The morning in Ponyville shimmered; the morning in Ponyville shined. 

And Starlight Glimmer was having absolutely none of it. 

She stared into a totally average iced tea, the noise of the entirely nondescript outdoor café barely noticeable around her, and brooded. 

Some of her mood was probably whiplash; fighting Twilight had been mentally and physically draining, and afterwards, accepting that offer of friendship had been one of the hardest things she'd ever done. 

Well, the song afterwards had been nice. 

And the cavalcade. 

The cake. 

But… shouldn't she feel better than this, after being redeemed? 

Twilight would start looking for her soon. She would wonder why the guest bed was empty, why her new friend snuck out. 

Starlight swirled her ice-cubes and vaguely considered heading back. 

"Why the long face?" 

"Huh?" She looked up, her annoyance at being interrupted changing to surprise as a leonine, snakey, horned-and-clawed [i]something[/i] slithered into the seat across from her and propped its chin up on one paw. 

She had heard of him. "You're Discord!" 

"Tsk." He waved away her surprise. "And you're Starlight Glimmer. And? Why so serious?" he rubbed his jaw. "Afraid they secretly hate you?" he asked, waving at the other patrons. "Worried Twilight's hiding a grudge? Hungover on cake?" 

"No." She smiled, slightly. "And no, nopony here even knows what I did, after it was undone. And…" For a moment, she saw Twilight's bright grin and sparkling eyes and outstretched hoof. "And no. She was sincere." 

"I was. Am. Sometimes. Everypony knows what I did, and I'm not very good at… trust." He shrugged. "I'd suggest two aspirin and a water of glass." 

"I'm not hungover." She studied him. Discord was the last person she would have sought out, but if he didn't have bigger issues than her, nopony did. 

"So how do you deal with it?" She surreptitiously scanned the café, hoping to catch a guarded whisper or nervous glance. 

"Oh, my usual." He yawned. "Cake. Turn their houses inside out. Be so self-centered I stop caring." He snapped, creating a glass of tea. "It's easy when the universe literally revolves around you." 

"But… that's precisely what got me into trouble." Starlight frowned pensively. "Our town. Starswirl's spell. All of that, that was me being wrapped up in myself, ignoring how other ponies felt, what my anger was destroying. I didn't even try and find my friend, Sunburst." 

"But, now you're doing the whole friendship thing." Discord took a bite of tea. 

"Right?" She laughed bitterly. 

"So?" 

"So I didn't wake up one morning and think: 'hey, stripping away ponies most intimate magic is a good idea!' 'Turning the whole world into a scorched wasteland sounds peachy!' 'How about giving up on my best friend, huh, that sounds wonderful!'" She took a gulp of tea. "I just, sort of, worked my way into it. I'm not even sure how." She sighed. "Looking back, it all seems so stupid. Yesterday, I asked Twilight how I could make sure it didn't end up happening again. You know how she replied?" 

Discord quirked an eyebrow.

"She said 'I guess it's up to you to make sure of it'," She rubbed her forehead.

"I could help you with that." Discord smirked. "Just—" he raised a claw, poised to snap "—remake your mind, reach deep into your psyche and change you on a fundamental level, make you the kindest, most honest, loyal, generous, friendly and [i]happy[/i] pony in this town." His fangs glinted. 

A shiver ran down her spine. 

"Buuuuut…" His smirk softened into a smile. "I don't do that sort of thing anymore." 

"Is it… hard?"

"You. Have. No. Idea." For a moment, deep in his eyes, something glinted. "But I have a conscience now. She's yellow and timid and told me to come talk to you, and she helps me with it. I'm sure you can find your own." He waved. "The place is lousy with them." 

"Does…" Starlight's voice lowered, until she was nearly whispering. "Does it get easier?" 

"It does. Did. Sometimes." He gave her a bitter smile. "You'll certainly be fine." 

"I'm not absolutely sure of that." She smiled back, weakly. "But… thanks."