P.B. and J.

by TheAmazingMe


P.B. and Time

***Blueblood's 2nd Birthday in Canterlot***

In front of the train station in the lower part of Canterlot, Shining Armor was close to panic as he felt the young Prince Blueblood slump against the back of his neck. The younger unicorn had lit up the way to the station, eager to see one more sight on his rare trip outside of the royal Corona District for his birthday. It seemed the excitable colt had overexerted himself, a dangerous proposition for a young unicorn. With his own lessons on overexertion echoing in his head, Shining knew he had to keep the younger unicorn awake.

"Blueblood, please wake up!" Shining Armor pleaded, succeeding in getting the bleariest of glares from his young charge. Casting his gaze about in search of some help, he caught sight of a pony selling cocoa by the station entrance from a small cart. "I'll get you some cocoa if you keep your eyes open!"

"With marshmallows." Blueblood mumbled, still only half-awake. "And cinnamon."

"Yes, fine, just stay awake." Shining Armor insisted as he rushed to the vendor at the entrance. The earth pony running the stall was stocky, but congenial. Her dark brown coat and reddish-brown mane gleamed. Her cheeks were rosy thanks to the nip the wind picked up at the end of the day.

Looking up from her stall, the seller suppressed a chuckle at the sight of the young unicorn perched sleepily on the back of the young guard. "What'll it be?"

"Uh, two cocoas." Shining replied, trying to reach for his bit-purse without accidentally dislodging the wobbling prince. It was easier said than done, but a wave from the cocoa seller put an end to the juggling.

"Don't worry, it's on the house. Not everyday I get to see a guard and his little brother." The seller said, her smile widening.

Shining blushed. "Oh he's not..."

Blueblood's hoof covered Shining's mouth. "Shh, big bro. Don't forget the marshmallows. And cinnamon."

Shining rolled his eyes as the cocoa seller giggled. She started pouring the drinks from the metal barrel that kept it hot. "Coming right up." She replied. "If you don't mind me saying so, he looks just about ready for bed."

Freeing his mouth from Blue's hoof, Shining Armor sighed. "Well, he's had a long day. It's his birthday and we've gone all around the city to see the sights."

"That's very sweet of you." She said, passing Blueblood's drink over to Shining Armor. Taking the cup in his magic, Shining shook his shoulder to get Blue's attention.

"I'm awake, I'm awake." Blueblood said, in a tone that made it clear he hadn't been entirely awake. Spotting a bench just across from the cocoa stand, Shining headed over to it and gathered his magic to ease Blueblood onto it.

"Good, I'm going to set you over here on this bench. Drink your cocoa." Levitating the prince gently, Shining set him down and placed the cocoa in Blueblood's forehooves.

Macha galloped to the train station, her worry only increasing with every hoofstep. As she made the final turn to the station, she caught sight of Shining's back. With a sigh, she decided to table the discussion on blind spots for later. Slowing down to catch her breath, she realized something. Shining was standing over somepony on the bench just inside the station entrance.

She returned to a full gallop.

"What happened?" Macha asked harshly as she slid to a halt.

Turning back to see her, Shining's expression fell into a guard's reserved composure. "Sgt. Method, I..."

"It's my fault, Macha. I made him run after me." Blueblood said, sounding more alert than he had a moment ago. "And then I tired myself out lighting up the way."

"Magic strain? From just lighting up the way?" Macha asked, eyebrow raised.

Blueblood nodded. "Yes, ma'am. It's been a long day. I guess I was being a little selfish."

Macha huffed, it was just too difficult to stay mad at the little prince. "Just don't make a habit of it. Cocoa does have a certain restoring property when it comes to magical strain. Good of you to remember that, Shining Armor."

"Uh, right." Shining nodded, his tone making it clear that the thought hadn't occurred to him.

Picking up on it, Macha narrowed her eyes. "You were just spoiling him, weren't you?"

Shining shrugged. "I like to think of it as incentivizing wakefulness."

"You strained yourself bad enough to pass out?" Macha asked, incredulous.

"Uh, Shining Armor, stop talking." Blueblood muttered.

"Yes, Your Royal Highness." Shining Armor agreed, closing his mouth.

"You know, you two are worse than my own kids. I've half a mind to let Civil List and the Captain know about this little slip up." As both unicorn stallions looked down shamefully, Macha sighed and waved a hoof. "But really, no harm no foul. Let's not make this any worse than it was. So I'll keep a lid on it and so will both of you. That's an order."

***Present***

It was a blustery day. The weather schedule called for a rainstorm, but I felt it was increasingly likely that the weather team was not in total control of the storm. Rainfall was patchy, at best. Clad in a stylish black trenchcoat, I made my way from the taxi cab. My umbrella was belted onto my back, just in case.

We walked around the front of the station. The lawn and garden out front was even more beautiful than I remembered. A wrought-iron fence bordered the three sidewalks leading up to the doors of the station. The sidewalks cut the lawn and garden into four sections, each one with a fruit tree of some sort and no shortage of flowers. Even in the gloomy weather, the colors stood out.

Shining's eyes fell on a bench not far from where we stood, under the cover of the entryway to the station. He nodded to it. "Over there look good?" I nodded and we moved to sit on the bench.

"Macha might have just been a pegasus, but she really knew her remedies." Shining Armor said with a laugh. "So, this is the last place we went to before returning home that day. Ringing any bells?"

In perhaps the silliest of coincidences, the clock tower in the station chimed the evening bell. The storm had kept the sun at bay for most of the day, and now the light was fading quickly. We looked at each other and laughed.

"You never did mention how you could tell where to go." Shining said thoughtfully. "You'd only seen it in passing and you'd never been out in the city. Did you catch sight of the tower?"

"No, I just knew where it was." I said with a shrug.

"And that doesn't strike you as odd?" Shining asked. "You've never had the best sense of direction. You've gotten lost on more than one occasion, if the guards haven't just been making up gossip."

"I can find my way just fine, thank you." I said defensively.

Shining shook his head and looked at me. "Should I ask Joe about that?"

My eyes narrowed. "No."

The corners of his mouth teased upwards. He looked away, biting his bottom lip to keep from laughing in my face. My expression soured, but it wouldn't help to be mad at him. "I just really wanted to see the station. It felt really important. I don't even particularly like trains. Too crowded, really. Even the few times we've made a short trip on the royal train carriage felt...a bit claustrophobic. But there's just something about getting to go out of the city that was very appealing. I wish we'd taken more trips. I'd love to see the kingdom."

Shining Armor bumped my shoulder in a friendly way. "Well, keep up the good work and who knows? Maybe you'll be sent on a diplomatic mission to...Yakyakistan or something."

I snorted. "Yeah, sure."

"I'm sure Joe loves to travel. He has restaurants all over."

"He does. I've not been invited on one of these trips yet. You don't think the Royal Guard would mind?"

"As a captain in the guard, I'd say definitely not. Guardsponies like to travel too. And you wouldn't need more than maybe three or four at the most. You're a big stallion now, Blueblood. Things could definitely be arranged, especially if you continue to do charity work."

"Yeah." I felt hopeful for a moment. Then his last comment hit me. "Wait. Who told you I was doing charity work?"

"The same guard who reported you as getting thoroughly lost. Just as they were about to step in, you ran into Joe and then the two of you went to some soup kitchen. Luna was pretty impressed. And it seems you've done it a few more times since then."

"I thought I'd slipped my guard."

"You always have at least one tailing you. For your own protection, especially since the Heather Fields incident. And don't be too worried. Princess Luna's guards are really good at following discreetly. And they don't gossip like Celestia's guards do."

"Interesting." I noted, trying to do my best to keep my temper in check. I hadn't done those things to get recognition from my aunts. But the part of me that plotted and schemed was rubbing its hooves together eagerly. I shook my head. "I hope you share their discretion. I don't want ponies to think I'm doing charity work to gain favor with either Royal Court. Is that clear?"

Shining looked at me strangely for a moment, then nodded. "Definitely."

I stood up and turned to leave. "Wait. Please."

Turning around, I caught Shining's earnest gaze. "The ponies who matter want you to succeed in turning over a new leaf. It seems like Joe has been very good to you in that regard. If I thought you were trying to manipulate your way into a better position, I'd make that clear to the princesses."

I bristled, my anger flashing over. "You don't have to worry about me wanting some blasted better position, Prince Shining Armor!"

"I know." He replied, his calm response stalling the flames of my anger. Confusion played across my mind. It must have been plain on my face, because Shining continued. "I just want you to know that there are ponies who care about you. We want to help you too. This relationship with Joe is good for you. He's a great friend. My sister is the princess of friendship and Cadence is good with all kinds of relationship advice. So if you ever need them, or me, or even Luna, please let us know."

A great friend. I smiled broadly. It seemed like Captain Know-it-all didn't know that my relationship with Joe was more than just good friendship. It seemed like I still had some secrets, well, at least secrets from some ponies. Shining Armor did have a reputation for the occasional lapse in common sense.

"I have a good connection with Joe. He is a great friend. I know I can count on him. All that being said, I might take you up on your advice. I've never been a particularly good friend. This is new territory for me. He's really important to me." I finished.

Shining nodded, then another strange expression crossed his face and he looked at me with wide eyes. "Light your horn."

I blinked, confused. "What? I know it's a little dark in this side of town, but the sun's hardly..."

"Please light your horn, Prince Blueblood." He insisted, even using my title. That got my attention. Exhaling, I gathered my magic as I inhaled. As my lungs filled, my horn glowed a soft gold, like my mane.

"Is...is that really the color of your magic?" Shining Armor asked. "I don't think it's always been that color."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, holding the golden glow to prove that it was definitely my aura color.

"When you were younger, the last time we were here. I could've sworn your magic was blue. Like your eyes."

I sighed. Of course he would pick one thing to not be oblivious towards. "I...changed my magic color. I chose this one after Cadence became an alicorn to let other ponies know I was still a prince."

"Can you go back to blue?" Shining Armor asked.

"Is it really that important?" I asked in return.

"Yes." He said, without explanation.

I sighed and let my glow extinguish. Changing magic aura color took concentration. Different spells could change the color of magic temporarily, but changing your everyday aura required discipline. Unraveling the years' worth of wanting to prove desperately that I was still a royal and worthy was a tall order. I had to think back to the young me, the Blueblood who first arrived in Canterlot with eyes full of wonder and a single gnawing fear.

"That's kinda like what I remember." Shining Armor said. I opened my eyes, surprised to see a soft azure glow casting its light onto Shining's normally white coat. "It'll do for now. Now concentrate on someplace you really want to go."

"I can't teleport..." I started to protest.

Shining waved a hoof. "No, not like that. Concentrate on someplace you want to go, but you don't know where it is."

"That won't be hard." I muttered to myself. The first place that came to mind was Joe's donut shop. Was that very far from here? It felt like it.

"Concentrate on that place. Now you have to really really want to go there."

Why would I want to go there? I thought. The answer came to mind more quickly than I imagined. Joe. Of course, I'd want to go there to see Joe. Concentrating on the place and the feeling, I felt something click into place in my mind.

"Woah." I opened my eyes again to see that the color of my aura had intensified. The blue was richer, and the soft glow had become more like a blue light shining through a multi-faceted crystal. "That is what I saw that night. You weren't just casting a light spell. You were subconsciously casting this location spell. Your talent. It's finding places you want to go. Can you tell the way to where you want to go?"

I nodded. The vague mental image of Joe and his shop was overlaid by a map in my mind's eye. It was a fairly long route due to the train stations' placement at the edge of Canterlot. "I can even see Joe's map. I know what streets to take."

"That's great! Blueblood! You're a navigator!" Shining declared.

I exhaled and cancelled the spell. As the glow faded, so did the high of finding my talent. What use was it? Besides never getting lost again? This wasn't a particularly princely talent. It couldn't win friends and influence ponies. It wasn't supernaturally strong magic or even an emotion like love and friendship. It was a parlor trick, even compared to Shining Armor's barriers.

Shining seemed to pick up on my deflated mood. "What's wrong?"

I shook my head. I needed to go see Joe. Joe would know what to say to make me feel better. "I need to go."

"Blueblood, I thought you'd be more excited to finally know what your mark meant." Shining said, nearly incredulous.

I shrugged my shoulders and turned away. "I thought I would be, too."

I hailed a cab as I reached the street. I'd think of a way to make it up to Shining Armor for all the help he'd given me. My thoughts were muddled and self-pitying as the cab made its way across the city. Even with my mental state, I could feel that we were headed the right way. I guessed the lingering effects of the spell took a while to wear off. Exiting the cab, I paid the driver and walked up to the front door.

Passing through, I heard the bell jingle above me. There weren't many ponies around. Nopony came out from the kitchen to greet me. Glancing around, I saw Joe sitting at a table. That was unusual enough, but when I saw who he was sitting with, my blood ran cold.

Civil List was here. In Joe's shop. Talking to Joe.