"Excuse me, yer'Honor." Applejack approached the stallion. "Ah understand yer one of Twilight's new advisers, and Ah can't help but wonder about yer Cutie Mark." She gestured to the stallion's flank, a stylized scythe emblazoned over a scattering of seed. "With a mark like that, Ah'd have expected ya to be a farmer. What made ya decide to go into politics?"
The stallion sighed. "I am not a politician. I am a philosopher. If I am at all involved in politics, it is to inject some much needed reality into a chronically deficient institution." He spoke slowly, taking care to pronounce each letter. "As for my Cutie Mark, it is symbolic of my foundational idea, the keystone of my philosophy. It is the idea that every farmer knows by heart, and that every deception tries in vain to avoid." He looked into Applejack's eyes. "As ye sow, so shall ye reap. You of all ponies understand that." He closed his eyes and looked downwards.
"Thank you, yer'Honor." Applejack nodded, and turned to leave. She paused. "Before Ah go, would'ya mind explaining to me what sorta job ya do around here? You've made me curious."
The stallion looked up. "My purpose," he said, "Is to ensure that Princess Twilight does not neglect the fundamentals of her office. As the Princess of Friendship, she understands that friendship is magic. What she must not fail to understand," he frowned, "Is the nature of both. Does friendship magically appear between newly met ponies? Or does magic spring forth out of existing friendship? And is friendship constructed, or conceived?
"I cannot answer these questions. My job is to enable Twilight Sparkle to answer them herself." His frown relaxed, and grew into a smile. "She seeks to find a Golden Rule. She must remember the Iron Law. Gold is precious, but no castle is built from gold alone. Gold is layered on top of iron, for a castle is equal parts fortress and palace."
Applejack held up a hoof to shake. "Thank you for yer time, yer'Honor. You've given me a lot t' think about. Just remember." She looked him in the eye. "A mare's home is her castle. Make sure that Twilight's castle is her home."
They shook.