Dance Hall A pleasant surprise! (Deep Bass)

[Lilia]

Lilia entered the Dance Hall of Canterlot Castle, her eyes shining with delight. This was the biggest event in all of Equestria, and she was a part of it. She stepped lightly, her hooves covered with slippers that matched her gown. She showcased said gown as she moved across the hall, the color of the gown shimmering between silver-white and sky blue. She had worked hard to set aside the bits for the gown and had ordered it from one of Equestria's finest gownmakers. Snow white flowers were laced in a crown upon her mane, and her coat gleamed from a day at the spa. She enjoyed being around other ponies, unlike her sister who had taken off almost as soon as they had arrived. It didn't phase her, however, because she knew her sister would find a way to get into mischeif without her being present.

It didn't take long before the young mare was being asked to dance by several stallions in the hall. Though she wanted to dance, she politely refused. This was the chance of a lifetime to mingle with ponies who were, to her, the finest clients she could find. The rich, uppercrust of Canterlot society was just begging for her to step in and make their dreams come true...if only she could make her own visions come true in the process, she would be happy enough. Her thoughts were interrupted by a rather persistant stallion again asking her to dance.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not interested in dancing quite at the moment, sir. Perhaps you would fare better with one of the--" She said, being cut off when the stallion grabbed her forehooves and began to spin her like a top. He was holding too tightly for her to escape gracefully, and she winced. She wanted to be away from this brute!

[DeepBass]

Wow. The Royal Castle. It was everything that Bass had dreamed of. The pegasus trotted casually through the crowd, making sure his special tuxedo didn't get so much as a spec of dirt on it. Treble would kill him, if he had. The tuxedo was solid black with blue cuffs. Beneath the blazer, he wore a blue vest, nearly the same color as the streak in his mane and tail, and beneath that, a black shirt with a blue bowtie. The dazzling suit, along with a ticket to the Gala had been a birthday present from his twin sister, and he was about to make sure that absolutely nothing happened to that suit... unless it was absolutely necessary. And upon spotting somepony making a scene on the dance floor. Upon closer inspection, Bass decided that this was definitely a necessary situation.

He slipped off the blazer, and made his way to the dance floor, spotting a random, belligerent stallion forcing some lovely mare into a dance. This was something that Bass was NOT cool with, and apparently, the same went for all the other ponies who saw this, but none wished to say anything. However, Bass was always the one to prefer action in such a case, and it showed when he trotted straight up to the stallion, and tapped him on the shoulder."Sorry, brother, but I'm pretty sure the lady said she didn't want to dance, so if you could please stop making a scene, and go find yourself another dance partner who will WILLINGLY dance with you, that would make the evening just a bit brighter for everyone, don't you think?"

[Lilia]

Lilia's ears twitched toward the familiar voice, her heart thudding against her ribs. Relief flooded her when the brutish stallion dropped her hooves as he whirled to face the other stallion. All she caught was a glympse of the black and blue mane, but it was enough. Bass had come to the gala! She felt a bit of something warm within and bowed her head as the brute glared at Bass for intruding.

"Yeah, and what's it to you pal? She your marefriend or something? As far as I can tell, she ain't wantin' ta dance with anypony. And that means that she needs some...convincing to dance with me." The stallion responded, not noticing that the pretty pink mare he had been 'convincing' had stepped just within eyeshot of Bass.

Lilia stood still as stone, watching the conflict in front of her tensely. She could only hope that Bass could handle this with as little harm to himself as possible.

[DeepBass]

Bass's amber glasses somewhat disguised the color of his eyes, as he stared down the larger stallion. At this point, a decent amount of ponies were watching the scene, but unlike the other stallion, Bass was used to performing with an audience. Bass was ready to rear back, and give that stallion a piece of his mind... until he spotted the mare out of the corner of his eye. Lilia? Bass looked back at the stallion, his face even more stern than before. He inhaled deeply through his nose, and went to it.

"Why, yes. As a matter of fact, she is. And she was waiting for me to meet her here, so I'd ask you to respect the fact that she is, and back off!"

After the rant, Bass took a deep breath, and straightened his glasses back on his face, then he would motion to the others around them.

"If you would, kindly that is. See, my new friends here don't like what you're doing any more than I do. Don't you think it would be a strategic move on your part?"

[Lilia]

Lilia watched the stallion look around, finally aware of the situation he had gotten himself into. Guards had managed to work their way through the crowd, ready to intervene if they needed to. She stepped around the stallion to Bass' side, smiling at him with both relief and something more.

The stallion stiffened visibly and turned an immediate aboutface, trotting away before he got into more trouble than he needed to.

"Bass! I thought you weren't coming...I mean...I hoped but...you look wonderful." Lilia said, her joy at seeing him evident.

[DeepBass]

Bass heaved a heavy sigh of relief, as the larger stallion trotted away, without so much as a jab to Bass's face. He looked around at the crowd that was cheering Bass's courage (or stupidity). As the crowd dispersed, he looked at the mare by his side, and smiled. "I almost didn't come, but Treble insisted."

He looked over Lilia's dress, and was simply dumbfounded. He had never seen her look so beautiful, and suddenly, all he had accomplished in his nearly year long absence didn't mean a thing compared to this night. He stared into Lilia's eyes, completely lost in their beauty. "Lilia, my love... you... you look absolutely stunning, tonight."

[Lilia]

Lilia beamed at his compliment and mentally reminded herself to thank Treble for insisting Bass come to the Gala.

"Well, if I'm going to dress up...it may as well be stunning. I missed you so much, Bass..." She stated, leaning against him briefly for the contact. She truly had missed him, and her work showed it. No matter how well she did, reports always came back at how melancholy the planner had been in the last year. She shut herself in, only seeing her sisters after she left her work. "You're here now, and that's what matters." she added softly, doing her best to hide the tears that threatened to fall.

[DeepBass]

Bass smiled at the mare, and kissed her softly. It was a sensation he had missed for so long. To say that Lilia was the only one whose productivity had suffered from their year-long separation would be far from the truth. In the past year, Bass had hit a snag with his songwriting, and had slowly hit a spiral into the depressing territory with his performances. Regardless of the past events, all the pain suddenly faded, as he became lost in the sensation of Lilia's kiss. He made a mental note to thank Treble for the best birthday present he could ever ask for.

After breaking the kiss, he simply stared into Lilia's eyes. "I missed you too, Lilia. I couldn't stop thinking about you."

[Lilia]

Lilia melted into the kiss, the familiar warmth the most comforting thing in the world to her. She had, undoubtedly, missed the feeling of loving a pony as completely and utterly as she loved Bass. She managed to pour the love into the kiss before it was broken, her heart skipping a beat.

"No more disappearing on me, ok? I was so worried that something had happened...I never got any letters, nopony knew where to find you as far as I knew...I love you, Deep Bass, so don't go scaring me like that anymore...please. I've...I've been told that in a few weeks, I'll be able to find a new branch for the business...maybe I can go with you?" She asked, the tears falling as she poured her heart out. She couldn't count the number of nights in the year that she had lain awake hoping that some news would arrive, a letter, anything to tell her the fate of her beloved.

[DeepBass]

Bass stared into Lillia's eyes, as she spoke, and he allowed her words to sink in. He wrapped his forelegs around the mare in front of him, and held her tight. "No more disappearing. I promise. I didn't realize just how much it hurt to be away from you. I never want to put you through that again." He kissed her once more, unleashing all his pent up emotion into the kiss.

After a few long moments, je broke the kiss, and rested his forehead against Lilia's. "I made enough bits in Stalliongrad to buy a small house in Canterlot." He smiled at Lilia, and slowly loosened his hold on her. "I'll be moving there in a week. You don't have to go anywhere, Lilia."

[Lilia]

Lilia sighed when the kiss was broken, his words sinking in slowly. When she realized he said he was moving to Canterlot, she was stunned.

"You'll be closer. I can...well, I'm not Mom, but I can kinda cook, so...maybe I could make you dinner on occasion...if you wanted to, that is....Canterlot houses aren't cheap. Even a small one costs a fortune here." She said softly, almost hoping he would ask for her to move in.

[DeepBass]

Bass smiled, and chuckled a bit at Lilia fumbling with her words. He could tell through her words that she had something else on her mind. He smiled even wider as he imagined how wonderful it would be to have Lilia live with him.

He imagined spending every last moment with her, when she wasn't working. He imagined waking up every morning next to her.

"Lilia... I love you. And I would love to have you live with me, in Canterlot."

[Lilia]

Lilia gasped and nodded enthusiastically, almost bouncing with the excitement of moving in with Bass.

"I can have my things packaged up by the time you move in...and let my boss know he can have not only his room for rent back but a branch of the business here in Canterlot...while the main building is here, it doesn't hurt to branch out locally first....Thank you, my beloved Bass. I think you've made me the second-happiest pony in Equestria. The happiest is...you." She beamed, kissing Bass enthusiastically to show just how sincere she was.

[DeepBass]

Bass smiled at Lilia's enthusiasm toward his news. He chuckled before being drawn into another kiss. After a slight second, he embraced Lilia, happily, feeling as though all of his dreams were coming true for this one moment. A moment that he wished would last forever.

After what felt like hours, Bass finally released Lilia from his embrace, and bowed, courteously. "Miss Lilia Bloom, may I have this dance?"