Pile and Creek Shine trudged their way to the Canterlot Train Station. As par for the course for the night they had gone through, the next train to Ponyville would be due in an hour, meaning they had a while to wait.

The two plopped down on a bench with their tickets as Pile reminisced on what should’ve been the best night ever.

It was so simple in Pile’s head: a date night with Creek out on the town of Canterlot. He didn’t dislike Olive or Trap, but it was nice to spend some along time with his marefriend. And she always enjoyed time abroad from the Kirin Village.

It had started when they were nearly late for the train to Canterlot, only just making it on board as it was starting to pull out. It had taken a while to find a seat in the packed passenger cars, and even then, it was hardly comfortable.

When they arrived at the Canterlot Train Station, a group of snobbish unicorn nobles had pushed their way past them, irritating Creek. She had little tolerance for anyone pushing anyone else around—and there was a certain extra irritation of a royal being treated in such a way.

When she confronted the group, they brushed her off until they noticed her tiara (something she only wore for special occasions)—and the literal fire in her eyes. They profusely apologized as they fled with their tails between their legs. It had taken a minute for Pile to calm her down.

They made their way to the restaurant Pile had made reservations at. It’d taken him a few weeks-worth of salary to be able to afford it, but he was hoping it would all pay off in romantic value.

He was nervous due to him being out of his disguise, but Creek reassured him she wanted him as he was. It was flattering and warmed his heart, but Pile couldn’t shake the feeling of eyes watching him as he went. He never voiced it to Creek—no sense in spoiling the evening.

Things were going fine until they ordered their appetizers—two chef’s salads. When they arrived, Creek asked for extra ground pepper on hers. She was a fan of spicier cuisine after all. And this being a higher end establishment, they cracked pepper at the table at the customer’s discretion.

In hindsight, Pile should have advised against it, but before it even came to mind to do so, the waiter was back with a wooden pepper mill. Creek watched eagerly as he started cracking pepper onto her salad, her tail swishing.

The next thing Pile knew, she was gasping and inhaling, and he instinctively knew to dive for cover. A second later, there came a loud sneeze—and a jet of nirikfire that torched both of their salads and most of the table.

Creek promised to reimburse the restaurant and they asked for the check.

Deciding to try and conclude the evening with a calming stroll through one of Canterlot’s parks, the couple found one close to the restaurant. Unfortunately, they didn’t understand park maintenance procedures in Canterlot—fresh rain was brought in to water the grounds at night, and the two were quickly caught in the downpour.

Fleeing, they decided to cut their losses and head back for the train station.

Creek noticed Pile’s dejected look and scooted up next to him on the bench. “Sad the night didn’t go to plan?” she asked.

“A little. This was supposed to be the best night ever. A romantic date, just the two of us,” Pile replied.

“Well, I still enjoyed it,” Creek said. “It was just the two of us, after all.”

She nuzzled up against him, and he leaned into her warm floof.

It might not have been according to plan, but at least they were alone together—and drying off would be easy and enjoyable.

Author's Note

Fun fact: Hey, the prompt said "Best Night Ever." Didn't mean it had to go perfectly.