Raising Fire

They had been married for a year now, both happier than they had ever been in their lives.

Sunset knew he would outlive her, but she wanted to spend as much time as she could with him before she died. She knew that it would be difficult for Pheonix when she was gone, but she had every faith in her husband that he would do the responsible thing and move on with his life and continue to rule Equestira peacefully.

Her husband loved her so much. She was in his every thought, she was in his very heart, in his soul. He was so happy with her. So happy. But all the while the thought that he would outlive her was there in the back of his head.

Everytime they kissed, every morning when they woke up next to each other, he would see flashes of her gravestone. It was probaly because of thinking about her dying too much that caused it, he just couldn't bring himself to fully enjoy being with her without thinking of her eventula death.

He had planned to wait at least five year before asking the princess to make his bride an alicorn, but he was so haunted by the prospect of her death that he needed to ask now after only a year. He needed to know that she would be there for the next three thousend years with him.

So, he dropped by to the princess' study one evening, to ask her to change her or at least give him the spell.

He could be charming when he wanted somthing, more than enough to satisfy most ponies, but could he be charming enough for the princess without her seeing how bad be needed this. He needed to make it look like a light favour.

Letting himself into her study, trotted into the room with a handsomly brazen air about him. The princess put down what ever she was she was reading.

"You should really knock you know, Prince Sparks." She smiled at him warmly. At least he had caught her in a good mood. "What can I do for his magesty?" She laughed and walked elegently over to greet him.

"I thought you could brief me some more of the griffin kingdom poltics, seeing as we're meeting with its royal family next week and I want to appear well informed." He actuly had no intrest what so ever in the griffon kingdom's royal family and was going to find some excuse to ditch the meeting next week. But he had rehursed this and it needed to work. It needed to.

"Really Pheonix? I seem to remeber last week you were asking me to make an excuse to the griffin kingdom for your absense." Wait, what? he didn't remeber telling her that. Not letting his surpise show at all, he laughed and continued.

"Did I now? Well, that completely distroies the point of he teleporting all the way over here. Just have to find another thing to talk about or this is a entire waste of precious royal time." He punctualted the last three wrods with an exagerated Canterlot excent, making Twilight smile.

"How's Sunset?" asked the princess politely, a daintly tea cup appearing in front of her.

He blinked, her bringing it up first made his whole speech irrlevent, but him asking a whole lot easier.

"Oh, she's fine." He shrugged. "We're thinking of having foals." The princess smiled warmly over her cup.

"Is that so?"

He nodded feverishly. "Yes Princess, I was going to ask about somthing, actuly." He pretended to be embaressed, hoping he was fooling Twilight. "Will..will they be alicorn?"

The princess considered. "Well, no alicorns since Celestia's parents have reproduced, and they were both alicorns. So..there is a fifty fifty chance that one could be an alicorn."

He nodded, looking at the ground.

"Pheonix? are you alright?"

"Princess, I'm scared of Sunset dieing." He added embaressment into his voice, mingled with heartfelt honesty.

There was a silence, the first awkward silence they'd shared together since they first met.

"Pheonix, did I ever tell you about my brother?" Asked Twilight, her voice quiet.

He shook his head, not looking up. He was actuly pulling this off.

"He married an alicorn, her name was Cadence. History seems to remeber her as the queen of the Crystal Empire, but it doesn't mention my brother at all or that she was an alicorn.

"She asked Celestia and Luna to change him into a alicorn because she was terrified of him dieing. Celestia refused and Cadence took it hard, she was depressed for a long time." She paused and placed an elegent forehoof on his shoulder. "But, she got over it and lived with him happily for as long as he lived."

His heart pumped furiosly in his chest, was she on to him? did she know what he wanted?

"So, make the most of her while she's here, I've never seen two ponies as deeply in love as you are."

"But princess!" He raised his voice slightly, genuinly desperate. "If the foals and I live on and she dies, that will be killing both of us! it-it, no please princess, make her an alicorn.

Twilight was taken aback by his sudden desperation, she had never seen her student like this.

"Pheonix, you must learn to control your emotions. You are a good stallion and prince, you are strong enough to love her while she's here and then move on." Her tone was a little colder now. "You should go rest, I wish you the best of luck if you decide to have foals. Tell Sunset she's more than welcome to take a break if need may be." She smiled slightly.

Pheonix knew he had angered her slightly, or at least annoyed her. He bid the princess good night and left for his room that he shared with Sunset.

Clearly it would be harder than that, had she seen through his faking all along? He didn't think so.

But as he closed his eyes he say pictures of her coffin, her gave stone, her elderly face and his as young as it had always been. He cried out, his shout shout echoing through the hallways of Canterlot Castle, a few guards turning their stone expressioned faces towards him. He smiled weekly and teleported the rest of the way.

She was his only hope of staying sane while Sunset was still alive.