//------------------------------//
// Operation Sweet Apple Acres 
// Story: Day One 
// by Miniscule Literary 
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To assume victory is to ensure defeat. To assume that a society of small technicolored ponies won't beat you to death is also probably not very smart.

David's plan, it seemed, went off without a hitch. He had spent the remainder of the day huddled in the corner of one of the enclaves, his knees acting as a brace for the book he was reading. Twilight had come and gone numerous times by the time the sun was setting. Considering he was not yet under attack by a furious purple unicorn, he could only assume Spike had sent the letter.

After dusk arrived and the danger had apparently passed, the potential consequences of his plan- namely, Celestia informing Twilight of the letter in a way that gave him up -got him thinking about the nature of the danger he was in. Could he truly die here? He had never seen a true instance of death on the show, with the exception of a funeral in one episode. They never did explain how that pony happened to die. He could only hope it was due to old age or some other natural cause.

He was not particularly afraid of gruesome maulings from the town's population. Even some of the gags he had seen on the show would be potentially fatal in the real world. Did the cartoonish durability of the Equestrians also apply to him now? It was a question that could only be answered with experimentation. The potential pain (or worse) was not exactly motivating him to find out anytime soon. He would have to assume the worst, to avoid the worst.

After he was sure Twilight and Spike had retired to their room for the night, David swiftly climbed the stairs and exited the basement into the library proper. Sure enough, his letter was gone from the table on which it had rested. With a confident, self assuring nod, he left the library with the swift stealth he had honed over the last few days.

His abilities in the dark were not the only thing that had improved. Due to the lack of lights in the basement (at least, ones he could find and operate), his vision had become accustomed to the blackness as well. This, at best, meant he was less likely to bump into large objects along his path, which had been a serious hazard the first few nights. He was still a far cry from a nocturnal creature prowling the night with confidence.

This was once again a night of scavenging. His options, however, were growing smaller and smaller. If he took too much from one particular business, even over the course of a few days, it might alert them of the theft as their supplies continued to disappear. As well, he didn't exactly feel very good about stealing merchandise from innocent creatures to the point where he might kill their business as a whole. Morality in the land of sunshine and rainbows, indeed.

Thus, he had two options: Return to Sugarcube Corner, which he hadn't touched since he arrived, or explore an option he had been trying to avoid: Sweet Apple Acres. One would think that taking a few apples in an orchard would hardly be noticeable. But these were ponies who lived and breathed their work. Applejack noticing a few missing apples was far from an unlikely scenario. Once again, however, a lack of options forced his hand.

The path to the orchard was long, confusing, and dark. Even though it was connected to Ponyville by roads, in the dark, and in unfamiliar surroundings, he frequently found himself getting lost. He had never ventured this far out during his nightly hunts, and for good reason. After doing a few circles around town, he eventually found what he thought to be the road to his destination. Around him, the quaint little homes, shops, and stalls melted away into rugged rural landscapes. Even in the dark, he could see this change, and it left him feeling very exposed. No more buildings were left to dart behind in an emergency.

It was just him and the wide open road to Sweet Apple Acres.

The trip was, thankfully, not very long once he was on track. The massive farm itself was visible on the horizon in no time at all, looming threateningly in the dark. With only moonlight and vague memories to guide him, David hopped the small fence into the orchard itself. Instead of taking from the outer trees, he walked deeper into the field of trees before selecting his spoils. The apples  did not seem as ripe as he had hoped, but he was not very picky at this point. Taking four from the tree as quietly as he could, the man retreated back the way he came until he found the road, the apples cradled in one arm. 

Before he set off down the road, he gave a lingering look back at the farm house itself. Somehow, he felt as though the experience had been too easy, almost as if he had come to expect complications in his plans. He half expected Winnona and Applejack to come barreling out of the side door to bring him to his doom. But after a few seconds of staring, such a thing would not come to pass. David made the short trip back to the library whilst resisting the urge to eat one of the apples right then and there, focusing deeply on not dropping any of them as he got inside. Collapsing into the corner of the basement with his bounty still cradled in his arm, he enjoyed the sweet taste of Sweet Apple apples and prepared himself to sleep.

"I wonder if my family and friends realized I'm gone yet. I wonder if I still have a job."