Chapter 2. Some people can just be so mean! Just makes you want too love and tolerate them!

The smell of political passion was still lingering in the air. There hadn't been an election with this much excitement in Ponyvale for years! It was enough to get Twilight excited, herself, but she still stuck to her rule of keeping her vote to herself. She shared everything with her friends, it felt invigorating to finally have something that she kept to herself. She still listened in on the discussions, even participated once in a while, but mostly, she just watched. She noticed that people weren't really spending much time with supporters of the opposite side of the election. Not in malice, it seemed, but more out of a new kind of kindred with them.

There were numerous reporters found in the town now, covering the election. Many ponies were interviewed; Twilight even said a few words (well, more than a few, the reporter eventually cut her off, as Twilight started rambling about how the elections worked.) It was a different kind of celebration. This wasn't some constant ritual they did every year; this was an opportunity for change, or a strengthening what is already there. These ponies always managed to make the best of things! In bigger cities, elections could get downright ugly at times.

While sitting at Horte Cuisine Café, Twilight was going over her considerable notes. A pony waking by, Twilight was sure she knew them, but couldn't match a name to the face.

"Wow, Twilight Sparkle, you're really taking the election seriously, aren't you?" she giggled. Twilight laughed with her.

"No, well, yes, this is actually something else I'm working on," she told the pony.

"Oh, all right. Oh, did you happen to see that pony in the long coat? I've never seen someone dressed quite like that! There's a lot of people saying he might be a royal observer!"

"Really?" Twilight was now interested. Carrot Top, that was her name, "I spotted him when he first wandered into town. Where's he been found?"

"Oh, here and there. He spends a lot of time near the reporters for some reason. Film Reel is nervous that he might be a tabloid reporter or something, looking to dig up dirt on someone," Carrot explained. Film Reel…He was one of the photographers that followed Fluttershy back in her modeling days.

"Like who? The candidates?"

"Oh, I doubt that. Film Reel says that Ponyvale has really been noticed in the bigger cities, between your defeating Nightmare Moon, the Ursa Minor, the Sonic RainBoom, Fluttershy, Rarity's shop, the Sweet Apple Acres getting as big as it has. You might want to watch out for him."

"Oh, I hadn't realized…" Twilight never really thought of getting that kind of attention with all of their adventures and success. It was just…The right thing to do…

"I'm sure he'll wander off after the elections. Still, you might want to tell your friends to watch their trot," Carrot Top warned.

"Thank you, Carrot. I'll be sure to do that. Thank you for the warning."

Carrot nodded and smiled pleasantly, and went about her business. Great, now Twilight wouldn't be able to focus on her notes. This was going to bother her until the election was over, or until she found out more about that stranger. The waiter came along with her order, and, if only for a little while, she forgot her troubles while she enjoyed her lunch on this pleasant autumn day. When she was finished with her meal, she paid her check and started back home.

While trotting back to the library, she encountered Pinky Pie standing next to a tree, gritting her teeth. One part of Twilight wanted to just keep walking, but she decided the better of it, and approached her.

"Um, Pinky Pie? What's the matter?" Twilight asked.

"…Ant-infested, sticky-pasted meanie face…"

"Pinkie?"

"SHE IS NOT!" Pinky screamed at Twilight, "OH! Twilight! I'm so sorry!"

"That's okay, Pinky Pie. What's the matter?"

"Oooooh, therewasthisponyright hecameuptomeandstartedtalking meanthingsaboutMissesCakeand(she took a breath) itreallygotmeangry andIjustcan'tgetoverit and oooooooh he just got me soooo angreeeeee!" Pinkie chattered. Twilight took a moment to register what Pinky had just said.

"Well, there are mean people out there, Pinky Pie. You just have to ignore them," Twilight told her. Pinkie sighed.

"I know, it's just that…I've never heard anyone say anything so mean about Miss Cake! He just came up to some of us and started saying these really mean things, like we were all brainwashed and she was evil and was a bad choice for Mayor. Ooooh, he just got under my skin!"

"Pinkie, he's just trying to get a rise out of you. If he comes back, just smile at him. Treat him with kindness, and he'll be the one who gets angry, okay? You're better than him if that's how he treats people that don't agree with him."

"You're right, Twilight! I'm just gonna smile, say a kind word about him, and love and tolerate him until he just can't take it anymore!"

"That's the spirit!" Twilight laughed as Pinky Pie hopped off in her strange trot, and returned to the library with her pile of notes.