"I'm so sorry Rarity..." We were now surrounded by mares. There were a few stallions too, but I guess males really were scarce in Equestria. They were all around me, jumping and eager to meet me. It was better then all of them running in fear... but still annoying. I held Rarity close to my side as I tried to force my way to a clearer spot in the crowd. I was forced to lift Rarity into my arms in order to keep from losing her.

"Are you kidding? This attention is fabulous!" She cheered. I rolled my eyes. The screams of the nearby ponies droned on.

"Hi! It's so nice to meet y--"

"Hey! I'm Quick Silver! Could you--"

"Can I get your autograph?"

"Are you dating anypony?"

"I need your help!" At this one, I stopped and looked for the source of the yell. A yellow earth pony mare with a dark blue mane was crying not a few feet to my left, being shoved aside by other ponies. I forced my way through the crowd to her. I pushed several ponies to the side to clear a small area around her. I was only using my left arm to do it, and my bruises were giving me grief about it already.

"Miss! You said you needed help?" I roared above the crowd. She let out a small sob and nodded vigerously.

"S-somepony kidnapped my filly!" She choked out.

"... WHAT?!" My scream waved out over the crowd, quickly silencing them. "Somepony stole your daughter?! In Equestria!? You all are supposed to be above things like that!"

"I... I don't know who else to g-go to! I... I can't go to the guards... please help me!"

"Sharky, what's going on?" Rarity asked.

"I'm very sorry Rarity, I have to help ths girl... You like attention right?"

"... Yes..."

"I'm so sorry. Hey, everypony! This is my marefriend! She designs all my clothes and is the best designer in Equestria! She can answer any questions you have about me!" I put Rarity down on the ground and picked up the mare who's daughter had been kidnapped. I took off as the crowd began to redirect themselves at Rarity.

"W-wait! Sharky!" Rarity shouted after me.

"Sorry!" I ran and kept running, turning down a few alleys and ducking behind a few buildings until I was sure everypony had lost me. I had stopped in a dark alley behind some sort of restaurant. he only other living thing with me was the mare, and a stray dog. I placed her down on the ground. "Ok, now. Tell me exactly what's going on." She nodded slowly.

"Ab-bout three days ago, somepony stole my daughter! I was working my night shift as a waitress at my dad's shop, the 'Cake King', when two someponies broke in! They were wearing masks and black body suits... I have no idea what they looked like... They took all they money... then, they grabbed my daughter from her crib as they checked for valuables upstairs... t-they said... if I called the royal guards on them... they would kill her... Please, I don't know where else to go! You have to help me!"

"Of course I will! Lead me to the 'Cake King', I'll see if I can find any clues there!" I said sternly. She nodded happily.

"Oh! You really are a hero! Please, follow me!" She took off out of the alley. I quickly ran after her. I ducked behind as much cover as I could as I followed her, desperate to not attract attention. Within a few minutes, she stopped in front of a small building. The front was very plain, save for a huge neon red sign the read 'Cake K ng'. The 'i' in 'King' had gone out. I took a quick look around the area. We were in what would best be described as the poor part of town. All the buildings looked run down and neglected. Weeds sprang up from cracks in the poorly built sidewalk. It broke my heart to see anything like it in Equestria. The mare waved me into the building. The door jingled as she pushed it open.

"Oh! A customer!" A deep voice boomed from the store. It was a small little building. There were booths running along 2 of the four walls, the red covering on the seats was dull and broken. The back of the building had a counter with a cash register on it. Behind the counter was a small kitchen area, and in that area was a round yellow earth pony stallion with a green handlebar mustache a short-cropped green mane. His cutie mark was a cake. He took a look at his daughter. "Oh, it's you Blueberry... Sorry... I thought it was a... Hey! Is that Equestria's hero!?" He seemed excited all of the sudden.

"Ugh... I'm not a hero!" I groaned.

"Yes papa! He says he's going to help us find Strawberry!"

"... Are you all named after fruit?"

"Oh, where are my manners? *ehm* I'm Apple Tart! Owner of this fine establishment! Yes, we're all named after fruit, it's an old family joke. You know, types of tarts? Anyway, that's not important! You're here to find my granddaughter?!" The portly pony said quickly.

"Ah, makes sense now. Damn fatty, lay off the cake. So, what did Strawberry look like?"

"Hey! I know I'm heavy, but there's no need to call names!" Apple balked. I blinked in confusion.

"Oh! Sorry, that was Steven! I have two voices, one is Steven, a really mean guy. Just ignore him. This is the real me. If I change my voice, remember that it isn't me ok?" Apple seemed pretty confused.

"Blueberry, are you sure you didn't bring me some kinda' crackpot?"

"Oh no! I'm sure he's the hero! He agreed to help me without even thinking about it! We'll just have to deal with the... Steven... We need his help papa!"

"Standing right here ya know." Apple turned back to me.

"Oh, right. Well... I appreciate the help... uhh... why don't you tell him about Strawberry sweetie?" Blueberry nodded.

"Ok, Strawberry is yellow, just like me and papa. Her eyes are light pink, and her mane is dark red. She's an earth pony, like me. She's skinnier than most baby fillies... Oh! She has a little hairband like this one..." She pointed a hoof at a hairband in her mane that had a few plastic blueberries on it. "Except with strawberries. She was so young... She can't even talk yet..."

"Huh... not too much to go on... Well, where did they break in?"

"Oh, I'll show ya!" Apple offered. He waved me to the back of the building. I followed him behind the counter and into the kitchen. In the back right corner of the kitchen, there was a doorway with no door, and a busted screen door outside that. The hinges had wood still attached to them, so it was obvious somepony had broken down the door. "I would've gotten the door fixed by now... but we've got no money since they robbed us..." He lowered his head and looked defeated. My heart cried out for him. I took my bit pouch and handed it to him after I took out my phone. He got a puzzled look and held out his hoof. I dropped the pouch and his hoof fell to the ground. "Whoa!"

"That is 6,000 bits. I don't need them." He gasped and looked up at me in shock.

"6-6-6-6,000 bits?! N-no, I couldn't possibly--"

"Just take them. I never use bits anyway! If anything, the weight is just a burden to me."

"A-are you s-sure?"

"Yeah, now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some criminals to find..." I started closely examining the door. Apple stuttered a few more times as he backed out of the kitchen. "Ok... Somepony broke the door, so it wasn't a unicorn, they'd just unlock it... Hmm? What's this?" As I took a closer look at the screen door, I saw a small patch of black fabric and a tuft of fur hanging from one of the wires. It was deep red, but to the touch it was dry and fluffy, so it wasn't blood. "Hey Blueberry!"

"Yes hero?" She called from the main room.

"Could you see if they had wings? You know, were there bumps under their suits?"

"No, neither of them had wings!" Good, that meant I was looking for a red earth pony. The fur was obviously from a coat, not a mane. It was too fine and short to be mane hair.

"We should look upstairs for more clues. Huh, I think I should check upstairs for more clues..." I walked away from the screen door and back into the main room. Apple was babbling incoherently and gessturing to Blueberry then the coin pouch.

"Are you ok papa?" She asked nervously.

"Oh, he's just happy. How do I get upstairs?" She pointed a hoof at the kitchen.

"Why is he so happy?"

"Look in the pouch. Bye." I walked back into the kitchen and saw a small staircase o the opposite side of the room from the door. I hadn't noticed it on my way in. I started walking up the stairs.

"Oh my Celestia!" Blueberry shouted behind me. I grinned and kept walking. At the top of the stairs was a trapdoor. I pushed it open and pulled myself up into a small room. Inside was one ratty matress lying on the ground, and a nice little crib. The crib was well kept and looked freshly painted. There were tons of brand-new toys in the crib. It was obvious they cared very much for Strawberry. Then something dawned on me. I pulled out my phone and called Luna.

"Oh, hello Sharky! What doth thou need?"

"Look, I can't talk long Luna, but I need to go back to Ponyville for a minute. Then I need to come back to this location. You can do that right?"

"Of course! May we... I inquire as to the reason?"

"... I'm sorry princess, but I can't tell you this time."

"Why ever not?"

"It... could be very bad... Can you just trust me on this one?" She didn't even blink.

"Of course we... I trust you. Very well." In a flash, I was standing in Twilight's library again.

"Sharky! Back already?" She was still in the same corner, still reading.

"Yeah, where's Fang?"

"He came in not too long ago, why?"

"FANG!" As soon as I yelled, Fang came out of the bedroom and bolted down the stairs, barking like an idiot. He jumped into me and somehow managed to grip my shoulders with his forepaws. He started licking my face happily, but he was sliding down and about to fall, so I wrapped him in a hug. "Hey boy! Hey, stop licking me for a second ok?" He gave me one last long lick on my right cheek, the backed his head away from my face and stared at me intensely. "Hey, I need your help ok? A little filly's life could be in danger. Can you be serious and help me?" He nodded vigerously. "That means no licking, no barking, no running off, no playing, and no fighting anything without my permission." He blinked a few times, as if thinking, then nodded again. "Good."

"Sharky, what do you mean a filly's life is in danger?!" Twilight shouted. I put my finger to her lips to quiet her down.

"Stay calm! Look, I've just got... a little crime to bust ok? Don't worry, I'm dealing with normal ponies, nothing dangerous. I just need Fang's help." Her eyes got wider and she started squirming under my finger. I sighed. Then I took my hand away from her mouth and quickly pulled out my phone and called Luna. She answered right away. "Go now!"

"Sharky you can't--" I flashed away in a black light. "... just go around and... *sigh*..."

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We were back in the building, just like Luna said. She had hung up right after teleporting us. I guess she was respecting my wishes for her to not get involved.

"Ok Fang, smell this for me." I put Fang down on the ground held out the tuft of fur for him. He quickly sniffed it vigerously. Then sniffed the ground and started sniffing around. "I don't think you'll find a scent here, it'll be at least three days old. I just want you to remember that smell. We're going to search Canterlot for a match, ok?" He nodded vigerously. Then what I just said dawned on me. "Oh crap... I gotta search all of Canterlot..."