…Hm? Oh, good morning. And you are?
…Oh, that's right, we talked last night. And, you're back because…?
…Oh. Right. I shooed you out before you could finish. Sorry about that.
…You want to know how our Princess came so far? Well, I can only tell you what I know. First thing I know is that she was speaking with Cheerilee, I told you about her other Advisor, didn't I? …Yes, of course. She was speaking with Cheerilee about how to convince her subjects to follow her of their own free will, without forcing them to leave friends, family, and the like behind. I stupidly replied, "Give them a choice." At that time, it wasn't any of my business how she ruled her kingdom, I should have kept my big mouth shut. All it did was draw attention to myself, which I regretted almost immediately. You should have seen how startled they were at my… Unique appearance… Princess Gaia almost fainted, from the look in her eyes.
After a brief moment of recovery, with Cheerilee asking the Princess if she was okay, she stammered, "Yes, we already decided that." To paraphrase. I felt like smashing my head against one of the nearby trees, I felt so stupid. Until Princess Gaia chimed in. "He does seem like he wants to help." she said. "Maybe we should let him help." And so we, being Princess Gaia, Cheerilee and I, began laying the foundations for the Princess's rule. On some things, Cheerilee and I agreed with one another wholeheartedly. Others, not so much, though the Princess was there to help combine the two sides, though there were times when she had to simply reject one of our opinions in favor of the other's. Once again, each of those times, I felt like smashing my head against a tree… But, I digress. Eventually, we set up a system, a hierarchy with the Princess at the top, the "Eternal Knights", which included Cheerilee and I in addition to the current Eternal Knights, one level down, then the standard Knights, and finally the commoners. It was a rough framework, which would go through a bit of tweaking, obviously.
As is so now, the Eternal Knights all had other things to do, as did Cheerilee, leaving the Princess, myself, and a handful of otherwise-unoccupied Knights to repair the castle. However, Cheerilee, being a teacher, returned before the others, with a small group of students who would eventually become the Crusaders, including, of course, the ever-eager Triad. After a brief cheer of "Cutie Mark Crusaders castle repairers, yeah!" from the Triad and a couple of others, the group lent a helping hoof. After proving paramount to our efforts, and fixing a few mistakes made by Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom became the first of the Triad to earn her Cutie Mark. She was immediately congratulated for it by her classmates, Cheerilee, a few of the Knights, and even the Princess herself, and I believe Applejack congratulated her when she saw it, as well. I, myself, couldn't help but smile.
After the repairs were complete, we moved on to more important business: How Princess Gaia should gain followers. It was already established that force was out of the question, as the Princess had supposedly already tried that. As I was not around to bear witness to it, I asked about her prior ruling experience. I will not repeat what I heard. Suffice to say, even I was horrified. That said, I suggested something similar: Eternal youth for those who choose to follow her. She said something about shadows who… Something or other… Who would not like it if she did that without somepony to suffer for their happiness. She mentioned something about a red orb appearing as part of her true form the first time, stating that it was what held the pain and suffering of everypony she entranced, transferring it to her. When I suggested she retry that, I got a… Look. Let me tell you, you do not want to get on Cheerilee's bad side. I hastily explained my belief that the Princess should not take the pain on her own, that it be distributed evenly among the Knights. That idea was instantly rejected, but, before I could smash my head against one of the newly-rebuilt walls, it was said that my idea had some merit. By Cheerilee herself, no less. I still don't know why those Knights in particular are banned from taking any of the pain…
After it was decided that it was to be a choice, and that certain Knights be refused should they offer to take the pain, I stepped forward to offer to take some of the pain. The Triad did, as well, as did Pinkie Pie, Fluttercruel, Applejack, and Rarity of the Eternal Knights. Not very many of us, but, then again, it was little less than half of those of us who were allowed to take the pain, and she didn't have many followers to begin with, after all. Afterwards, the Triad appealed to the Princess to start a new group of Knights, an eternally young group of fillies and colts known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders. The Princess was worried what the shadows would think, so I suggested she remove the wings from those chosen to become the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Cheerilee exclaimed that she would have suggested the same thing. I guess great minds do think alike. Anyway, thus started the Crusaders.
Then Cheerilee and I broke off from the Eternal Knights, who were thenceforth granted permission to leave the castle grounds without explicit, advance permission from the Princess herself, something which the other Knights were thenceforth disallowed. I'm not complaining, I have nowhere else to be. And, little by little, the kingdom expanded to become what you see today; a thriving society consisting of fillies, colts, and the guards who protect them. Some of the guards carry a fragment of the pain with them every day, though none of us feel as much pain as Princess Gaia herself. I wish I could be of more help, but, alas, the Princess forced me to stop after I had taken too much pain. She said she was worried about my sanity. Hah!
…Well? I've told you all I can, at least all you'd find interesting. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a princess to advise.