"Celestia," the stallion greeted her, and she swore he'd come out of thin air. Of course that wasn't possible, so she just assumed she'd missed him due to how thick the winds were. "Philomena," he greeted as well, giving a small bow towards the phoenix.
Celestia felt like she recognised him. One of the Empire's guards, obviously, given the armour he was wearing, but she'd seen him before. Close to Shining and Cadence, actually. Paper Letters, was it? Something like that. "Well met, little pony." In truth, she was mostly really happy to be with someone again. "Stay close by. Have you met anyone else?"
"I'm afraid not," he said. He began to walk alongside Celestia, as Philomena hadn't stopped long and was already leading them elsewhere again. "I have been on my own since the winds and waves split us all apart. I've met no other ponies since then, though thankfully I have not met anything worse either. Until you, of course."
"That is alright." He didn't sound like he thought he owed her something, but Celestia still said so out of habit. She too was following the phoenix, and largely keeping her eyes and attention on her. "What is your name, if I may ask?" she said, realising it was probably still best if she did ask that, at least as a formality. "And if you are in need of any healing, please do allow me to make myself useful." That was somewhat of a test. She wanted to see the reaction to that wording.
"Paper Letters," he replied, confirming her memories. "And do not worry, I am in perfect physical conditions. I managed to not be hurt while being carried around." He added, "The wounds I do have are not the kind you can heal." But he said so in an almost cheerful tone, certainly somewhat lighthearted at least.
He seemed completely unbothered by any implications Celestia might have made. In fact he seemed almost extremely casual about approaching her as a whole. Celestia realised he'd even addressed her with her name, and not by any title. Not that she wanted to be addressed by titles that didn't belong to her anymore, but at the same time she'd gotten so used to it that, against her will, she was still a little perturbed by being simply called Celestia. Unless Twilight was the one doing so, but that was different. "Well, my sister and Princess Twilight can help with healing wounds of the mind, subconscious or at its forefront, and Princess Cadance can help with matters of the heart. I do hope you will find the aid you need."
"Perhaps I will," Paper said. "But there are more important things to worry about now." He too eyed Philomena flying ahead of them. "Quite the timely intervention," he commented with a slight nod.
"Indeed so," Celestia said. "But we should still remain alert." For a moment, part of her attention turned with worry towards the distance, at barely visible flashes of light in the sky. And she hoped Twilight was okay.