March 13, 1946

Churchill’s Residence, London, United Kingdom

“You could say that Mr. Attlee is a modest man, with much to be modest about!” snarked the Winston Churchill, the formed British Prime Minister.

Normally, Twilight wouldn’t laugh at such rude humour but this time she couldn’t stifle her urge to laugh, her mouth eliciting a giggle. Her meeting the previous day with the new British Prime Minister had seemingly dragged on forever. While Twilight normally enjoyed detailed policy discussions, her meeting with Attlee was something of another nature. The man was an utter drag and any attempts at trying to liven the conversation went nowhere.

While Twilight had tried to focus the conversation on the big picture, such as how Britain and Equestria should work together on managing the “Human-Equestrian (cultural/technological) Exchange” or how Equestria could help Britain recover from the effects of World War II, Attlee had been focused on relatively unimportant, side issues, such as the details of several trade deals that he had proposed to the visiting princess.

“He wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, as you British folk would say,” said Twilight.

“Well, he’s a well intentioned man, that’s to be sure,” replied Churchill.

Twilight, nodded her head affirmatively. Despite the boring nature of her discussions with the incumbent British Prime Minister, she did concede that Attlee took his responsibilities seriously. Besides, she had a tendency to be socially awkward, herself.

Nonetheless, she was ready to admit that her favorite portion of her trip to the United Kingdom had been her discussions from Winston Churchill. She could understand why he had been so lionized in the books and newspaper articles that she had read on the man. The way he told stories from his life and about British history filled her with awe not just of Churchill, but Britain like no text ever could.

She was impressed at how he had been on so many adventures throughout his life, and how he had overcome every setback he had encountered, from his dismal from the government after his failure at Gallipoli to his victory over Hitler’s Germany, she had noticed one overarching character trait. Persistence.

“Now that I’ve told you about my life story, why don’t you take a crack at it,” replied Churchill.

Twilight blushed. Normally, she wouldn’t be this bashful about her marvelous life, however it seemed rather modest compared to the life story of her host. Nonetheless, she obliged Churchill, telling of her youth growing up with her loving family members in Canterlot, her magic training under Celestia, and her adventures with her Ponyville friends on the behalf of Equestria.

When she finished, Churchill sat quietly for a second. Then he quipped, “I see that you’ve been rather busy lately.”

Twilight burst out laughing at his humour.

After they both exchanged a good laugh, Churchill added in a more serious tone, “However, I do envy your childhood.”

“Why is that sir? You grew up as a part of the nobility of this great country. I was only a mere unicorn and a commoner in my country.”

“While both of those statements are true, they miss the essence of being human, Ms. Sparkle. The greatest gift in life is the love of your loved ones. You were raised by two kind parents, who, from what I was able to glean, were always there for you. My parents on the other hand, were hardly there for me. My father buried himself in his work for the government and my mother pawned me off to our nanny. I could go for several days without seeing my parents sometimes.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” replied Twilight, trying to comfort her guest.

“Oh, it’s okay, there is no point in me engaging in self-pity,” said Churchill.

“If it will help, you’ve got me to talk to,” Twilight.

“Thank you dear. While, you’re in the my country feel free to visit or even call me at anytime.”

“I will make sure to do so, at least when I’m not trapped in diplomatic meetings and making public appearances across the country,” joked Twilight.

Twilight, the Princess of Friendship, had once again done what she does best: making new friends.