Welcome, welcome. Another chapter means more adventure, and further down the line; shenanigans. Enjoy.

"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing."

-Socrates.

Naofumi awoke that morning feeling. . .different. He couldn't quite pinpoint what it was, but it definitely was entirely different than night and day as compared to Melromarc.

''Huh, this bed actually isn't too bad,'' Naofumi commented, noting the dimensions being so different from that of a human that Starswirl had to gather 3 to 4 beds and stack them side by side and have them turned to face lengthwise to the wall so he and Raphtaila could actually enjoy their slumber for the night. In all, the fabric was pretty comforting and there was not much to complain about. ''And of course, you're still sleeping.'' Raphtailia snored a tad as she was cradled up to Naofumi's left arm with a trail of drool on her face.

He always picked with her about her snoring habits, though she would never admit to it, whether out of preservation of being seen as a lady or if to not seem like a child.

Either way, Noafumi still picked at her and laughed every opportunity he could. He thought about demi-human and what he and the rest of his party had been through before coming to Equestria; dealing with the corrupt nobles of Melrormarc, the monsters from The Waves Of Calamity, the 3 useless heroes, and so much more.

But something he would never tell Raphtailia, or even anyone for that matter would be how lucky he had to be. Lucky that, even with all of the crap around him, he managed to find or be found by a select few people who actually cared. Who wouldn't abandon him; who would never hurt him. For that, he was ever grateful, even more so for his first companion. Raphtailia was always the one who would come to his defense, to have his best interests at heart, and give him the scoldings he knew he deserved time from time whenever he did something stupid.

The pair did not have the exact best of relationships when they first met, but when faced with danger, that indifference slowly melted away with the time taken to talk and understand the other. Though a kid in her mind she still may be, Naofumi had no doubt the person lying beside him would be one of the few to lay down her life for him at a moment's notice, and that it would take moving the heavens and earth to even consider to get her to stop.

He also felt a heavy amount of guilt for her having to go through what she did at such a young age, even more, amplified by her being in the care of a slave trader and being on the brink of death from malnourishment. Not just with her, but all those who have been oppressed and treated like livestock. He did not know of the existence of another world, let alone Melromarc to have any idea of what to do to help, but he figured the best that he could do would be to take Raphtailia with him; to help her grow, survive.

To give her life, despite his initial wanting of a slave to further his own agenda.

He was essentially her world, and he resolved to do whatever he needed to bring her and Filo, and even Melty happiness.

But the time for such talk had to be set aside for another time. In the meantime, he wanted to try and track down this feeling that he was experiencing since he woke up.

A knock on the door interrupted that from happening.

''Come in,'' Naofumi's voice called, wiping the crust out of his eyes. He was pretty sure that this was Starswirl coming to get the group to fully get them going on what they needed to do to protect The Chains Of Paradox and take on the Night Order.

''Good morning, all. I do hope you all slept well,'' Starswirl proceeded into the room, carrying a tray with water and orange juice, along with some scones and fruit. ''I hope you all are ready to proceed with today's events.'' Starswirl set the tray down on the dresser next to the bed, looking to see Filo over on the other side of the bed on the wall in her Filoilol form, stretching her wings and yawning. ''Where is Young Melty?''

''Oh, in here.'' Filo moved some of her feathers around, producing Melty in a poof of feathers, her hair all tangled up. ''Wake up, Mel; it's breakfast time.''

''HUUUUAWH.~ Good morning, everyone,'' Melty said, looking over to the tray on the other side of the room. ''Is that grapefruit?''

Starswirl chuckled. ''Yes, dear. Please help yourselves, if you require more, you need only ask.''

Raphtalia woke up, her eyes glazed over, appearing like a zombie until she saw the fruit as well. ''Pears. . .''

''I guess we're gonna need to eat first before we do anything today, Starswirl,'' Naofumi chuckled, looking at the tray just like the rest of the group, the mage looking to have fit laughing about the group. ''But can you give me the play-by-play?''

Starswirl sat down and leveled with the otaku. ''Well, the first thing would be for you lot to meet with the group of individuals that I have conferred with along with Princess Celestia who may be able to provide some insight on what angles we should approach this from.''

''There's going to be others helping us out with this?'' Naofumi asked.

''Why, of course, my dear boy. We could not just leave things to you four alone, I realize the task I have given you is indeed daunting, and it will take the help of those highly skilled for us to make any kind of headway with this. There are 3 others that I will introduce you to that will be in charge of helping you adjust to this new world, as well as giving you anything that you may need to help on your journey.''

Naofumi hmmped, wondering how the inhabitants of this world got by when it came to fighting. From his own experience back home, and to some degree in Melromarc, he held a basic idea of what equines could do, he just wandered about the implementation of magic when it came to. And something else he had yet to confirm fully would be his own skills; whether or not they transferred over certainly can make the difference between this being easy or very difficult.

Scarfing down a nice granny smith apple and some water, Naofumi sought to resolve himself for what was to come. Food first, world-saving team meeting later.

Walking down the halls with the unicorn in tow, Raphtailia and Melty went over all the items they had in their inventory to make sure they had what they came into this world with, as Naofumi made sure Filo had her gauntlets and feet blades for when she transformed. And they would need sharpening again, no doubt. He observed more of the intricate designs of the castle. Canterlot Castle was apparently the capital of the land of Equestria where Princess Celestia resided as the nation's sovereign.

From that small amount of information, he wondered if she was like the King Of Melromarc or The Queen.

That was a very important question.

The pristine marble floors, careful floor carvings of lines and swirls, all the way to the few windows that spaced out every so often to provide a better look at the world outside certainly gave a much better impression than that of Melromarc by any stretch. The sun seemed to shine brighter here, the air was crisper, and the overall feeling was not filled with malice or contempt. And to think that he was in the dungeons when he was summoned.

He was sure that was not at all some kind of sign, but he digressed.

Opening the massive throne room door, he instantly noticed a tranquil vibe going on in the room, but also a slight undertone of repression; as if something or someone had died. Following the long purple carpet up to the raised platform where the throne of Princess Celestia sat, the otaku had to admit he had never seen a horse so big in person this close, much less one who could talk.

Princess Celestia looked a tad surprised to see the hero and his group but looked to Starswirl in a silent look of wonder before he nodded to her and spoke. ''Princess Celestia, I present to you the Hero Of Legend, summoned forth to our world by the ancestral spell; I give you Naofumi Iwatani, Raphtalia, Filo, and Melty.''

The gaze in her eyes softened before she spoke. ''Hello, all. I am Princess Celestia, the humble ruler of the land of Equestria, and I would like to personally offer my thanks in your assistance in this matter in these times that we are uncertain.''

''Greetings, Princess. I hope that we can be of some assistance.'' Naofumi said, a neutral tone in his voice. He only hoped that this would not go bad.

''Hello,'' Raphtalia said, smiling a bit.

''Princess.'' Melty curtsied.

''HI!~'' Filo waved, a bright smile on her face.

''I only hope that you all can do your best in helping us with this. . .I would be lying to myself if did not say that this is something beyond the range of my ability. The Chains Of Paradox are something I constructed with the aid of others to ensure the imprisonment of Nightmare Moon and to prevent her group from freeing her and bringing about the eternal night. But the power that it holds is not so easily protected.''

''Why is that?'' Naofumi asked.

''If there is a high enough concentration of the opposing magic the was used to form the chains, it can shatter the chains and have catastrophic results if done,'' Celestia lowered her head trying to think about what exactly. ''And I hope I need not remind you of the grand scale of destruction that will follow if even one or all of those chains are broken.''

But then came the question of how exactly they would accomplish that.

''And why is this Night Order so fixated on doing this?'' Raphtailia asked. She knew that certain ideals and promises can make people do questionable things, but to want to destroy the entire world for one person did seem a little bit extreme. This whole situation seemed very unfair.

''Conflicting ideas, I'm afraid. Nightmare Moon was once my sister and the ruler over the moon and is responsible for the dreams of ponies, Princess Luna.'' Celestia hoped she would not have to divulge that information, but she did figure everything that she knew would go a long way in securing the chains, and the fate of Equestria. ''From my understanding, it would seem some of her followers held the belief that she was better than myself and that she should be the one idolized instead of me.''

''Jealously?'' Naofumi asked, curious of the internal motive of why this happened. ''And why did you imprison her in the moon, of all places?''

Celestia stopped to think about that for a second. Why did she really? There was no particular connection to the moon and her having to be sent there, she really did not have any rhyme or reason to do what she did versus a standard sealing spell and having her locked away only she knew.

''I honestly do not have a clear answer for you when it comes to that, Hero Naofumi, it just seemed to fit the situation at the time of doing it,'' Celestia blushed a tad.

''Naofumi's just fine. And this Night Order; what's their deal?''

''I believe I may be able to shine some light on that a little more, Princess Celestia.'' Starswirl chimed in, hoping to provide the group with as much information as needed to make sure their world can be saved.

''Go ahead.''

''The Night Order Of Nightmare Moon, or more known as Night Order, is a collective of ponies that devote themselves to the study, ideology, and return of Nightmare Moon to this world. To their own twisted minds, they wish to make the world be born anew, with her as the sole ruler. The point that turns those to the cause will be blessed the promise of power, wealth, and a hoof in the destruction they have predicted to happen,'' Starswirl recollected what he was able to gather from sources and seeing first hoof some of the things that they were indeed committed to in the name of their dark ruler.

''So, I guess my question is, how can we protect the Chains from being broken, who leads the Night Order, and who is joining us?'' Melty absorbed the information and understood that this rogue unit was just that; a rogue unit. And they needed to make sure about who were to be joining them.

''Well, for the first question, dear Melty. As there are 4 Paradox Chains, it stands to reason that there are 4 countermeasures to ensure the Chains can not be so easily broken by the Night Order. Each place that Princess Celestia ventured to construct the Chain has its own unique magical signature that resonates with the Chain. However, each Chain has a resonance that helps to keep the other in place.''

''Huh?'' Filo asked, not understanding fully. they had to stop these chains from being broken with the power of the opposite chain, but the power of the opposite chain can also keep it from breaking? Ugh, her head started to hurt. ''Master, that doesn't make sense.''

''I guess it would not hearing it like that, Filo,'' Celestia chuckled but understood where the girl was coming from with her confusion. ''What he means to say is that the power of each chain is intertwined with the others, but never with its true opposite. So each chain has two other chains connecting to it. That in itself is the failsafe, but the countermeasure is actually the 4 of you; you need to travel to each of the Chain's location and confer with the leaders of each of the lands to ensure each of the Chains is safe for the moment while we prepare to mount our offensive.''

''Offensive? You mean to say you wish to take on The Night Order?'' Raphtalia hoped for there to be no bloodshed if it could be helped. There was too much of that back in Melromarc.

''More like taking down a peg. The Night Order may follow Nightmare Moon to the very depths of Tartarus and back, but in her imprisonment, they have taken to following the lead and ideals of one who holds the strongest faith in Nightmare Moon. . .Zenith. He who stands overs all.'' Starswirl brought forth a drawing of the pony in question, and from the name itself, Naofumi could definitely see why he was given that name.

His mane, as black as night, was swept to one side, revealing a massive scar over his right eye. His eyes seemed to radiate a ginormous indifference to anything and only seemed to focus on the one thing that mattered the most to him. A rugged beard was laid on his face, along with a caption underneath his mugshot.

''Extremely dangerous. Is not to be approached or engaged, especially alone.''

''Our last known location of Zenith, we heard he was mobilizing his forces for an attack.'' Starswirl produced a map of the land and began marking locations.

''Attack on the Chains?'' Naofumi wondered. ''And has he tried to do something like this before?''

''I say attack with a grain of salt for the moment. Zenith has tried to be diplomatic about the whole venture, researching all that he could about the Chains, from their location to who he would have to stamp out, should they get in his way. He only became aware recently of where each Chain is, but getting to each one is not as simple as walking to it,'' Starswirl presented the map to the group.

''Each Chain not only has the other 2 Chains as deterrents to prevent it from being broken, the journey to get to each one is monumental in itself, which is why he has been unable to do.'' Celestia had hoped the failsafe would be enough for the time being for Naofumi and his group to do what they were summoned here to do. ''But it seems he has grown tired of waiting and may have found a way to get past said measures.''

''And what is that?'' Melty asked.

''That we do not know as of yet, but we know that we need to hold off their advance until we can determine that,'' Starswirl sighed and shook his head. He only wished for this senseless pursuit to stop.

''Well, who do you have helping us?'' Naofumi asked, trying to get down to the bottom of all that he could. He also wanted to know the extent of their abilities beforehand to get a better idea of how the team dynamic will work.

''The only one here present at the moment, one of Princess Celestia's most trusted guards. Valiant Barrier.''

Elsewhere in Melromarc. . .

If one were to visit Melromarc at the right time, they would be subject to a great many things; the beautiful landscape, the wonderful and flavorful food, and in this particular instance; the king of the land being thrown of the castle and into a nearby lake.

''NAOFUMI DID WHAT?!''