A Whole New World.
 
    "Can ya'll believe Hearth's Warming Eve is almost here again?" "Time flies when you get busy, Applejack. And we've all been working really hard these past couple of months." "I know that, just surprisin' is all." All six ponies sat around a table outside of a restaurant, chattering lightly. It had been two months since the defeat of Tirek and life had returned to normal, as normal as it could get in Ponyville. The Mane 6 had all been hard at work, not only returning to their normal jobs but also doing what they could to help repair what was damaged by Tirek during his rampage. Twilight looked to be the most tired of the group, being a princess meant overseeing the local repairs herself. Twilight looked towards the blue Pegasus, "Rainbow, how has the weather looked over the battle field?" Rainbow herself sighed loudly, "Twilight, can't you even relax for one moment? First time we've been able to hang out all together and you won't quit thinking of work." She lifted a Hay Sandwich towards her mouth before stopping, Twilight was staring daggers at her. Letting her sandwich fall back onto the plate, Rainbow saw it was no use trying to talk Twilight out of it until she got her answer. "Fiiiine. The magic caused by both you and Tirek threw the weather for a loop, as you know. We managed to get it back to normal for the most part, though it still wants to turn dark earlier than other places. Nothing we can't fix." The other four ponies looked at each other and knew they were about to be questioned as well. Twilight had been stressing way too much over this, but there was no stopping her once she got on a roll.
 
     Applejack placed a hoof on the table, volunteering to go next, Twilight looking to her now that she got an answer from Rainbow. "The land and mountains where ya fought is pretty scarred up. Big Mac an I helped to till the ground and get new trees planted. Hopefully they'll take and grow up strong. For the most part, everythin's been easy as pie." Pinkie pie started bouncing on her seat, giggling with bliss. "Ooh ooh me next! I've been making lots of yummies to give out to those who lost their houses while the homes are rebuilt. The Cakes don't mind, I made sure to make enough for the store and all extra is being given to those who need it. I got to see lots of friends come in, they were all sad but I made sure they left with a smile! I saw Lyra and Bon Bon and Cranky Doodle and..." Her words were cut off as Applejack shoved one of Pinkie's sandwiches into her mouth forcefully. "All right, simmer down a bit. We got the message. Let Rarity and Fluttershy have their go's." Pinkie munched away happily, Fluttershy giggling quietly as Rarity spoke up.
 
     "Why you had me restoring the land out there is simply beyond me. Moving dirt is not part of my repertoire, but I did find some help. After 'persuading' the Diamond Dogs to help me in exchange for pointing out some exceedingly large caches of jewels, I simply had them move dirt in and pack it down nice and neat." The others looked each other; Rarity worked with the Diamond Dogs? That would explain how the dirt got out there and why Rarity wasn't there fussing over every little hill. Fluttershy spoke quietly, "Um, Rarity, are you sure it was a good idea to work with the Diamond Dogs? Aren't you afraid they might come back and kidnap you again?" Rarity chortled lightly. "Oh Darling, I don't think they will have any desire to bother with little me. They remembered the last time I was in their possession and what occurred." Fluttershy smiled and nodded, looking to Twilight to finish the round of tales. "I've been gathering the animals that fled the forests and areas, helping them return to their homes and calm them down. Poor things, a lot of nests had to be rebuilt, but it's almost done now. Angel has had quite a fuss over having to share room with some woodland creatures." Rainbow snickered to herself, having seen the 'woodland creature' Angel was forced to share with was a big old grumpy bear. Twilight nodded, smiling "Good, glad to hear everything is going well. That just means we need to work a bit harder and we should be done soon."
 
    "Listen sugarcube, Hearth's Warming Eve is next week, I think we can take a bit of a break. We're tired, doing our normal jobs as well as fixin' the damage." Applejack huffed, trying to head Twilight off before she had them all working through Hearth's Warming Eve and beyond. Rainbow quickly jumped in, "Yeah, I'd like to have some fun too. We can't just work ourselves to the bones over it." "I don't know, I don't feel all that exhausted myself, even with the extra work. Though I would rather enjoy participating in Hearth's Warming Eve." quipped Rarity, Applejack quickly rounding on her. "That's cause ya'll got them Diamond Dogs doin' yer work for ya. Either way, can we let it rest, Twilight? Just for a bit?" Applejack looked back at Twilight, who was looking between the five others. She looked at her notes, thinking about how Princess Celestia would react and knowing the need to get it finished. After a bit, Twilight sighed in defeat. "Alright, we can hold off on any more repairs to rest up, celebrate Hearth's Warming Eve, and after we have to finish up." That response was met with cheers and smiles, making Twilight smile in return. She knew they had been through a lot and they long deserved a rest. She just got caught up in the work that she didn't see how tired her friends were.
 
 
     A world away, deep in the bowels of the earth, it was a flurry of activity. Minions were coming and going, bringing back many different books from the Wastelands in various states. The better ones were sent right to the Overlord and the damaged ones were sent to Gurg and the other blues to attempt to fix them while the strongest of blues worked to put the Tower Heart back together. It was heavily fractured and was weak because of it's shattering. The digger minions were upgrading their picks at the forge, supplied by the fires of the reds. Browns and greens were going between the Overlord's lands and the Netherworld Tower with weapons, armor, and mounts for the possible invasion of new lands. Standing in his study, books strewn across the table, the Overlord was flipping through the books along with Gnarl. Most of the books were useless for the task at hand, most being dismissed into the library for keeping. Gnarl muttered to himself, audible enough for the Overlord to hear him. "These idiots wouldn't know the right book if it came up and ate their faces off. Everything from forging recipes to cook books, not the tome we need."
 
     A few minions ran in with a fresh batch of books, spilling them on the table before running out of the room to go get more. The Overlord looked them over, the covers easily saying these were not the right ones. He was just considering going up himself when the sounds of minion voices caught his attention. "Here! This one!" "Watch claw!" A couple of minions came walking in carrying an oversized leather-bound tome, straining under it's weight. Gnarl was also interested in the book. "Now -that- looks like a spell tome. Get that on the table and let's have a look." The two minions strained and with a 'hnnnnng' it made it up. The first minion stretched his back, resulting in a nasty crack that caused the other one to say "Ouch. Blues for you." While the minion dragged his buddy to the blues, the Overlord opened the cover of the tome. Sure enough, it was magical incantations and fluctuations of how their worlds magic gathered and collected in the spell stones to allow the manipulation of mana. Even the spells of the Second Overlord were written here, that might come in handy. "Ah ha! So this is the right one. Let's see, which of these is the right one." Gnarl flipped through the book while the Overlord's gauntlet rang out, giving the order to halt all book gathering. Minions who were dedicated to that returned and set about their color specific jobs.
 
     "Here it is, master! It seems we will need to get a few 'volunteers' from the elves to serve as sacrifices of magic. We'll need a lot of power." With another ring, the Overlord issused the commands for greens to go out and gather elven men and women for sacrificing for their magic. New lands were just out of reach, but they were almost his, the Overlord could feel it. "Hmm, master, there is more to this than I thought." The overlord looked at Gnarl, waiting for an explanation. "It looks like instead of just opening a way there, it'll make a copy of the tower there in the new world. Which means we will have to take the hives and heart with us. We will have a Netherworld gate connecting us to this tower, but for the most part, it looks like we will move to the new world if we want to claim it for you." The Overlord nodded and walked out of the room with Gnarl in tow, holding the book. As he passed minions, he called on certain ones to follow him, it was time to pay a visit to the Empire city personally to gather any magical items left behind.