Opening my eyes, I'm once again greeted with a vast open silver field, white specks floating aimlessly through the air. Sighing heavily through my nose, I let my body relax as best it could as I could feel the effects of sleep affect me. It was a strange sensation, to technically feel awake but to feel yourself slowly become more and more energised and rested. An odd feeling to be sure but a welcome one.

Looking around, I drag my hand through the air, the landscape swirling and whipping past me, shaping and morphing into more mountain terrain, rocky outcroppings jutting from the lush landscape that overlooked a calm sea. A low, but thin jog sat near the ground as the air hung heavy with a surprisingly pleasant humidity. Sitting down where I stood, letting my legs hang from a slight ledge, I took in the sights and smells. The smell of damp grass and seaweed clung tightly in the air along with the heavy smell and taste of sea salt. I listened as the waves lightly crashed into the jagged shoreways in front of me.

I sat there for hours, letting the wind flow through my hair and clothes, not once taking my eyes off the sight before me. A familiar but different pressure became known in the front of my mind, letting me know I had a visitor. Not looking behind me, I swipe my hand again, only this time, a guitar appeared in my hands as I absentmindedly started tuning it before pulling away at its strings, a familiar tune filling the air.

"Almost heaven, West Virginia
Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River
Life is old there, older than the trees
Younger than the mountains, growin' like a breeze

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain mama
Take me home, country roads."

As the lyrics begin leaving my lips, I feel her sit down next to me, her gaze not once shifting from me as I continue, my foot tapping against the rocks on the slight ledge we sat on.

"All my memories gather 'round her
Miner's lady, stranger to blue water
Dark and dusty, painted on the sky
Misty taste of moonshine, teardrops in my eye

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain mama
Take me home, country roads."

As the song goes on, I hear her happily tapping along as I could only guess she was swaying along with the song as well. I smiled as I sang. It was here I felt a new sensation within and around me. A pleasant feeling that began in my chest and continued throughout my body. It wasn't until Luna joined in with my singing that I realised what it was. The magic of music.

"I hear her voice in the mornin' hour, she calls me
The radio reminds me of my home far away
Drivin' down the road, I get a feelin'
That I should've been home yesterday, yesterday

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain mama
Take me home, country roads

Country roads, take me home
To the place I belong
West Virginia, mountain mama
Take me home, country roads

Take me home, (down) country roads
Take me home, (down) country roads."

As I finish with a slight flourish, I hear Luna giggle next to me. Looking over, I see a massive grin on her lips as her laughter continued.

"My, Sir Felwinter, that was fantastic," She said, the occasional giggle escaping.

"Please, if we're in private, just Percival will do," I smiled. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"Then if I am to use your name, you are to use mine," She said smiling up at me. "I do believe that is a fair compromise. Do you not?"

"I think so," I replied. "So what brings you?"

"You do of course," She said in a matter-of-fact tone. "We, my sister and I, understand that the last few days have been tumultuous for you and I wished to check on you and make sure you were well."

"I'm...doing," I replied softly.

Luna quirked her brow as she tilted her head slightly. "I have not heard this phrase before and yet I understand it completely."

"The power of words," I chuckled. "I'm alright. I could be better but I could be a hell of a lot worse."

"You are doing as well as you can," She nodded. "That is fair, and given the circumstances, it is better than most would be doing."

"You ain't wrong."

We sat on the ledge for a while as rain began coming down and thunder rolled softly overhead. We weren't concerned about getting wet as it was only a dream, allowing us to enjoy the scenery and its weather to our heart's content.

"This view is gorgeous," She said suddenly, lifting her hand to feel the rain as it fell. "Your control over your Dreamscape is..astonishing."

"Eh, like I said to your sister, the bonuses of being a lucid dreamer," I shrugged.

"No, it is more than mere 'lucid dreaming'," Luna replied. "There have only been a handful of individuals with the amount of control you have and they were strong individuals indeed and it was not within recent years. Additionally, it took some amount of effort for me to enter your Dreamscape."

She turned fully towards me as she continued. "We have known you technically for less than a day Percival, and yet within that time, I have garnered more questions about you than any I have ever known. You are an enigma, a mystery. Though we trust you, my sister and I know there is more to you than you let on. Perhaps more than you yourself know."

I smirked as I looked at her. "Something tells me you like mysteries."

"Yes, I suppose you can say we like a good challenge," She smiled before looking back out to the pleasant scenery. "It truly is a beautiful sight."

"...I think so too."

"If you do not mind my asking, but where are we?" She asked. "I do not believe I have been here before."

"Somewhere far away," I replied, a sad smile creeping onto my lips. "Far outside my reach now."

"Is it this West Virginia you sing of?"

"Oh no, it's not," I answered. "But equally far away."

"What do you mean?"

"Ah," I waved my hands dismissively. "It's not important."

"...something is telling me that that is not true," She commented.

"That's for me to know and for you to find out," I smirked.

Looking out to the crashing waves, my smirk dropped into a more sullen expression and the Princess seemed to notice this as she got just a little closer to me, not once taking her eyes off my face.

"I know that look," She said. "What are you thinking?"

For a moment I didn't respond, simply staring out at sea. Glancing at her, I shook my head as I sighed heavily through my nose, shifting my gaze to the sitting Princess next to me. "Do...do you think they'll follow me?"

She smiled at me softly and the look in her eyes told me she was almost expecting this question. "I believe they will follow any who they respect. But more importantly, they will follow those who inspire them. And given what you did for Ponyville and the dual with our Officers, you have earned both. So yes, I believe they will follow you."

"...Thank you."

Just as the words left my mouth, the world rumbled slightly, the sky dimming and lighting up like a dying light bulb. The once-calm sea began roiling and crashing hard against the rocks as the heavens practically opened, drenching us both, the thunder clapping and flashing overhead. The peaceful landscape was turning to chaos.

"It would appear you're waking," She smiled, her voice clear as day despite the torrential rain and thunder. "If there is anything you need, do not hesitate to send for us."

And with that, the world around us faded into silver then black.

~~

My eyes fluttered open, blurry colours and shapes taking up my vision as I sat up. Rubbing them lightly, my vision returned fully before a smell became known to my nose. It was me. Sighing, I removed myself from the cloud-like bed and very quickly noticed Ghost at the doorway, hand on the handle of the open door, his tall silhouette taking up most of its frame. His surprisingly piercing brown, black-stained eyes quickly made contact with me as I stood from my bed.

"What can I do for you L.T.?" I asked.

"Just checkin' up on you Sir," He replied. "And to tell you a maid is here to drop off some clothes for you."

"Clothes?" I asked. How and when the hell did they get my measurements? "Alright, send her in."

Nodding, he exited the room and not a second later, a maid entered with an arm full of neatly folded clothes.

"Ah, thank you," I smiled. "Just pop them on the bed please."

Smiling back, she placed them on the bed and left without another word. Walking around the bed, I quickly combed through them, finding three pairs of everything I'd need. Shirts, jeans, socks pants, trousers, even a pair of simple leather steel-toed boots. Nodding, I hummed my appreciation before I made my way into the bathroom, again noting my smell.

Stripping down, I stepped into what was possibly the largest walk-in shower I had ever seen and turned on the hot water and was swiftly overtaken by its warm touch. My tight muscles loosened as the near-boiling water cascaded over my body, temporarily washing away my woes and troubles. Placing my hands on the wall, I let it run down my back and my face, as I sighed contently, as for the first time in a long time, I was content. It's amazing the things a simple shower can accomplish.

I stood there for god knows how long as my body slowly began heaving as heavy breaths racked it. Eventually, my legs gave out under me as the gravity of my situation suddenly came crashing down on me. I knew it would catch up to me, that my mind would actually process what it had gone through in such little time and wouldn't know what to do.

But what I couldn't handle most, was the memories of pain. An inky blackness was quickly overtaken by still starry dots that moved, bopping and weaving among themselves as my screams filled the bleak void, my body ever-shifting.

My breath quickened while I clutched my legs to my chest as tears began rolling down my cheeks, masked by showering water above. My eyes stung, my chest ached, my body shook and my head went blank and numb. Time lost meaning after a while as I quietly sobbed to myself, the realization that I was effectively alone, snatched from everything I had ever known and the prospect of a peaceful life now practically impossible being too much to handle for the moment.

After what felt like hours, the tears stopped, my breath steadied and my body became still. I stood and rubbed my face, giving myself a shake to unfog my head. Grabbing a bottle of shampoo and began my usual shower routine, washing myself thoroughly and completely, running my hands through my hair and the slight stubble I now growing. After what I could only guess to be no less than maybe an hour, I stepped out of the shower as the water began to evaporate as it had before, leaving dry and ready to proceed.

Stepping out, I made my way over to my things, starting the process of donning my equipment. My movements were now far more fine-tuned to the intricacies of my clothes, making the process the fastest it had been so far and in no time at all, I was ready and rearing to go.

Clipping my sheath to my back, I holstered Ace on my thigh as I reached for the deck of cards on my belt, taking them out and mindlessly shuffling through them in various ways. Opening the door, I quickly caught sight of Ghost as he spun around to face me.

"Sir."

I quickly gain a quizzical look as I tilt my head slightly. "How long have you been standing there Ghost?"

"Roughly..." He peeled back the sleeve of his hoodie and glanced at his watch. "Thirteen hours."

"You mean to tell me, after I went to sleep, you stood here for thirteen hours?"

"Yes Sir."

"Did you sit down?"

"On occasion."

"Did you at least eat? Drink?"

"I had enough to keep me going."

"Alright Ghost," I said while I fully faced the towering man before me, briefly cupping my mouth before slowly bringing my hands down. "I want to make one thing clear. This isn't going to be the normal guard job you're used to. You know I'm strong enough that I can protect myself from damn near anything. I don't need a bodyguard, I don't need a chaperone and I sure as hell don't need a soldier. What I do need is a comrade and confidant I can rely on. "

"We are equals here and that means that, as much as I don't need it, the protection goes both ways," I continued, indicating between myself and the man in front of me, who looked on at me with a look of confusion and disbelief. "You protect me, I protect you. We are a team and we are in this together, so we treat each other as such. I am not requesting nor am I asking. That is an order. Am I clear?"

Ghost stared at me for a few moments, his black smudged eyes squinting ever so slightly as he did, yet the look of disbelief never left. Eventually, his shoulders lowered slightly, as though a weight had been lifted as a soft chuckle left his lips. "You're not anything like I expected you to be, Sir."

"I can only hope you mean that in a good way," I smiled. "As a side note, I would prefer if you would refer to me by name, but if you're more comfortable with calling me Sir, I will tolerate it. Now come on, I want breakfast and I imagine you're hungry. I have a feeling the near future's going to be very busy and very interesting, so we should use the downtime while we can."

Walking off, I could hear Ghost's heavier set of footfalls immediately after. A second later, he was directly next to me, easily matching my pace to perfection as we made our way to the dining room while I absentmindedly started shuffling the cards again. As we did, we got several stares from the maids and butlers, and even a few of the regular Guard mumbled amongst themselves as we walked by, though neither of us cared much and continued without issue. Soon enough, we came to a familiar set of doors, I wasted no time in walking in, Ghost directly behind me. Stepping through, we instantly found we weren't alone.

Sat in the same chair as I had last seen her in, was Princess Celestia, peering down at several papers that lay across the table in front of her. And there, amongst the papers she seemed to be reviewing, was a plate with a thick slice of half-eaten, rich chocolate cake. As she heard the doors open, her head instantly snapped to face us, her hand moving surprisingly fast to hide the delectable dessert. Opening her mouth, I quickly cut her off as I put my cards away.

"If you're going to say anything about the cake, I don't care that you're eating it and I'm sure he doesn't either," I said, thumbing to Ghost beside me who simply hummed in agreement. "Though, something tells me you're not supposed to be eating it if how fast you were to hide is anything to go by."

"Yes, my sister has been putting me on a strict diet since her return," She said, the cake reemerging as she spoke. "But regardless, please, sit! Both of you, sit!"

Taking her up on her offer, Ghost more reluctantly and slowly than myself, we both take our seats. Summoning a bell, she let out a single ding and a waiter appeared through a door on the other side of the room, quickly coming up to us with a surprising amount of grace, though I shouldn't expect anything else from a waiter in the castle of Equestria's capital. I requested what was this world's equivalent of a full English with apple juice and Ghost ordered the same, but double the portions and with a large cup of coffee. I wasn't surprised, a man of his size needs his calories.

"So," I started. "Anything noteworthy happened since Ponyville?"

"Unfortunately not," Celestia replied. "We had sent out scouts and some of our best trackers to investigate and hopefully pinpoint where the demons had come from, but unfortunately after two days of searching, they came up empty-handed."

"So what? We wait for something to happen or show up?" I ask.

"Not unless either of you have a better idea?" She replied.

Neither Ghost nor I responded.

Noting our silence, she went back to her cake as I continued eating my breakfast. Looking at Ghost, I see him enjoying his breakfast, the man already halfway through his portion. He ate with a speed and proficiency that made me pause slightly and yet despite this, there wasn't a wasted crumb. If I didn't know any better, I would have said he was a professional competitive eater in a previous life. Throughout it all, he never removed his mask, only rolling it up just enough to eat his food without getting his mask messy. Eventually finishing, our plates were promptly taken away.

"So what about that guy yesterday?" I asked, taking a healthy sip of apple juice.

"Well, after he had been placed in the morgue, an autopsy was immediately performed, but we couldn't find anything out of the ordinary," She replied. "There wasn't anything to suggest that he had been physically tampered with for him to be as strong as he was."

"Could it be he was more in tune with his Heritage than most?" Ghost piped in.

Looking at him, she shook her head. "Originally, that was what I thought as well. But from what eyewitnesses say, he was able to put Percival on the back foot for the vast majority of their fight. He would have an impressive level of strength if he were more in tune with his Heratige but not to the level he had."

"Don't forget he was caught off guard," Ghost commented. "Had he known-"

"I don't think it would have made any difference Ghost," I cut in, catching their attention. "He was holding back, I could feel it. He wasn't there to kill me or put me out of commotion, he was testing me. And he spoke as though he knew who I was. I think if he really wanted to, he could have easily ended that fight."

"Good thing you put him down then," He said, drinking the last of his coffee.

"Oh enough of this topic," Celesita urged. "This is supposed to be a time of celebration! A Paladin is being Knighted for the first time in two thousand years!"

"Speaking of," I turned to face her. "I've been wondering a couple of things."

"And what would those be," She asked, politely sipping at her tea.

"Well for one, what is a Paladin exactly?" I inquired. "Is it some sort of sub-category of a Knight or is it its own thing?"

She hummed as she sat her tea down, giving me her undivided attention. "You aren't wrong in thinking of it as a 'sub-category' of the title Knight as you put it but it is very much its own thing. A Knight would only be granted the title of lesser noble and be given a comparatively smaller plot of land. However, Paladin is the highest rank we can give an individual and its benefits are much more significant."

"Though the Title of Knight has been phased out, we use some of the general terms for a Paladin, such as a Knighting, Knighthood etcetera," She added.

"They're their own things but bear similarities," I nod. "I get it."

"Indeed," She nodded as well. "What was the other thing you wanted to ask?"

"When will I be Knighted?"

"Oh my apologies, so much has been happening that I forgot to tell you." She giggled to herself. "The ceremony will be taking place in a week's time, which should allow you ample time to relax and prepare."

"A week? Plenty of time." Drinking the last of my apple juice, I push my chair out from under and stand, Ghost quickly following suit. "Thank you for the delicious breakfast, Princess. Now, I won't take up any more of your time and I'll let you go about your day."

"Please," She giggled. "If it's just us, I'd prefer if we drop the formalities. No titles amongst friends, no?"

"I can live with that," I smirked. "Have a good day Celestia."

"You too," She replied as I made my way to the room's exit.

The trek through the castle didn't nearly as long this time thanks to Ghost easily guiding me as though he knew like the back of his hand. It wouldn't surprise me if he did. Eventually, we came across the Red Cross and I knew we had made it to our destination. We made our way into the castle infirmary and asked the receptionist for whom I was looking for and promptly gave me directions and a room number. Following said directions and counting rooms, we swiftly made it and walked in.

Soarin lay rather comfortably on his hospital bed, his leg bandaged and held up as Spitfire and Shining Armour sat next to him on either side, both of which were stripped down to basic clothing, having been administered for slightly milder injuries.

All three turned to look at the source of the noise, all quickly spotting me as I swung the door open. The two of the three able to stand rose to their feet as they all gave me and Ghost a crisp salute.

"Sirs!" They called.

"At ease," I said, grabbing an unoccupied seat as Ghost moved to lean on the opposite wall, quietly folding his arms.

As I sat, the three of them gave a look of uncertainty as they too took their seats.

"Is there something we can help you with Sir?"

Chuckling, I rubbed the back of my neck. "I came to apologise," I replied as the three raised their eyebrows. "It wasn't my intention to put the three of you in the hospital."

"We were informed of the potential risks and accepted," Shining Armour said evenly, a soft grin making its way onto his lips.

"We wanted to test you to see if you were worthy of being Equestria's Paladin and honestly? Given how well you held your own, especially without weapons, I'm convinced," Soarin nodded.

"No one blames you, Sir," Spitfire agreed.

"Well, I'm glad to know you all feel that way, but I still want to offer my sincerest apologies," I replied, bowing my head slightly. Looking back up, I saw them unsure of what they should do. "I'm not Paladin quite yet, so no need to be so formal."

They all hesitated slightly, looking amongst themselves before Spitfire spoke. "It's not that Sir, you're just...very different from how we imagined you to be after hearing about you and what you did."

"Ah," I voiced, leaning against my legs. "Well, you'll learn rather quickly I'm not your average Joe, and I can only hope in a good way. But until then, rest up. You'll need it."

"Yes Sir!" They all replied.

"Good," I nodded, reaching to my belt and pulling out my deck of cards. "In the meantime, how about a game?"

"I won't say no," Soarin shrugged as the others heartily agreed.

"Alright then!" I grinned before looking over my shoulder. "Come on over and join us Ghost, I think you'll enjoy this one."

Author's Note

Another fairly simple chapter. Not 100% on this one, might go back at some point and change or add some things but I hope you guys enjoyed it nonetheless.

I also made some significant changes to the fight in the last chapter, making it more substantial as well as hinting at something bigger.
What could it be? We'll find out

Please point out any mistakes I may have made
Constructive criticism is always appreciated
Until next time, TTFN!