A Cold Lily and a Cloud Head -Fleur de Lis /Thunderlane-

[Fleur de Lis]

Fleur could not help but glance for the hundredth time at the skis attached to her light-pink fur winter boots. Not that it was the first time she had skis to her hooves, but having her movements restricted outside of a photoshoot was always a feeling that was difficult to shake off. A chance I made myself clear that they had to match the boots, she thought, otherwise it would have been a disaster, as so many around seem to have willingly decided to suffer. They ought to know that looks are equally important during outdoor activities. 

Not that Fleur minded a lot for this particular occasion; the chances of her meeting anypony of importance today were very slim. It had been somewhat disappointing to find out though. If anything, she could have had accepted an invitation from one of the many ponies who asked her to go out with them for Hearts and Hooves day; at least that would have meant that she would spend the day with somepony she knew at least a little, and had some importance. Instead, she had agreed to participate to the yearly event once again. All because of the wealthy business pony Gold Frame, who was among the ponies who asked her out and got refused, had pledged that he would owe her one if she were to at least give him a chance through lottery; the blind date event. Fleur agreed, satisfied of the deal and of the previous experience she had had when she got paired with the shy Crystal Pony Topaz Dream last year. 

Fleur looked at the snow-covered pine trees that doted the rugged landscape, hoping that they would cheer her up a little. When she read the card, she was content to know that Gold Frame had not been lucky, and was thankful that she had not expected anything from the pairing. Being paired with a stallion named Thunderlane told her of a few possibilities as to who this stallion might be. He could have been a unicorn specialized in electricity magic, perhaps even a professor at a Canterlot school. That, or he could be one of the numerous ponies taking care of the weather. Perhaps an important figure in the domain, but then the word 'Ponyville' on the card removed that possibility of grandness; other than the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, nopony that important can come from Ponyville. 

Fleur took the time to gently brush her mane with her magic; the cool wind constantly trying to mess with her beauty. She could have waited inside the lodge for him, but then decided that if he was not somepony interesting, then spending as little time with him as possible would be the best course of action. She was not expecting any surprises. And if he is clearly not my type, she thought confidently, or if he is insufferable, then nothing is keeping me me from bidding him adieu partly through the day. She turned away from the pristine view to once again stare at the lodge with a small, fake smile, wondering when her lucky cross-country partner is going to finally show himself. 

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Pegasi were not meant to ski. They weren't really built for it. They had light bones, their strongest muscles tended to go unused, and they generally tried to control three dimensions of movement, rather than being stuck on two while forcibly sliding through a third. Weather ponies, however, tended to be a little luckier in that sense. There was training for it. You never know when you'll need to go find somepony lost in one of your storms, and flying during them isn't always the best option. So, Thunderlane knew how to use these funny little devices. Sorta. Mostly, anyway. It didn't bother him, at least.

What DID bother him was the fact that he'd been caught. This whole blind date thing was clearly retribution from Rumble. He'd signed the little guy up for a free day at a fair, and he gets stuck on some random date thing with some random pony. Fleur de Lis. While he was sure that she was a very nice pony and he'd have at least some fun with this whole thing, it did feel just a bit tainted as he'd only learned about it a couple of days beforehand. Still, free trip to go cross country skiing.

Thunderlane affixed the skis to his boots, though his especially floofy coat made it a little bit difficult to do so. Once he had them in, he straightened out and found his balance. Then, carefully, he started moving. It didn't take too long to get the hang of it...Now, where was he going? He was looking for somepony named Fleur de Lis. Fleur de Lis...There were quite a few ponies about. He figured he could discount the couples and groups, that narrowed it down. Fleur was female, so the stallions were out, that left...Um...

Thuderlane blinked and checked around again. He was almost certain that the pony he'd just seen couldn't possibly be the one he was looking for. Firstly, she was downright gorgeous. Second, he could have sworn he'd seen her before. An advertisement, somewhere. For something. Or something like that. He couldn't put his hoof on it, but it was definitely that sort of thing...Was he going on a date with a model? There were no other mares on their own here. A touch nervously, he approached her.

"Hi," he said, somewhat cautiously. If this was wrong, it was going to be a rather awkward situation. "Are you, um...Miss Fleur de Lis?"

[Fleur de Lis]

Fleur slowly shifted her gaze to the stallion that approached. She noted the hesitation in his movements, the way he looked at other ponies, probably not believing his luck, trying to find another pony that stood out in order to see if what he was believing was only a fantasy. I cannot really blame him, Fleur thought. After all, anypony would wonder why a pony such as moi would even sign up for such an event? 'Wouldn't a model not need such an event in order to find suitors?' Perfectly understandable.

"Hi, are you, um...Miss Fleur de Lis?"

Polite, cautious, and hesitant, Fleur noted as she kept analyzing the stallion. Even though it was very early, she already considered that the stallion could have done better as a first impression. A touch of confidence is practically always sought by mares, he ought to know, she thought. The fact that he had not recognized her right away told her that he was, as she first thought, probably not from Canterlot.

Smiling politely, she ended her mane brushing with a delicate and practiced flick of her mane. Fleur then nodded, and replied: ''Ah, so you must be Sir Thunderlane. A pleasure finally meeting you my dear. I do hope that the wait was not insufferable on your end; many cannot help but feel great anxiety from being paired with a complete stranger. Please, do not feel intimidated by the situation; I am certain we would both find it more agreeable if we were both to enjoy ourselves today. Did you wish to start already and we could discuss meanwhile? It is such a wonderful day, it would be a shame not to make the most of it.''

For the enjoying herself part, Fleur still had quite high doubts. However, if she could do her part in making her partner of the day at a certain peace of mind, she would not have to deal with an insecure, anxious pony for a few long hours. At least it would appear I shall not have to rein in a particularly exuberant, overly boastful pony trying to push his luck today. For that, I am grateful, Fleur conceded.

[Deleted]

Thunderlane was not unused to social situations. He loved talking to ponies, interacting with others around him. He could sometimes be a little heavy-hoofed when it came to talking about topics he particularly liked, but he sort of hoped that it could be as exciting to the pony he was talking to as he himself found it. He rarely got particularly sheepish unless something had gone horribly wrong.

But this was a blind date.

His rhythm was completely skewered, and now he was just a touch uncomfortable. He’d never been on a blind date before. On top of the first-time jitters, he just KNEW he recognized this mare from somewhere, and it was gonna bother him until he placed it specifically. He thought for a moment to ask, but that seemed a little rude. If she WAS really super famous, he might offend her by not being able to place her immediately. If not, he might come off as disappointed that she wasn’t who he thought she was, and that wouldn’t work either. Too risky. He’d just have to ponder it out.

For now, though, she seemed pleasant enough. The way she talked seemed...earnest? No, not really...but she seemed to want him to be comfortable. He could never quite get that Canterlot manner of speaking through his filters properly. So, he figured, he’d try and be comfortable. He liked seeing the countryside in a non-emergency, non-whiteout situation, and he needed some more practice on these skis anyway.

“You’re right, it is a great day!” he chirped, brightening up a little. What was he all worried for anyway? ...Oh, right, he didn’t know what he was meant to be doing on this whole date thing. It wasn’t a particularly long trek, but it would take them long enough that he was concerned he would run out of conversation topics. He certainly hoped that the mare escorting him today was better at picking out conversation options than he was, otherwise it would be a long, long day indeed.

He craned his neck around at the surrounding area once more before spotting a sign. “We’re supposed to be following the...red trail, wasn’t it?” A sign a short distance away showed various trails, and indeed markers representing the ‘red’ trail had had stickers placed over them. Red, heart-shaped stickers. That seemed...not odd, he supposed, but a bit sigh-inducing. Useful indeed, though. He smiled at Fleur and nodded his head in the direction of the trail’s start and turned to face it.

“Shall we go then?”

[Fleur de Lis]

Fleur partly returned to smile earnestly. She was glad the stallion did not wish to dawdle either. This must mean that his thoughts are not in a scramble, she thought. Interesting. I almost expected to need to drag him out of a reverie.

''We shall.'' Fleur's horn lit up as she gently pushed herself in motion, then followed by replicating the correct movements. The little boost helped her get started, as the first few movements were always the most straining. Not that she was lazy, but she valued efficiency of movements and was did not wish to drain herself too quickly.

Fleur looked at the heart-shaped stickers, slightly amused that somepony may have had to put some all along the trail. ''I wonder if they did indeed took the time to set such stickers all the way along the trail. If so, they have accorded a lot of efforts for a single day.'' She looked at him. ''Tell me, Sir Thunderlane. Do you feel those attentions do add to the mood?''

Not that Fleur really care about all the decorations, but she wished to have his opinion of them. Depending on his answer, she thought, that will tell me if he is more easily swayed by emotions, or more down-to-earth.

Following the trail, Fleur felt her mane being gently blown in the wind, making her smile faintly. She was glad to be able to have a date and burn a few calories at the same time.  Though she would probably have a different opinion when she is going to start being winded and start sweating. ''An interesting turn of events that we are to ski today. Are you satisfied with the choice of activity, Sir Thunderlane? Could you be an amateur of snowy trails and mountains?''