On a cold January evening...
...Princess Twilight Sparkle sits beside her mother's bed, watching as the elderly Queen Celestia passes her final evening. Tomorrow, she'll be Queen, and a nation will look to her to unite them in their mourning. However, the burdens of her new position may prove too much to bear.
...Ms. Sunset Shimmer laments within a Canterlot townhouse. It's a foreign setting in an already foreign land. She's a girl born to the slums of Neigh Orleans, thrust into the upper crust of Equestrian society. All because she fell in love with Twilight Sparkle, starting what might be Equestria's most controversial relationship.
...Prime Minister Fancy Pants drowns out another late night behind a wall of gin and tobacco. The labours of running a nation are heavy upon him, and are made no easier by the progressive rhetoric spewed by Celestia's heir. May the gods save Equestria, and his liver, if she ever ascends.
The events of this evening will set in motion a year of deception, alliances, politics, and romance.
Editing was done by Rose Quill, I would like to thank her so much for the help. I couldn't have done this without her.
The lovely cover art is done by Miudraws. Many thanks to them for making this for me. I truly appreciate it, and you all should go check out their stuff, it's incredible.
Written for Oroboro's Sunset Shimmer shipping contest.
"But the purpose of this story, and something it does very well, is to humanize people who are normally larger-than-life. And the politics, it must be said, are gripping, the drama carrying the story and rising to a strong emotional climax in the final chapter." - PresentPerfect, Recommend on December 8th
The most worrying thing in here is that Fancy Pants has not discovered the magic of Jack Daniels.
but I can't deny this does look awesome
Oh hey, a Garafic. Really liking this so far, and le gasp, those ending lines!
is hyped for more
This has got my attention and a fav. Also a mustache.
I like this
I didn't know I wanted to read something like this, now I'm totally hooked up
Well this is certainly a departure from what I typically see on Fimfic.
Tracked.
Oh my god, Brittish Equestria! This is going to be amazing. Poor Twilight.
And I do so love a story about making the moral decisions prevailing against the status quo through intelligence and hard work. Between Twilight and Sunset, they've got this. It won't be easy, but they do.
I'm assuming here, but human AU...no magic right?
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I hope I can live up that hype, and I'm glad you're enjoying it!
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Thank you, I really hope I can continue to deliver.
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I only drink rye whiskey, so I actually have no idea what Jack tastes like.
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I'm glad my strange little niches have an audience. Thank you for the kind words.
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Glad you're enjoying this. I'll admit it was a fun little departure from my usual storytelling. I'm glad I've been given a chance to experiment a bit.
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Oh no you discovered the secret that my Equestria is based off of the UK.
Also yeah, human AU so no magic.
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Wasn't much of a secret, I just love the concept. Especially that you give it the year that basically matches equestrian technology for the most part.
Loved the first chapter, looking forward to more! I don't quite like Sunset-Twilight shipping, but let's see if you can change my mind!
xxxx
And it begins.
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:twibrate:
in-ter-esting….
imma slap a like and track on this one.
Inspired by a certain Netflix show 'The Crown' possibly? Obviously a different setting, but still, I can see some set pieces being adapted, granted... some tropes are universal. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's all in the execution.
Abdicates
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The Crown did play some inspiration, but the events of this fic are inspired by an event which pre-dates the reign of Queen Elizabeth. I'd say more but I don't want to spoil too much.
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Insert that meme with the person sitting at a desk that says I don't like TwiSet, Change my Mind
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Glad to have you on board, hope you enjoy the rest.
TWILIGHT NOOOOOOO!
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Depending on whether you've had it before, it's either just normal whiskey or napalm in a shot glass.
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wouldn't happen to be a certain relative of king George the 6th would it?
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:)
Hmmm... 1936? In three years is a world war going to start? Hmmmmmmm
...had sunset married twilight before blueblood said that it would have been treason.
thats some heavy stuff and they are what about 23
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That I do not know, but what I do know is that there was a war that took place 20 years before the fic. You could say...it was a Great War.
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Hmm would Equestria have Lese Majeste
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They are about 35 in this fic.
This sounds really good. I can't wait for more.
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i wasn't to far off
Going to be honest its rare when a story makes me fall in love with but a sentence. Having said that I will be devouring this story as quickly as I can read it. Abdicate may only have 8 letters but it carries the weight of a freight train behind it.
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I'll be posting a chapter a day until...*counts fingers*...Thursday?!
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And I'll try and be publishing it as quickly as you're devouring it.
Glad you're enjoying it and thank you for the nice comment, hearing stuff like that means a lot to me.
This chapter is just as good as the last one, and much better than my fic. Also, you're posting a chapter a day? That's pretty sweet, especially since this fic is so good!
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I was actually originally going to upload it all at once, but the last chapter still needed some work done. So, I decided to space it out and give myself a bit of time.
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Okay, btw I know I've been saying this in literally every comment I've posted, but I really love the story!
I'm confused because the conversation at the end of this chapter makes no sense in context. Doesn't Twilight already know all of this? I'm certain it was already established that she did. Even if it wasn't, it's totally out of character for her to be unaware of these legal realities. It's told from her first person perspective, so she can't be feigning ignorance.
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I agree with it being out of character.
If we need the exposition it could be a conversation between Sunset and Fancy Pants.
She sets up a meeting to figure out why he hates her and what it would take to marry Twilight. It gives her more agency and lets us the audience get the needed exposition. Plus it sets up a point of tension between Sunset and Twilight as she went behind her back.
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You're critique is valid, but I took this as the best option to provide the needed exposition in a showy and not-telly manner within the 15000 word limit. By having Twilight be ignorant to the three options it also allowed the impact of the choices to land with a lot more impact. I don't think the chapter's ending would have landed as well if I had Twilight just absorb the information, as if she already knew it.
I also believe having this meeting between these two characters was important due to a need to show the relationship between Twilight and Fancy Pants.
see there is another option here that Georges relative was never willing to pursue, by all rights fancy pants has used his office to threaten the acting queen, not violently no but he has none the less, a monarch could use this very conversation as grounds to choose a new prime minister. i do point out that the person fancy is replacing in history was infact one that was know to be so incredibly bad at his job he sent armed men to war figuring they didn't need machine guns. not because they where too expensive or because they where inefficient but because they where nontraditional, the man is incompetent twilight simply toss him to the curb.
man fancy is not pulling his punches
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I actually had a line in the original draft where she stated wanting to avoid that option to avoid looking tyrannical. I just don't see Twilight going for such a nuclear option while other avenues of diplomacy exist.
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maybe but it's not uncommon for the crown to remind the prime minister that such things exist. remember she may have to listen to them, but she has other ways to play. the secret service as a law listen only to the crown, and there not just guards, they are spies too.
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Watch "The Crown" on netflix, you'll see that those that served the Crown in the UK didn't pull punches either, and felt justified, even entitled, to interfere in the personal lives of the Royal Family.
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i could watch it but i'm not going to
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You should though, it's actually a well-done series, and if you liked this story, which is obviously inspired by The Crown, you'll like it.
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sometimes the inspired works are better for example My hero Academia was inspired by the marvel universe
A most engrossing period piece thus far... though I have to agree that it feels out of character for Twilight to have not determined such critical information already. Even if she didn't recognize the political ramifications of her goals, she's had five years to look at what laws govern royal marriages, and Celestia was terribly ill for at least some of that time. (Heck, Celestia could've said something before she ended up on her deathbed, but Sunbutt Sr. has never been the best communicator in any timeline.) Showing Sunset finding out might have been the better option.
Still, eagerly looking forward to more. This should be quite the political showdown.
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Hmm, heck...
I think I added a sentence to remedy the problem a little.
I already knew of these options, from my own research, but hearing them spoken aloud gave them a very real substance. They landed like a punch to the gut, knocking the wind out of me.
Sadly, I can't do too much more. I'm already up against 15,000 words (the contest's limit)
Also glad you're enjoying it. I'm always thrilled to get such a positive response on my period pieces. Glad to see there is a bit of an audience for them on fimfic.
Stay tuned for RariTwiDash on the backdrop of the Franco-Prussian War :p.
Well. This reeks of political setup.
...Huh. That was...oddly easy....
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There's still one more chapter left ;)
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What, already? Crap, this can't end well.