Princess Silver Swirl; her dragon, Jade; and her Mew Pokèmon, Melisande were
enjoying a peaceful morning in the forest. Silver Swirl was lying under a tree, looking at how the
sunlight made the leaves seem to glow. Jade was sitting silently on a branch, hoping to spot a rare
species of bird. Melisande was flying around somewhere.
Silver Swirl was startled out of her trance-like state by a shriek. "That's
Melisande's voice!" she called to Jade, startling a rare bird away from the dragon. Using the
flying power given to her by a magical pig, Silver Swirl glided in the direction of the noise.
Although she looked around carefully, there was no sign of her beloved Mew.
Jade caught up to the unicorn. Where's Melisande? she asked
telepathically.
"I don't see her anywhere!" Silver Swirl replied. "Jade, I think she was Mew-napped!"
Mew Pokèmon were rare and valuable, and some collectors would pay outrageous
sums of money for them. Silver Swirl shivered as she thought of her Mew being sold to some
other pony. "We have to find her!"
Any tracks? asked the dragon.
Silver Swirl examined the ground, but didn't see any hoof prints besides her own.
"It must have been a pegasus," Silver Swirl concluded. "Let's go back to Friendship Castle and
get some help. We have an emergency here-- and a mystery!"
* * *
"So, you all need to keep your eyes peeled for a pony, especially a pegasus, trying
to sell a Mew," Silver Swirl finished fifteen minutes later in the living room of Friendship Castle.
The other ponies nodded in agreement. After they had dispersed, Twinkle Star approached Silver
Swirl.
"I'll help you find Melisande," the other princess promised. "I'm the only pegasus
in Friendship Gardens, so it was probably someone from Dream Valley." Silver Swirl agreed and
the two ponies, along with Jade, set off.
A while later they stopped at the Pokèmon Trading Inn. "If anyone wants to sell
Pokèmon, they'll do it here," Twinkle Star predicted. The two sleuths entered the large, noisy
building.
Inside they met Tabby, who was watching a Chansey and a Jigglypuff battling. "Hi,
Tabby," Silver Swirl greeted the other unicorn.
"Oh, hi," said Tabby. "Do you want to buy a Pokèmon?"
"Well, not exactly," Silver Swirl admitted. "I can't find my Mew and I think
someone stole her." Silver Swirl felt safe telling Tabby about the mystery; she knew that Tabby
would never steal Melisande. "Is there anyone around here selling a Mew?"
Tabby considered. "Yeah, Best Wishes mentioned having one for sale."
Silver Swirl's eyes grew wide. Best Wishes was a pegasus! "Thanks, Tabby,"
Twinkle Star said, but the pink unicorn had already returned to watching the Pokèmon
battle.
Silver Swirl whispered to Twinkle Star, "If Best Wishes is the thief, she might
recognize me. You'd better go over there and pretend you're interested in buying a Mew." The
unicorn watched from the shadows as Twinkle Star went to talk to Best Wishes.
"Hi," Twinkle Star greeted the other pony casually. "I heard you have a Mew for
sale."
"Yes, I caught it myself," Best Wishes affirmed. Twinkle Star's ears pricked up.
"My Charizard had a hard battle with it, though," the yellow-haired pegasus added. "Are you
interested in buying?"
"Um, yeah," Twinkle Star replied.
"It'll be ninety-nine jangles."
"Uh... could I see the Mew for a minute, and talk to it? I want to make sure we'll
get along," Twinkle Star invented rapidly.
"Sure," said Best Wishes, releasing a Mew from a PokèBall. Silver Swirl strained
to see it and sighed. It wasn't Melisande. Twinkle Star talked to the Mew for a minute and then
told Best Wishes that she wanted to look around some more.
"I'm so sorry it wasn't Melisande," said Twinkle Star to Silver Swirl.
"That's okay," Silver Swirl replied. "You did a great job of investigating." The
two ponies made their way back to Tabby.
"No luck?" asked Tabby. The other two shook their heads. "Hey, I bet I know
who stole Melisande!"
"Who?" demanded Silver Swirl.
"Tex!" said Tabby triumphantly. "I wouldn't put anything past him."
Silver Swirl groaned. Everyone knew that Tabby hated Tex because he had once
put worms in her lunchbox. "Well, we'll keep that in mind, but do you know anyone else who
wants a Mew?"
"Well," Tabby reflected, "Merry Treat wants to catch a wild one, but she would
never steal a Pokèmon."
"Hmm," said Twinkle Star. "Hey, maybe she thought Melisande was a wild
Mew!"
"No, that wouldn't work," Silver Swirl countered. "We would've seen hoof prints
since Merry Treat's an earth pony. Tabby, do you know any pegasi who want a Mew?"
"Umm... I think Princess Tiffany might've said she wanted one."
Silver Swirl looked at Twinkle Star. It was hard to imagine the vain Princess
Tiffany catching Pokèmon, much less stealing them, but they couldn't afford to overlook any
possibility. After thanking Tabby again, they began flying to the Royal Paradise, home of the
Dream Valley Princess Ponies. Jade, who was getting tired, rode on Silver Swirl's back.
"Oh, how are you?" Princess Tiffany gushed when they arrived. The two
Friendship Gardens ponies flopped into chairs.
"We're doing very well," said Silver Swirl. "We realized that we hadn't seen you
for a while, so we decided to pop in for a visit."
"Oh, that's so nice of you!" said Tiffany. "Would you like to see the fabulous ruby
earrings I bought yesterday? They were very expensive, but worth every jangle!"
"Um, sure," said Silver Swirl, and then added ever-so-casually, "Do you like
Pokèmon?"
"Poke-what?" asked Tiffany. "Oh, those things. They're all right, I suppose;
although they could never take Theodora's place." She stroked her Bombay cat, whom Silver
Swirl was staying as far from as possible (she was allergic to cats).
"Oh, I've heard of Pokèmon," said Princess Dawn, who had been passing by the
room. "You know, Gingerbread's been selling a lot of them at the mall. She even has some
Mews."
"Mews?" asked Silver Swirl excitedly. "Oh, sorry Tiff, we have to go. I'm horribly
allergic to cats, you know. Bye!" She, Twinkle Star, and Jade raced out the door. Tiffany fumed
behind them.
The Dream Valley Mall, as usual, was bustling, but the two princesses quickly
found their way to Gingerbread's booth. "Hello, may I help you?" the pretty Twinkle-Eyed pony
asked.
"Well, yes, actually," replied Silver Swirl. "I'm taking a survey on where sellers get
their Pokèmon. Do you buy yours from another pony or do you catch them yourself?"
"Actually, a friend of mine catches them for me," Gingerbread answered.
"Oh, anyone we know?" Silver Swirl tried hard to sound nonchalant.
"Her name is Minty," stated Gingerbread.
Silver Swirl sighed; Minty was an earth pony. "Thank you for your time," said
Silver Swirl politely. She and Twinkle Star walked away.
"I guess we'd better be getting back to Friendship Castle," said Twinkle Star.
"Maybe the others saw something." Silver Swirl agreed reluctantly.
When they arrived at the castle, Princess Trixiebelle rushed to greet them.
"Melisande's back!" the jester cried jubilantly. Silver Swirl dashed into the castle, where she
hugged Melisande.
"Where were you?" she asked her Mew, stroking the creature's silky fur.
"Well," Melisande began, "I was flying around in the forest when a baby pegasus
grabbed me and flew away with me. She didn't seem to mean me any harm, although she wasn't
overly gentle. I didn't want to hurt her, so I waited until she had brought me to her house. She
called me ‘Kitty' and gave me some disgusting cat food. I waited until she left the room and then
flew out the window."
"What was her symbol?" asked Silver Swirl.
"A purple balloon," replied Melisande.
"Oh, it must have been Baby Surprise! She really wants a cat. Oh, Melisande, I'm
so glad you're back!"
Several days later, Silver Swirl told Tabby what had happened. "I knew a baby
pony was the culprit!" said Tabby. "I wouldn't put anything past a baby pony."