Chapter 1 - Distant

One month. Today was the one month anniversary of when Discord had betrayed Fluttershy and all of her friends… When he had betrayed all of Equestria, once again. He felt so disappointed in himself that he could do such harmful things and still say he is reformed. The feeling wasn't new, in fact, he felt the same way when he'd sided with Tirek around five years ago. The guilt never went away after all these years, he just seemed to forget about it when Fluttershy started to open up to and trust him again.

The draconequus sighed and looked at the framed picture of him and Fluttershy that he held in his hands.

How does he always end up like this? Every single time he did something right he'd end up doing something 10x worse. He really was only trying to help Twilight see that she was fit to be ruler of Equestria, but instead he just helped every-creature see the monster he still was.

He tried his best not to be this way, he really did! But all of his efforts seemed to be coming back to… This. He was starting to think it was hopeless, and that he'll never truly reform.

The shock and hurt in Fluttershy's eyes is what got him the most, swinging at him with memories of the other times he'd hurt her, intentionally or not. He tried his best to play it cool, but deep down, fear of losing his friend forever was nagging at him ferociously.

All of his thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.

Strange, he thought. I don't usually get visitors in the chaos dimension.

He opened the door to see a small mail-mare trying her best not to float away in the non-gravitational area.

"H-hello, Mr. Discord!" She stuttered with a terrified smile. "I-I'm here t-to deliver your mail, b-but I couldn't find your mail-box so-"

"Just give it to me." Discord said, more sharply than he intended. He held out his claw and watched as the mare sheepishly placed a letter into his palm.

"T-there you go..! I-I'll be leaving now!" She said, turning around and flailing her arms in the air, as if she were swimming.

Discord sighed, putting his paw to his face before continuing. "Where are you headed?"

"U-um…" She turned around hesitantly. "J-just to Ponyville."

The draconequus nodded and with a snap of his fingers, sent her to her destination. He smiled for a moment, thinking that at least he did something nice today.

Sending someone to a town isn't going to make the world forgive you.

His smile faded. He hated to admit it, but his inner voice was right. Helping a mail-mare out of his dimension isn't going to make Fluttershy trust him again… If he could ever get her to trust him again.

When he realized he still had the mysterious letter in his claw, he sat down on his upside-down couch, and opened it up, reading what it said.

Dear Discord,

It has come to my attention that with the Gala so soon, we may not be able to arrange such a big event in such a small amount of time.

Of course, we will understand if you decline, but we request you help us with the Gala. We know your magic can get us the supplies we need more quickly than any postal service, and it would be wonderful if you could help us out tonight.

Sincerely, Princess Twilight Sparkle.

Discord stared at the paper for a few seconds. He had totally forgotten about the Gala. He thought for a moment, then a small smile appeared on his face. This could be a perfect chance to show Fluttershy that he has good intentions after all, and just wants to help!

He folded up the paper and stood up, before snapping his claw to teleport to Twilight.

Startled, the princess let out a little squeak as she looked up to see Discord just standing there, but then let the fur on her shoulders lie flat.

"Why hello there, Discord. I didn't think you'd get here so quickly." She said, stepping off her throne and walking over to him.

Discord waved his paw in greeting. "I'd love to help, Princess. When do we start?"

"Already so eager to get started, huh? Tell you what, if you can fetch the girls for me-"

With a single snap, the other five mares appeared next to Discord. "Done and done!"

"What the hay?" Rainbow Dash looked around in confusion. "What's going on?"

"Oh, don't tell me there's more creatures attacking Equestria!" Rarity said in an annoyed tone.

Discord couldn't help but feel bad again for what he'd done.

"Girls, girls," Twilight replied. "Everything is fine. Discord and I were just talking about the Gala arrangements-"

"The Gala arrangements!" Rarity covered her mouth with her hoof. "I'd totally forgotten! How am I supposed to make six gorgeous dresses while also decorating the Gala at the same time?"

"That's actually what we were talking about-"

"And the family hasn't even gotten prepared for baking all that food!" Applejack said with a worried expression.

"Well, maybe-"

"Oh my! The birds don't even know how to sing a simple rhythm yet!"

"Girls!" Twilight shouted, before continuing calmly, "Why do you think Discord is here?"

All of them looked over to him, which made him feel a bit uncomfortable.

"And what help is he, exactly?" Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, and Applejack glared at her, but didn't say anything.

"A lot, actually. He'll get us all the supplies we need faster than you can say dash!" Twilight replied.

Rainbow Dash looked at Twilight questioningly. "Da-"

"Hey, now that isn't fair! I don't even know what you need yet!"

Twilight giggled. "Well, ask!"

Discord studied all of the mares, and none of them said a word. "Oh, come on! It's not as if I'm gonna bite!"

"Well, I'm going to need some fabric," Rarity announced.

"What colors?" Discord asked, ready to snap his fingers.

Rarity looked around at everyone in the room, then simply said, "All."

Oh, she's gonna regret that. He thought to himself, but did as she commanded. Easily over 100 sheets of fabric landed on her, causing her to gasp in shock.

Rarity peeked her head through the pile with a frustrated facial expression. "That's a bit of an exaggeration, don't you think?"

Discord shook his head. "You said all colors. That includes colors one tint off from another color, one slight shade off from another color, and so on."

One by one, Discord gave all the mares exactly what they wanted. All except for one, which was Fluttershy. Discord realized she hadn't spoken up at all during this meeting.

"Fluttershy? You're the last one to ask Discord for your supplies." Rainbow Dash pointed out, in which Fluttershy looked up, startled.

"Huh?" She looked around, then relaxed. "Oh, it's fine. I don't really need anything."

Discord raised a brow at her. "You don't need music sheets?"

Fluttershy blushed lightly. "Um… Yeah, I do."

Discord snapped 4 music sheets into her hooves. "That should do. Is that all?"

She nodded without looking at Discord. He felt a pang of guilt. She was suddenly acting so… Distant.

"Well, if that's all, then we can start getting to work, and we'll meet here again in a few days. Deal?" Twilight broke the silence.

They all agreed, and Discord soon teleported back to his own place.

He sighed, all he could think about was how odd Fluttershy had been acting. She seemed as if she always had her mind on something, as if something was troubling her.

No doubt, he thought. Not after what I did.

Just then, Discord decided he would try with all his might to make it up to her, even if it takes getting… Sappy. He didn't like doing it but he'd do anything for Fluttershy. Wait… What?