Neon Lights

Neon Lights, or Rising Star, is a male background unicorn pony who appears in several episodes throughout the series. He has a bluish gray coat, dark gray mane, blue eyes, and a cutie mark of three white stars. He is not named in the show, but he is named "Neon Lights" with a trademark symbol and "Rising Star" in various depictions and merchandise.

Development and design
Neon Lights shares his coat and eye colors, cutie mark, and occasionally tail and pony kind with "Sir Pony Moore". He resembles "Top Notch" in color scheme, cutie mark, pony kind, and sometimes mane style. Neon Lights also shares his mane and tail styles, eye color, and cutie mark with Twilight Sky, shares his design with Dark Moon, S02E26 Unnamed Unicorn Stallion #1, S02E26 Unnamed Unicorn Stallion #2, and "Flank Sinatra", shares his mane and tail styles with "Cosmic", shares his mane style and sometimes tail style with Star Hunter, and shares his tail style and sometimes pony kind and mane style with Shooting Star.

In a storyboard by Sabrina Alberghetti for Call of the Cutie, an episode of the season prior to Neon Lights' debut, he appears instead of the finished episode's Cherry Fizzy.

Hasbro used the name "Neon Lights" for a G1 mare and reused this name for the G4 stallion. The name "Rising Star" was used by fans for the G4 character more than two years before the release of Enterplay's collectible card game card of the character.

Season two
Neon Lights first appears in The Mysterious Mare Do Well, watching Rainbow Dash stop the out-of-control baby carriage and cheering for her afterward. In Sweet and Elite, he appears at the Wonderbolts Derby, wearing a hat. Later in the episode, during Rarity's fantasy and Becoming Popular (The Pony Everypony Should Know), he wears a jacket and sunglasses. He then appears briefly in Hearth's Warming Eve, listening to Spike as he narrates the pageant.

In The Last Roundup, Neon Lights is in the crowd when Applejack gives a speech before leaving for the rodeo competition. In The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000, he watches the cider competition between the Apple family and the Flim Flam brothers and later refuses the brothers' cider after they win. He also appears briefly in A Friend in Deed, It's About Time, and A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2.

Season three
In One Bad Apple, Neon Lights is seen polishing the cucumber float that Dr. Hooves, Royal Riff, and Amethyst Star ride on, and he later drives the float during the Summer Harvest Parade. In Magical Mystery Cure, he appears both sunburned and frostbitten during Rarity's verse in What My Cutie Mark Is Telling Me.

Season four
Neon Lights appears in Princess Twilight Sparkle - Part 1 and at the Summer Sun Celebration at the end of Princess Twilight Sparkle - Part 2. He also appears at various points in Rarity Takes Manehattan; at one point, he appears as an Alicorn pony due to an animation error. He attends the Goof-Off and Rainbow Dash's birth-iversary party in Pinkie Pride and the Cutie Mark Crusaders' play in For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils.

Neon Lights appears again in Leap of Faith among the audience of ailed ponies at Flim and Flam's show and later at the swimming pool where the bit he uses to purchase the Flim Flam Miracle Curative Tonic from Silver Shill eventually becomes Applejack's key to the Tree of Harmony chest. In Trade Ya!, he is among the crowd of ponies welcoming Princess Twilight to the Traders' Exchange, later seen walking around the Exchange with "Star Bright" as well as at the trial at the end of the Exchange. In Inspiration Manifestation, he is among the ponies blinded by Rarity's gold-covered road and both among the participating athletes and the spectators in Equestria Games.

In Twilight's Kingdom - Part 1, Neon Lights is sapped of his magic by Lord Tirek on two separate occasions, and he appears in the crowd of ponies visiting Twilight's castle in Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2.

Season five
Neon Lights appears at the beginning of The Cutie Map - Part 1, walking toward the Friendship Rainbow Kingdom castle with Lemon Hearts. In Slice of Life, he watches DJ Pon-3's mobile DJ station speed through Ponyville. In Princess Spike, he appears at the Grand Equestria Pony Summit, later among the ponies queuing to speak with Twilight Sparkle while she is sleeping.

In Party Pooped, Neon Lights reacts to Twilight Sparkle frantically flying through Ponyville. In Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?, he appears in Ponyville's shared dream, where he is captured by a carnivorous plant before Applejack lassos it shut. In Canterlot Boutique, he is among the ponies visiting Canterlot Carousel for its grand opening.

Appearances
Times are approximate.

Depiction in Friendship Games
Neon Lights' human counterpart appears in My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Friendship Games as a student of Crystal Prep Academy and member of the Shadowbolts. He first appears on the bus to Canterlot High School, and during Canterlot High's welcome party for Crystal Prep, he interacts with "Indigo Wreath" until Principal Cinch puts an end to the party. In the Friendship Games' academic decathlon, he is partnered with Jet Set in the home economics portion, and they produce a sloppy-looking cake.

Before the Friendship Games' final event, he is among other Shadowbolts pressuring human Twilight Sparkle into releasing magic from inside her pendant.

Other depictions
Neon Lights, wearing his jacket and sunglasses, appears in the My Little Pony Friendship is Magic animated short "Rarity's Fashion Police".

Neon Lights is a playable character added in the Bugfix update in Gameloft's mobile game. His in-game description states, "With his mohawk mane, starry cutie mark and his cool black shades, Neon Lights is one bright star waiting to be made!"

Merchandise
A mini-figure toy of Neon Lights has been displayed at the 2014 American International Toy Fair. The toy was released as part of the eleventh wave of mystery pack toys and collector cards and named with a trademark symbol. The toy uses a similar mold to that of DJ Pon-3, and the collector card states "NEON LIGHTS loves to have his picture taken!"

In Enterplay's collectible card game, Neon Lights is named "Rising Star" on his own card α #75 C, which attributes to DJ Pon-3 the quote "Rising Star? Yeah, his music is pretty sick. And the louder you play it, the better it sounds."