Chapter 7: Twilight in the 1,000 Year Empire

Meanwhile,

Buckingham Palace, London, United Kingdom

Twilight sat across from George VI, the reigning British King. For the past three hours, they had been sequestered from their aides, getting to know more about each other and their respective countries. Twilight, was already familiar with much of the recent history of the British Empire from the copious amount of books that she had read on her journey to the island nation.

She was impressed by how the nation had expanded to control ¼ of the world’s land area and population, and its impressive stand against Germany during the Second World War. While she was aware of many of the British Empire's abuses in the past (i.e. their previous support for slavery, their treatment of indigenous peoples in the colonies) she was nonetheless impressed by the British people’s positive impact on the world, serving as the cradle of limited government, modern constitutional monarchy, and parliamentary democracy. She of course didn’t believe that Equestria needed to have such a form of government (after all, Celestia’s was just, competent, and benevolent in her behavior), she believed that such a model had served Britain well, giving the people a say in how their government was run while keeping the monarchy firmly in charge.

However, in the recent two centuries, the power of the monarchy had been radically reduced, with the Prime Minister holding all effective decision making power. Twilight, wasn’t too keen on this, her positive experience with Celestia causing her to favor having a benevolent monarchy in the lead of the country. However, she realized that it wasn’t her place to judge the British people and how they ran the country. After 1,000 years of experimenting, they’ve come to this political order, clearly it seems to have worked for them, thought Twilight to herself.

“This tea is impressive,” said Twilight, savouring the drink that she and the British monarch were enjoying together. “Where is it from?”

“India,” replied George VI, his jovial demeanor being replaced with a more serious one.

“Oh,” said Twilight, blushing at her awkwardness.

“Of course, I visit a foreign nation and proceed to remind them of their humiliating retreat from their ‘crown jewel.’” thought Twilight to herself.

She was vaguely aware of the British plan to withdraw from the Indian sub-continent, this decision driven by the growing agitation caused by an individual named Gandhi. Based on her readings on the subject, she believed that it was probably best for the people of India to be independent from British rule. Still, she lamented the decline of a new friend of Equestria.

Seeking to pivot away from the impasse, Twilight said, “It is an honor to be able to visit your country. During the drive from the port I saw much of your capital's famed beautiful architecture and statues.”

“Did you?” responded the British King, his British accent reminding her of Octavia, the cellist from Ponyville.

“Yes I did. In particular, I did enjoy the ‘Big Ben’ clocktower. I can imagine that it’s an impressive piece of engineering.”

“Yes, indeed.”

“I’m a massive fan of books and literature. I’ve heard that you’re country has produced much great literature,” said Twilight, hoping to ingratiate herself with the British monarch.

“Yes, we have,” said King George. Suddenly he stood up and turned to the bookshelf behind him. “As you can see, I have quite the extensive collection right here. Would you like to have some of them. I mean just for your one month in our country.”

“Certainly,” said Twilight, her voice beaming with excitement, the prospect of being able to read human literature giving her a surge of energy. While she had enjoyed the history books that she had voraciously consumed during her trip to Britain, she was eager to get her hands on her first human novel.

“May I have one of your novels?” asked the purple alicorn princess.

“Most definitely. I think that you will find these two books most enjoyable,” said George as he handed two hard covered books over to her.

Twilight hovered them in front of her. On her left was a book written by a Charles Dickens titled Oliver Twist and another called War and Peace, written by a Leo Tolstoy.

“Thank you very much for your generosity. Without spoiling the ending, could you tell me what they are about,” asked Twilight, ever thankful for the generous gift that she had been given.

“The first one is about a young orphan boy who grew up in the Victorian era and the later is about the Napoleonic Wars which were-”

“Between the French and the Allied Coalitions led by Britain,” said Twilight, showing off her knowledge of British history to her host.

“Yes, I was about to say that,” said the British ruler, somewhat annoyed at being cut off by a horse. “If you wish to learn about our more recent history, namely our experience during World War II, I’d be happy to help educate you about the topic. Oh, and after your meeting with Prime Minister Attlee, I encourage you to meet with Winston Churchill, our head of government during the conflict. He’s tough as nails, and if there is one person I’d love to hear tell a personal story, then it is him.

“I’ll have to remember that, Your Majesty. It has been an honour to meet you and my country looks forward to forging a close relationship with your nation,” said Twilight, bowing to her regal guest.

“The feeling is mutual, Princess Twilight.”