever told you that?"

Pipp frowned confused and simply shook her head in negation instead of using words.

"Pipp, your attention to detail is what allowed us to follow Reginald to find Discord; your streams made the rest realize Reginald followed the stream towards Fluttershy's Cottage, even when I ran away. And thanks to your desire to find Discord, we got a hint on how to find him on that mysterious lighthouse that disappeared," Sonic began to explain. "But that's not all! Before magic returned for the very first time, your intervention with Sunny is what allowed her to win against Alphabittle, and therefore, the Unicorn Crystal. And when Sparky went missing, the song you wrote for him is what helped us find him!"

Pipp's eyes widened a bit, and she looked sideways at Sonic. "I... I did all of that?"

"Absolutely!" Sonic replied with confidence. "You are as capable as I am when it comes to 'life or death' situations, Little Pipp. I thought you already knew that..."

Pipp smiled weakly, and Sonic noticed that, but her smile faded away as she looked back at the floor with sadness. "I... I want to believe you, Blue Star... I-I really do, b-but..." She said with sadness, as tears began to fall from her eyes again.

How much Sonic hated that sound. Pipp crying makes his heart sink and broke in pieces whenever it happens. He was in love with her, and he wanted to walk forward to give her comfort... but she was in a delicate situation, and he was afraid that she would turn him apart.

Regardless, Sonic decided to sing for her, the same song she wrote to confess, and while she was surprised at first, she eventually followed along, until they ended up dancing in the sky before returning to safe land.

They finished singing together with a hug, were Pipp nuzzled lovely Sonic's chest, while Sonic nuzzled his head over Pipp's mane.

"Pipp... I like you in ways I still cannot understand..." Sonic told her with a smile, and Pipp lifted her head to face him, and she could still see the love he had for her in his eyes, which made her smile. "If anything, I'm the one who thought you wouldn't feel that way for me. An amazing singer, a beautiful woman, a gorgeous pegasus... and an incredible being that cares for everyone around her. I thought that, because of my life, because of my recklessness, you wouldn't want me, Pipp."

"Oh, Blue Star..." Pipp said with a smile. "I love everything about you, including your flaws. You aren't perfect, and yet, you always bring out the best in everyone. I just... I thought you didn't liked me because you always seemed so centered on returning to your home, even if the signs you gave me says otherwise, now that I think about it."

"I was scared not only of you not liking me... but I'm also scared that Eggman tries to hurt you if we take that step," Sonic confessed with concern. "Yet... Knuckles knows that too, and he still managed to make things work between him and Izzy, so... I guess we should do the same."

Pipp felt her heart racing a marathon suddenly, her cheeks got red again, her wings opened and her eyes sparkled after hearing that. "A-Am I dreaming? D-Do you actually mean it?!"

"To tell the truth, I... I'm still afraid that Eggman could do anything to you... a-and I don't want to ever say goodbye to you, Pipp..." Sonic confessed, before looking back at her with a warm smile. "But... Gosh, I love you, Pipp Petals," He said, now caressing one of her cheeks softly. "I love you so much that I don't care if I have to fight Eggman a millionth times just to keep you safe. I will if necessary, and I promise you that I'll never leave you alone."

Pipp smiled brightly, and then she squealed like a little filly, embracing Sonic on another hug as she laughed and cried in happiness. Sonic smirked, wrapped his arms around her and twirled her in the air, causing the mare to yell in surprise, but she still laughed and never broke her hug on him.

An entire year of daydreaming with him, of supporting him, of knowing him, but most importantly, of loving him, all came to this: Him actually loving her as well. And Sonic was happy too, of course: Pipp was finally his girlfriend. Even if he was afraid, he always daydreamed about such a possibility, but it happened now, and he was so glad he actually went for it.

Sonic finally stoped and putted Pipp down, but once they faced each other, they knew what they wanted to do now... No. They knew what they needed to do now.

And so, Sonic broke the distance between them and pressed his lips against hers in a soft and lovely kiss. Their third one, true, but the longest one so far as well. This time, they were sealing their union as a couple, and they wanted to enjoy it. No tongue involved, no nasty desires, no dirty intentions: Just a hedgehog and a pegasus sealing their love in a kiss that they wanted to remember for the rest of their lives.

They separated from their kiss after a while to catch their breath, then they stared at each other and smiled.

"I could get used to this~" Sonic said in a flirty tone.

"Oh, you better get used to it, handsome~" Pipp replied with the same tone, making circles with her hoof on Sonic's chest. "Because I'm planning to do this more often from now on~" she added playfully. "I love you, Sonic."

"And I love you too, Pipp," Sonic replied with a smirk and a blush.

Pipp leaned to kiss him again, wrapping her hooves around his neck, while Sonic wrapped an arm around her back and caressed her cheek carefully with his free hand.

Perhaps this wasn't exactly how they imagined their declaration to go. But honestly? They wouldn't change anything, either.

Sonic slowly woke up, his body still remembering the warmth of sleep.

The bonfire in front of him had diminished, the embers barely glowing in the darkness of the night. He felt revitalized, but at the same time, with a melancholy in his chest as he remembered the sweetness of that moment.

He looked up at the sky, now empty of the stars they had shared that very special night. Pipp was in Equestria, perhaps looking at the same sky, and even though she wasn't there with him at the moment, he knew their connection was still as strong as ever. He promised himself that he would do everything he could to reunite with her as soon as possible. But first things first, he had to find Sunny.

He tried to go back to sleep, but the hardness of the ground and the diminished bonfire were making it too difficult. In the end, he gave up and put the idea of sleeping aside.

He put his sandals back on, equipped his weapons, and then extinguished what was left of the bonfire to continue his journey. The sooner he obtained the missing power, the sooner he would open the door to the Temple of Time and meet Sunny.

He decided to advance to a cave that was not far away, and entered it. He found multiple brightbloom seeds and, to his surprise, chili peppers growing on bushes. That last thing made him remember something.

Once, when he tried to cook with Sunny without much success, he glanced at a book that the mare was reading while he tried to keep up with her. In that book, many recipes were shown, including one called "Spicy Poached Fruits", which the book claimed had effects that helped resist the cold. Sonic, at the time, did not believe in it, but now he hoped with all his might that it was true.

To cook the dish, he only needed an apple and three chili peppers... He has everything he needs, and right inside that cave, there was also a pot on fire.

'I am a very lucky bastard,' thought Sonic, smiling to himself.

He quickly began to cook the chili peppers and apple in the pot, making sure to follow the steps in that book correctly. He remembered several recipes from it, although he hoped he didn't get any steps wrong since he doesn't have a very good memory.

When the dish was ready, he felt his mouth water. It looked delicious, but he couldn't try it yet. First he needed to be sure that its effects worked. He prepared another identical dish, put both away, and went deep into the cave, climbing the rock walls and collecting the brightbloom seeds he found. He also came across more chili peppers that he saved to cook more in the future.

Once he reached the top, he came across an exit that would take him straight into the snowy area of the island. If he continued in his current state, he could die of the cold. Luckily, that wouldn't happen.

He took out one of the dishes he cooked and ate it whole. When he finished eating, he suddenly felt a heat run through his body. That cave suddenly seemed to be warmer.

He took a deep breath and then stepped out of the cave, heading into the snowy tundra that awaited him on his way to the last shrine on the island. And when he did... he didn't feel cold. It felt like the cold air had dropped in temperature from one moment to the next. It was true that his breath froze in the air, but he didn't feel cold.

The effects of the dish worked perfectly.

Now that Sonic could move through that snowy tundra without much trouble, he decided to get going. He pulled out Sunny's phone to see where the blue pin that would take him to the shrine was marked. It was north of his current position.

He put Sunny's phone away and started to move forward. He could see the green flash of the shrine from where he was, but he still felt that checking the map was the right thing to do.

He moved forward at a quick pace, taking out three Soldier Constructs with his new spear and collecting their horns and Zonai charges, until he came to a cave.

He went deeper into it, collecting the brightbloom seeds he saw and a few chili peppers he had found. He also collected a strange flower that reminded him a lot of a round bomb, like the ones Eggman used to make to eject from his machines. Opening it a little, he found a material very similar to gunpowder. He assumed it was some kind of explosive flower.

He carefully put it away and continued on his way. The cave went up, so he found himself walking up a small but steep hill. When he got to the top, however, he found the exit of the cave blocked by a strange monster. It was as big as Omega and walked on two legs, but it had a huge mouth, with long fangs that looked like they could cut through metal.

The creature looked at Sonic and opened its mouth, showing a kind of very large uvula, but it also seemed very sensitive. Without thinking much, Sonic took out as fast as he could his bow along with an arrow, aimed at the uvula and fired, hitting the target.

The creature stretched abnormally. It went from being about 6 feet tall to almost 29 feet, but the creature's mouth was left open with the uvula exposed.

At this, Sonic ran, took out his Amber Blade and began to attack the monster's uvula mercilessly, until it returned to being 6 feet tall, but it writhed in pain and agony, and then exploded in a purple aura, leaving behind a chest. Sonic approached the chest and opened it, finding a ruby inside. He decided to save it to sell later when he returned to Equestria.

He left the cave and found a steep path to his left. It led him to a high area, near the edge of the area where the shrine was located.

He ran up the steep path with some effort, taking short breaks to catch his breath. He already hated the gloom for being responsible for the illness and/or death of many ponies on the surface. Now he hated it even more for what it did to his body.

He would get revenge on that mummy the next time he faced it, that was for sure.

After catching his breath, he approached the edge of a cliff too high for him. He could try to climb it, but there were walls of solid ice there. Climbing that thing was not a good idea.

He looked around, looking for a solution, and came across a fallen tree trunk. He approached it and lifted it with Ultrahand, placing it vertically on the ice wall. He realized that with the log in that position, he could climb the snowy part of the cliff without having to touch the ice.

With a determined look, he climbed the log and reached the top, then began to climb the snowy part of the cliff and reached the top in one jump. He threw himself down in the snow to catch his breath again, but smiled to himself. He had succeeded, and was now close to the shrine.

With one jump he stood up and began to walk towards the shrine, while the sun rose on the horizon, announcing that a new day had arrived, while the bell of the Temple of Time began to ring in the distance.

Already in front of the shrine, Sonic put his hand to the symbol in front of the building. It faded away, opening the entrance and a round blue symbol flashed behind him. With the shrine open, Sonic ventured into it, ready to obtain Rauru's last power.

The shrine expanded as Sonic entered it.

He looked around, though this time it wasn't so much out of shock, but to make sure he was entering the right place and hadn't made a mistake. As he stopped in front of the entrance, Rauru appeared before him, smiling.

"So you've made it here. Now then, extend your right hand."

Sonic complied, and extended his right hand forward. Once again, and just like last time, he wasn't surprised to see the greenish energy accumulating in his palm.

For a while, the energy continued to accumulate. It stopped as soon as it formed a sphere, and it had the symbol of a person inside a kind of greenish waterfall. The sphere entered his new arm, and Sonic felt its power run through him completely.

"This is the Ascend ability," Rauru explained, and on that occasion, Sonic didn't know what Rauru was talking about with the name of the power. "It let's you travel through what's directly above you—to ascend through it and emerge on top of it."

'Travel through what's directly above me?' Sonic asked himself, and mentally changed each word to better interpret it, until his eyes widened. 'Wait... I can go through the ceiling?!'

"You'll find it quite useful in all sorts of places and situations," The spirit said, bringing Sonic out of his thoughts. He assumed that he wouldn't receive very precise instructions on that occasion. "You know what's next, Sonic. Use Ascend, and receive the blessing from this shrine."

After saying that, Rauru vanished, leaving Sonic alone to overcome the shrine.

He had no idea exactly how he was going to get through it, though to be fair, he hadn't had any idea of the previous two shrines either, and he far surpassed them. This one was going to be no different.

With determination, he began to make his way through the shrine. After taking two steps, he found himself at a very high area that he couldn't reach by jumping, climbing, or even by climbing a ladder. That said, there was plenty of room for him right below.

He positioned himself in that spot and looked up with a smile. He felt a new power coursing through his right arm, and on the ceiling, he visualized a kind of field that he could pass through.

He then made a humanly impossible leap, his arm glowing with green energy, and once he hit the ceiling, he passed through it. He began to move as if he were swimming, and once his head and torso were up on the surface, he saw that he was on the other side.

He pushed himself out of the ground, sticking one foot out in front of the other, and then continued on his way. He was now facing a giant wall with more of a path to follow to the top of it.

He found two columns attached to the wall, a short one that barely reached halfway up the wall, and a longer one that reached all the way to the top. He approached the short column first and climbed up through it. Once on the other side, he found a chest. He opened it by bringing his hand close to the large green symbol, dispelling it, and inside the chest he found more bomb-shaped flowers. He decided to call them Bomb Flowers from now on.

He carefully put the flowers away and dropped to the ground, landing on his feet, then got under the other column, the one that leads to the very top, and passed through the big column.

Once he reached the very top, he found himself face to face with another Soldier Construct with a long, curved horn. He decided to refer to that type of construct as Captain Construct, although he himself didn't know why, he just thought the name would suit him.

He pulled out his Soldier Reaper and shield and charged into battle with the construct.

The construct only had a wooden bow, and fired an arrow that could have pierced Sonic if he hadn't put the shield in front of himself in time.

Frowning, Sonic approached the construct and used his Soldier Reaper to hit the construct three times in the chest, finally destroying it completely with a spin attack that ended up splitting the construct in half.

As it fell limp to the ground, Sonic grabbed its horn and Zonai Charge. He then noticed a couple of boxes on a wall, and a chest on top of it. The funny thing was that the boxes seemed to be part of the wall, not outside of it.

Sonic smashed the boxes using the rock axe, uncovering a small gap he could use Ascend through. He did just that, and once up there, he walked over to the chest and opened it. Inside he found a handful of arrows. They weren't much of a reward, but he'd rather have spare arrows than none at all. He was sure he would be using the arrows a lot with Fuse once he returned to Equestria.

He put away the arrows and climbed down from that spot, then headed to a plank that was held up by a pair of ropes that didn't allow it to go all the way down. Using the Amber Blade, Sonic cut the ropes, and the plank fell until it was perfectly positioned so he could ascend through it.

Without wasting any time, Sonic used Ascend and reached the top, crossing to the last area of the shrine that he would have to overcome to get out of it. In this new area, there was a moving platform, which passed under another platform that was right in front of the pillar of sacred light, or so Sonic thought.

He figured he would have to be fast, and that was his speciality. He noticed that, every time the platform stopped at one end, it stayed still for a while before going to the other. He took advantage of that when the platform went to the right, ascending it as soon as it stopped.

Then, as the platform began to move, he prepared to ascend the one above, and once it passed below, he activated Ascend and ascended the platform.

He finally reached his destination, the end of the shrine, with the pedestal and the figures of Rauru and his wife waiting for him. He touched the symbol with his hand in front of the pedestal and made it dissipate. Immediately afterward, the chamber with the figures opened, while greenish symbols flew through the air.

"You have done well to reach this place," That voice spoke in his mind. "We offer this light that will cleanse you of evil."

Immediately afterward, the green symbols floating around the figures transformed into golden flashes that entered Sonic.

Just as it had been happening until now, he felt that that light was returning to him a part of the strength that was taken from him in the foundations of the castle. At this point he already had the idea that there were more shrines like this in Equestria, and he planned to find them all.

Slowly, the light faded, and Sonic looked at the figures again.

"May the Light of Blessing grant you the strength you seek," The voice said.

Then, the figures were enclosed, and Sonic could no longer see them. He knew what it meant, so he turned around and walked down the path toward the exit of that shrine.

When Sonic came out, he felt an intense cold, and started to shiver a little.

He assumed that the effect of the dish he ate earlier had worn off. Fortunately, he had cooked another one, so he took it out and gobbled it down in one bite. He felt the effects work immediately, because the cold started to wear off, and he started to feel much warmer.

A few seconds later, Rauru appeared in front of him, showing a proud smile and look at Sonic.

"I see you've restored some power to that new arm of yours," The spirit spoke, and his tone also radiated pride. Then, Rauru turned in the direction of the Temple of Time, with Sonic imitating him. "The door into the Temple of Time should now open for you."

Sonic looked at Rauru, raising an eyebrow. "How do you expect me to travel there so quickly? I'm in a bit of a hurry. I'm not sure how much more time I have before everyone in Equestria goes crazy because Sunny and I disappeared. Not to mention that, as much as I'd love to run up there, a fucking mummy drained all my strength, and now it's like I've gone from level 100 to level 1. By the way, how long has it been since I got up here?"

Rauru looked at Sonic thoughtfully. He seemed to be studying the hedgehog's face, and for a moment, he didn't say anything.

In the end, he sighed heavily and turned his gaze to a fixed point. "Three days since you woke up. Two weeks since I brought you up here."

'Two weeks?!' A voice in Sonic's mind screamed in panic. 'Damn it, that's too long. I have to go to the temple and meet up with Sunny right away. I've already wasted too much time on this island.'

"I have to hurry. It can't take me that long to get to the temple," Sonic said, frowning as he looked at the Temple of Time.

"It's not that far."

"It's a damn two days walk. I don't have two days, Rauru. Do I remind you that a mummy left me drier than a fish out of water?"

The spirit fell silent, scratching his chin and thinking. Sonic wasn't a fan of waiting, but he figured it was the best thing to do for now.

After a while, Rauru spoke up, an idea crossing his mind. "Show me Sunny's phone."

Sonic couldn't quite read Rauru’s expression, so he couldn't figure out what he was up to. Still, he decided to trust and obey. After all, Rauru had done nothing but help him so far. Why would he start acting different out of nowhere?

He pulled out Sunny's phone, turned it on on the map, and showed it to Rauru.

"Sunny's phone lets you travel to certain places instantly," the Zonai explained, earning a surprised reaction from Sonic, who turned the phone around to see it himself. How did he not notice? And more importantly, how can Sunny's phone do that? Since when? "Now, see all of the blue marks on your map? You can travel instantly to any of them."

"Whoa... Sunny has a lot of tricks I didn't know about..." Sonic muttered to himself.

Since when did Sunny have such an advanced phone with a map, pins, a telescope, and a damn teleport function? What else did he not know about her? What else did she hid?

"If you want to get to the temple immediately," Rauru's voice brought Sonic out of his thoughts for a moment, "you can use said function to get to the first shrine I showed you, since it's the closest to the temple."

Once he said that, Rauru vanished, leaving Sonic alone again.

However, now that he had the teleport option activated, he would save himself the two-day trip on foot to the temple, which was excellent news. The bad thing was that he couldn't just go right away since he still doesn't feel strong enough to run like before, but he'll fix that problem later, if he has the time.

"Hold on a little longer, sis," Sonic said to himself with a determined look. "I'm on my way."

He selected the icon of the shrine near the temple, and immediately after, he was surrounded by blue flashes that transported him from his spot to that shrine.

Author's Note

Oh, poor Sonic. The fool thinks he's going to reunite with our beloved Sunny. But let's not dash his hopes just yet. It's so much fun to watch him suffer :)

And yes, I did send the last shrine to hell. Seriously, I find it super unnecessary on a narrative level that, in the game I'm basing this on, Link can't open a damn door for ONE heart. Anyway, Zelda stuff.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Thanks for reading, see you later!