Urbanization

"It was a good party, wasn't it Spike?" Twilight asked me as she closed the library door. She looked at me, smiling, and hoping for a compliment. After today, I think she deserved it.

"Yeah, it was a good party. I'm glad to be back home, though. It's been a long day." She smiled again, and began to walk towards to her desk.

"I am pretty surprised that you were the one who planned the party, though." I said. Twilight was a great friend, but she tended to be a little bit... awkward with social events. I was absolutely sure that Pinkie had helped her pull it off.

"Well," she said, a bit smugly, "I did read a book about planning parties. And Pinkie Pie helped me out a little." I know her way too well.

"Speaking of books," I replied, "I thought that I'd be getting one from you today. Looks like you finally learned your lesson!"

Twilight's eyes widened. I knew that look. That meant she had meant to get me a book, but had forgotten because she had been busy planning the party. She laughed nervously, and said, "Yup, I learned my lesson. I thought that this party would be enough of a gift for you." I need to get out more. I read her way too easily. I could have called her out on it, but I really didn't feel like struggling through another book. So, I decided to let it slide.

"It was a really great party." She smiled at that. "But," I mused, "I wish that Ponyville was bigger. Don't get me wrong, I like our friends, but it gets a little bit boring seeing the same people every single day. That's what I liked about Canterlot. Every day was a new experience." I turned back towards Twilight. "You know what I mean?

Suddenly, she stopped. She stared at me for a moment, and paused. "Yes," she said slowly, "I think that I do. And I think I just came up with a birthday present for you!" My mind began racing, and my heart was beating like a hammer. And not in the, "Wow, this Fire Ruby is going to taste amazing!" kind of way. It was more like the, "Queen Chrysalis has returned, she's standing on my porch, and she wants to know if she can crash on my couch" kind of way.

"Umm... Twi? What are you planning on doing?" I asked nervously.

"Well, Spike," She answered as she trotted over to her books, "You wanted to live in a city, so I'm going to make that happen."

"So, um, what exactly does that mean?" The claws on my right hand began to twitch.

She walked over to her desk, a stack of books floating on each side of her. She placed them on the floor next to the desk, and said, "There's a spell that I read about where with a lot of concentration, I can create a fictitious world, and have someone enter it. I think I can hold the spell open for a day, and then you can visit Pony City for a day!"

"This um... Pony City?" I questioned.

"It's a good name, right?" She grinned as she spoke.

"Well, uh.. it's not a bad name, I guess, but..." I mumbled. Then I snapped back into focus. "Look, the name isn't the important thing. You want to create a whole world?"

"Yeah," Twilight said with her nose in a book. "That's right. And it'll be filled with all of our friends from Ponyville, plus a bunch of other ponies that I'll create."

"And you don't see the problem with that?" I said incredulously. "You're going to create ponies out of thin air, and then destroy them for a birthday present?"

"Mmhmm.", she replied, not bothering to look up.

"Isn't that called playing God? Not to mention unethical!" I exclaimed.

Twilight dragged herself away from her reading, turned to face me, and gave me her most withering stare, as she said, "You've been talking to Applejack too much."

At this point, I was at a loss of words. I really had no idea what to do. So I shocked myself as I said, "So when will it be ready?" Hey, unethical or not, I had to admit that it would be cool to see Pony City. Even if it couldn't have a cooler name.

Twilight flashed me a smile, and said, "That's the spirit, Spike! I knew you would come around." She resumed reading, and said, "I'm going to spend the night working on it. I should be done by morning. But, I need to focus completely on my spell. The slightest distraction could have catastrophic effects."

"Figures." I muttered.

"What was that, Spike?" Twilight looked up for a moment.

"Nothing. Just wanted to wish you good luck!" Hopefully, she wouldn't need it.

"Thanks, Spike! But, hopefully, I won't need it." She resumed reading. Let's face it, at this point, I really needed this break.

"Well, I'm going to hit the hay, Twilight." I began to walk up the stairs. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night." She called out. I could tell she was already opening a new book. I just shook my head, and crawled into my nice, warm, bed.

Of course, that's the night that I couldn't fall asleep. But, I couldn't do anything, since Twilight needed to concentrate. But, if I was really quiet, I could probably sneak past her, and get outside. I crawled out from underneath my blanket, and quietly began to walk towards the staircase. I could see Twilight's horn glowing, and a giant sphere of purple light. It looked like she was doing very well, and I couldn't help myself from grinning. Twilight truly was an amazing pony.

And just as I began to descend the steps, the worst thing happened. I tripped. And not just a regular stumble. This was a full out, bouncing off the steps, 'I think he broke his nose' kind of trip. My head ached, and I began feeling the scales near the back of my head, looking for bruises.

Then, Twilight looked up, and said, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," I replied. Then, an awful thought ran through my head. "Hey Twi?" I hurriedly said, "Aren't you supposed to be paying attention?"

Her eyes widened, and she immediately began trying to cast some kind of spell. But, it was too late. The sphere began to pulsate, and suddenly came apart in a giant flash. Everything went white. And all too suddenly, everything went black.