When Sonic came to, he found himself in a cheetah's body. He groaned. "At least I still have a body that can go fast? But how will I get used to four legs?"

"At least you can still run fast," said a voice. Sonic squinted in the darkness until he saw a little black imp creature with an orange ponytail in her hair that looked like a hand. "Who are you?" Asked Sonic. "Don't be scared," said the creature. "My bark is worse than my bite."

"I'm not scared," said Sonic defensively. "You're trembling," said the creature. Sonic felt embarrassed. "There there, you be a good boy now. No need to shiver," said the creature with a giggle. "Sorry. It's chilly in here," said Sonic. "Doesn't hurt me," said the creature. "I have two layers of skin that can stand temperatures this low."

"I must be under a spell. Do you know what happened to me?" Sonic asked. "Sure I do. You turned into a cheetah. It happens when you're in the twilight realm," said the creature, giggling again. "So, to break the spell, all I have to do is go back to the light world, right?" Asked Sonic. "Correct," said the creature. "Oh, but it's not that simple. Only the light spirits have the power to undo the spell that was cast on you."

"Can you take me to this 'light spirit'?" Asked Sonic. "Sure," said the creature. "Follow me."

"I can't," said Sonic, pulling on the chain that was attached to his leg. "I'm stuck."

"Oops. Sorry, I forgot," said the creature. She teleported inside Sonic's jail and used her magic to break the chain on his leg. Sonic pointed to the cuff that was still around his ankle. "Wow. I didn't know cheetahs were so picky," said the creature. With a sigh, she used more magic to cut the chain off Sonic's leg. "Better?" She asked. Sonic nodded. "Okay. Let's go to the light spirit," said the creature. She led Sonic down a secret exit in the wall of Sonic's jail cell.

After helping Sonic find his way through the maze, they made it to the castle rooftop where they found a path that led to a tower. "Is that where the light spirit lives?" Asked Sonic. "It sure is," said the creature. "Come on." And they continued on. When they got inside the tower, they climbed up a stairway to a room where a figure in a black cloak was standing near the window. "That's the light spirit?" Asked Sonic. "Ooh. It looks like we're a little too late. Someone must've cast a spell on him. Or her."

"No one cast a spell on me," came the response. The figure came to Sonic and knelt beside him. "A spell was cast over the kingdom but I wasn't affected."

A long time ago, one week before my birthday, the guards, my family and I were preparing for my birthday celebration. We placed an order for a sword and shield as my birthday gift. But suddenly, our castle was invaded by a dark figure and dark beasts. The dark magic covered Hyrule with a spell that I call the Twilight Spell. This spell turned most of the people that live in an around the castle into spirits, except for me.

"The triforce of wisdom on my hand released a magical shield inside my body that protected me from the spell," said the figure.

"Wait a minute," said Sonic. "You're not a light spirit. You must be...?" The figure took her hood off. As she did, Sonic saw that she was wearing white gloves. "Those gloves look familiar," he said. He also saw that the figure under the cloak was a girl. She had brown hair tied up in three braids and she was wearing a beautiful gold tiara on her head. "I am the princess of Hyrule. I am Zelda," said the girl with a smile. "Princess! Happy birthday!" Said Sonic as the creature took the bag off Sonic's back and handed it to Zelda. The princess took the gift and opened it up. Inside she found a sword and a shield. "This is just what I wanted. Thank you," she said, bending over and giving Sonic a kiss on the nose. But he looked sad. "What's wrong?" Asked Zelda. "Pardon me, princess," said Sonic. "My name is Sonic and I'm supposed to be a hedgehog, but a spell turned me into a cheetah. I thought that kiss would break it. This lady creature also told me you were a light spirit."

"Perhaps she wanted to surprise you," said Zelda. "But as for this spell you speak of, a kiss won't break it. You must revive the light spirit that lives close to you. Once the spirit has been revived, part of the spell will be broken and you'll be a hedgehog again."

"How can I revive the light spirit?" Asked Sonic. "With this," replied Zelda, handing him an unusual necklace which the creature helped put around Sonic's neck. "That is the Vessle Of Light. With that, you'll be able to pick up light tears which are scattered close to where you live. There are twelve of them in total. When you gather all twelve of them, the light spirit will be revived."

"Tears of light. Interesting..." Sonic said, stroking his chin with one cheetah paw. "And Midna..." said Zelda, handing the creature the sword and shield. "Please hang onto those. When Sonic gets back to normal, he'll need them."

"You want to give up your present for Sonic?" Asked Midna in surprise. "A visit from the chosen one is the best birthday present of all," said Zelda, giving Sonic another kiss on the nose. "Thank you, Zelda," said Sonic, quite stunned by her generous move. "It's okay, Sonic. You'll need them more than me. Trust me," said Zelda with a warm smile. Sonic smiled back. And Zelda waved to him as he left the room with Midna. "So, Midna, let's go find the tears of light," said Sonic as he and Midna took a big leap off the castle roof.