Hearts and Lights~ {Sweetheart, Neon Lights}

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Neon couldn't believe his luck. He had gotten into this blind date thing, and he had gotten the name back. Sweetheart! The very same mare he had shared a train ride with! So, he was just waiting on the outskirts of town.

He saw what they had planned for them, and loved it. So much, he was improving upon it.

Now, he waited.

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Luckily, Neon had not long to wait. Indeed, just a little before the event had been planned to begin, the form of the pink-and-white mare, so well suited to this holiday, could be seen approaching from the direction of the train station.

As she walked, Sweetheart could not help wondering a little at herself. It was not like her at all to put herself forward for something like this. She was, she had to honestly admit to herself, generally more on the shy side. And yet, when she had seen the event advertisement, she could only think of how fun it sounded, and... well, who knew what might happen?

So she had dressed with care, passing up her formal velvet and lace dress in favor of an creamy ivory saddle and skirt combination, with chocolate-brown accents and embroidery, as well as a matching brown ribbon to pull back her hair. Though Sweetheart generally avoided wearing light colors, this particular shade of ivory made her white coat look even brighter by comparison. She looked nice, she hoped, but not too fancy.

Approaching the designated meeting place, Sweetheart looked up and saw that her date had already arrived. She had not been given a name, just a place to go, but... there was something familiar about him... and then suddenly she didn't need a name. "Neon!" she exclaimed, quite delighted, picking up her pace to trot the last few yards between them. "How wonderful to see you again! Are you my blind date for today? I'm so lucky!"

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Neon turned, and had to stop everything, unable to even speak as she ran up. W-Wow... She's absolutely... amazing... Stunning! All Neon had worn was his normal black collar shirt and white tie... She was breath taking...

Neon took off his glasses, definitely wanting to be just Neon for this, and not MC W1SH. "You... You look... Amazing..." Neon grinned, laughing a bit from his nervousness. "How've you been? I-I can't believe how lucky, I am, to have gotten, you! It's so great to see you!"

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Neon was definitely looking forwards to tonight![/font][/blockquote]

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Neon might have felt that he looked casual, but Sweetheart didn't. There was something attractive in the muted teal unicorn. She liked his spiky black mane (indeed, she often wanted to discreetly poke it, to see what it felt like) and even if he was wearing typical clothes for him, they looked very well on him. But best of all, she liked his eyes. Such a good color, clear and honest.

Even if they did regard her in such a way, sometimes, that made her blush. Like they were doing now. As she had done before, she blushed, and his compliments added to that blush. "It... It certainly seems quite incredible that we ended up getting paired," Sweetheart stammered a little, "If I were a superstitious pony, I might say that it was fate, since it has happened against what must be unbelievable odds." giggling, she had to add "...Not that I mind. I'm so glad to see you again. What are our plans for the evening?"

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"Eh, I don't believe in fate. Don't like to think I'm not in charge of my own destiny." He ended it with a wink, smiling. "Well, it appears they have us set up to be going to a nearby lake for a boat ride. I think it'll be a lot of fun."

Neon was pretty excited about tonight. He had scoped out the pond and the boat, and it all seemed pretty amazing. And, of course, he added a few touches. Why wouldn't he? It could always use an MC W1SH touch.

Well, not MC W1SH, exactly. Actually, I want to be anypony but MC W1SH tonight. I don't want to be the party MC. I want to be... Sweetheart's date, Neon Lights. MC W1SH was not good for quiet dates. He shrugged, realizing it wouldn't exactly be completely quiet. He knew what he meant, and that's all that mattered.

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"Wonderful!" Sweetheart exclaimed enthusiastically, taking her place at his side. A boat ride did sound like fun, and, she admitted, would be a good deal easier for her than some of the ideas she'd worried they might have planned for her date, such as a hot air balloon ride or a pie-eating contest or a Tango competition. A rather long train ride had given her imagination plenty of time to come up with best (and worst) case scenarios.

"Perhaps you had better lead the way, then," Sweetheart added, looking up at him with mischief sparkling in those deep pink eyes of hers. "It would be just too bad if I got us lost again." The mare giggled, remembering their misadventure with the coffee shop. She was in the mood to have a good time!

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"Heh, I dunno, getting lost with you wouldn't be that bad." He chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "But, yeah, let's go. Tonight's gonna be great." Neon took her hoof, and began leading her along. His eyes kept tracing back to her with a smile.

Alright, Neon, she's a normal mare. Just, you know, just... Ugh, you've been out of the dating game for wayyyy too long. If only it was as easy as making music. No, she's gotta be a pretty mare with a great personality... And, you're walking silently. Talk to her!

Neon glanced back at her. "So, uh, I never really asked, but, what's Appleoosa like? That's where you're from, right?"

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"Heh, I dunno, getting lost with you wouldn't be that bad."

That was kind of him to say, and it made the mare blush again. She thought that she, too, wouldn't mind getting lost... if it was with Neon. She gave him her hoof trustingly and followed him with a gentle, shy smile. Whenever she caught him looking at her, she couldn't help but blush again, just a little. They were both a bit nervous.

"So, uh, I never really asked, but, what's Appleoosa like? That's where you're from, right?"

Sweetheart nodded, her expression brightening a bit. She loved talking about Appleoosa. "It's really a wonderful place. Its in a desert, you know, so the climate is usually warmer, except at night, of course. And when you think desert, you usually think dusty, dry and barren, but it's really not. I mean, well, it is, but its actually quite beautiful in a very stark kind of way. Mountains and hills make very sharp silhouettes against the sky, especially at dusk and dawn. And the lack of plant life in most places makes a pony appreciate the the plants that do grow."

"As for the ponies, they are bit rough, their manners may not be the most polished, but they are so kind and friendly. I think it comes from the fact that we all rely on each other. As a town, Appleloosa is a mixture of quietness and wildness. When a crisis strikes, it's usually something serious, but in between those moments, when things go well, life is so peaceful and happy."

With a laugh, Sweetheart apologized. "I'm sorry. I hope I didn't bore you. I'm very fond of Appleoosa. Now, you don't need to tell me what Canterlot's like since I've been there, but do tell me what you like about it."

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"No! Uh, err, I mean, you weren't boring me. It's nice to see somepony actually proud of where they're from. Not everypony's like that. But, Canterlot? Hm..." Neon tapped his chin, thinking.

There were so many things he liked... Though there definitely were things he didn't like as well. "Well, my favorite thing about the city is the passion. Pretty much everypony you meet is passionate about what they do, regardless of what it is. And, it's one of the most cultural places I've ever been. Arts and music are so well appreciated there, I could almost never imagine living anywhere else."

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And Neon meant it. Even though he didn't get to be in Canterlot as much as he wanted, he'd probably live there for the rest of his life.

Neon shook himself, drawing himself out of his thoughts. He had almost walked right off the path, which would've dragged her along for the ride. He righted himself on the path, chuckling nervously.[/font][/blockquote]

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Sweetheart couldn't help but doubt he was being honest about her boring him, but she smiled and let it go. She knew she could get a little carried away by her affection for Appleoosa, and it was kind of him to overlook it if she rambled on. A little. Hearing him talk about Canterlot surprised her. She could understand the attraction to the culture, even she was affected by it. When she had lived and worked for the palace, she had often caught a play or a concert. She had enjoyed visiting museums and art galleries. There was always something new to see, or hear, or do.

But the remark about passion threw her for a loop. Had she seen passionate ponies when she had been there? She thought about the times she had done housekeeping for royal guests. She thought about the succession of supervisors she'd had who'd looked down their noses at her, a mere earth pony, she could almost hear them think. Though that wasn't entirely fair, as she'd only imagined them thinking it. And the princesses had always (on the extremely rare occasion they'd spoken to her directly) been polite.

Still, when visiting shops, she remembered a few times when she'd been overlooked in favor of a rich unicorn client. She remembered how hard it had been, trying to get to know ponies to make friends. The only passion I think I ever saw was passion for being a snob. Sweetheart thought. It hadn't prejudiced her against unicorns, she thought- but it had definitely dampened her pleasure in Canterlot. That was why she hated going there alone.

Well, Neon liked it! And he was from Canterlot! And he was as friendly as anypony could wish. She must have gotten a wrong impression somewhere, she decided. Sweetheart realized that she'd been quiet entirely too long- just about the time the unicorn nearly gave them an unintended detour straight off the path. "Thinking about taking a shortcut?" she giggled playfully, giving him a friendly smile that said she didn't really mind.

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Neon Lights chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Uh, yeah totally. It goes down the hill, through the brush, and ya take a dip in the thorns. But you scratch off like two minutes! Totally worth the bruises, scratches, and possible injuries!" Neon laughed at his own joke.

Neon kept walking with her, until breaking through the trees, to reveal a boat sitting on a lake, with the moonlight reflecting off the surface, soft candlelight coming from the boat. "You know, they had originally planned on us just having a picnic, but, I asked a few favors, and had a bit of spare time..." Neon chuckled nervously again, blushing lightly. He really needed to stop chuckling like a dork every few minutes.

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"You know, they had originally planned on us just having a picnic, but, I asked a few favors, and had a bit of spare time..."

Sweetheart was silent for a long moment as she gazed at the scene before them. The whole lake seemed to be illuminated from the silver light of the moon, except for the golden flickering radiance of the candles, shining from the boat. She was... rather stunned. Pleased, definitely, but a bit stunned.

"You... You arranged this for me?" the pink and white mare asked wonderingly as she moved forward and stepped lightly into the boat. Though she hardly ever saw boats in Appleoosa (being a desert and all!) she had learned the art of getting in and out of a boat safely as a little filly. Sweetheart settled herself on a seat in the boat and looked at her date admiringly.

"Did you know it was going to be me? ...Or were you just determined to make it a special night for whomever your date was going to be?" She really didn't mind, either way. Either Neon had known who he was going to get and wanted to make a special date of it, or he had decided to go all out and make it a night to remember, no matter who he'd been paired up. Either way, it was a tremendously thoughtful thing to do, and Sweetheart was touched... and impressed!