//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4 - Dressed To Impress 
// Story: An Unprecedented Advancement 
// by GravelordNito 
//------------------------------//

Twilight Sparkle halted suddenly, as her gallop down the hallway leading to her dining hall was brought to an abrupt stop. Discord blocked her path, and after having listened to his offer, she could not believe her ears. Why she did not just teleport into the dining room, Twilight was unsure of. Perhaps she just hadn't fully woken up yet.

"Excuse me? Are you up to something? What have you been doing while I was asleep?" She yammered, still panting after her panicked sprint. 

"Slow down, slow down, Twilight. That's a few too many questions for me to answer all at once, don't you think? I'm innocent; why in Equestria would I meddle with this shiny, new castle I am certain you absolutely adore?"

Sensing that he was lying, and actually had made some changes, Twilight replied,

"One can never tell what will happen with you around, Discord. Plus, what makes you think I would want to spend time with you? I have not forgotten about your recent betrayal, Discord, and it's going to take a lot more than a medallion to gain back the trust I'm not even sure I had for you in the first place!"

For a very brief moment, Twilight thought she could sense something in Discord's eyes. Grief? Remorse? Hurt? She quickly cast the thought from her mind, and took a moment to take in the features of his attire. What was with this getup? He must be plotting something, trying to make a fool out of her, mocking her as he does to all before him.

"Discord, why are you wearing such an outfit, only for us to mull over a glass of wine?"

"Isn't that obvious, Twilight? Dining with a princess is serious business, after all!" Replied Discord a little nervously, whilst tugging at his collar gently and attempting to hide his face with the edge of his hat.

Discord's current behaviour was very strange, even for him. Twilight's thought process was alert with intense suspicion, her eyes following his every move, like a hawk honing in on it's prey. She was onto him, and she was going to tread with caution from now on. She had to admit, she was quite curious as to how this situation would turn out if she accepted his offer. She knew that whatever Discord had to throw at her, she would be ready.

"Okay, Discord, I'll humour you. I don't have to get back to my books right away, since it doesn't seem as though I was asleep for very long,"

"No, you weren't," whispered Discord, some signs of agitation and disappointment in his voice, "well, you are here now, so let's make the most of our time together!" He exclaimed, with an anxious chuckle, "if you would follow me, please, princess..."

Discord led the way into the dining room, holding the door open for Twilight. When she saw the watery depths below her in the room, she looked back at Discord with a look of anger and disbelief. However, Discord still held his bow outside the door, looking at the floor whilst holding his arm into the room like a signpost. Twilight chose not to comment aloud, and took flight over the water, now taking the time to take in the full view of the room before her.

Discord looked up once she had passed him, and froze in place. He was now eagerly watching her and awaiting her response, with a rapidly intensifying sense of dread. After what felt to Discord like an eternity of waiting, Twilight spoke to Discord without turning to face him,

"Discord... I am quite impressed." Discord's face brightened up with hope at her words, as a smile slowly spread across his face from ear to ear, only to suddenly be shattered by the words that followed, "this is much less severe a change than I thought it was going to be, I was planning on incinerating you if it was too much." Discord laughed heartily at her words, but once again, this was quickly halted when he saw the confused expression on Twilight's face, as she finally turned to face him. With an awkward cough, Discord flew past her and perched on his lily pads, beckoning her over to sit across from him on the other bed of pads.

"Come hither, Twilight, and let us make a toast to your new home!" Discord sang, as he held up his empty glass with his paw.

Without saying a word, Twilight slowly lowered herself onto the lily pads. She took her suddenly full glass in her magical grip, noticing its peculiar design,

"cheese and wine. How original, Discord." Twilight said with a sarcastic, bored tone, attempting to provoke a response from the draconequus. However, he merely offered his glass across the table without a word. Confused by the lack of a response, Twilight raised her glass and clinked it with Discord's, which made a loud beeping noise. Twilight looked around her to identify the source of the noise, however quickly realised that things like that were to be expected, considering the one she was currently in the presence of. 

Discord laughed upon seeing this response, and after having gradually filled up his glass as he motioned to tip the initially non-existent contents down his throat, he said,

"Twilight, what am I to you?"

This was a sudden, and very heavy question to ask. At first, Twilight was unsure of how to respond. After she had sipped a little of her wine, she then said,

"I think you already know the answer to that one, Discord." He looked around, avoiding eye contact whilst whistling a tune and pretending he did not hear her answer. He also strummed the same tune on a handful of seaweed he had pulled from the water.

Twilight sighed, and then her face hardened as she turned serious,

"If you want to hear the full answer, I'll be happy to spell it out for you," upon hearing this, Discord halted his activity and chose to change the subject. This is not going how I wanted it to at all, he thought, I was foolish to ask such a question so early on! He quickly changed the subject and attempted to score some points with her. After wiping the sweat forming on his brow, Discord crossed the table, grasped her small, lavender frame in his grip, and brought his face next to Twilight's; motioning around the room with his other arm, he said,

"So, do you like what I have done with the place? All you said earlier was that the lack of severity impressed you, but I want to know what you really think."

Pulling away from him as best she could against his powerful grip, Twilight replied,

"Well, these lily pads are more comfortable than I expected, however I'm not so sure about the new curtains... Oh! Those candles give off quite a romantic fee-" she trailed off, as she looked up towards the wax dripping onto the ceiling. Instantly realising that he had messed up, Discord hurriedly retreated to his side of the table. Feeling severely feverish, he braced for impact. And I was foolish enough to think those patterns were a good idea! He cursed himself.