//------------------------------//
// Silent night. 
// Story: Hearths Warming Grief. 
// by BronyNathan 
//------------------------------//

	He made it to Twilights in record time. Nothing was going to slow him down, not when it put his beloved wife in danger.
He rapped on the door as hard as he could, bounding from hoof to hoof. 
Twilight awoke with a start as the banging on her door became louder and more frantic. "Ugh. Who could that be at this time of night?" She asked as she sluggishly pulled herself from the warmth of the covers. Spike sat up from his bed and rubbed his eyes. 
"Whoever that is, tell them i'll light them on fire if they don't go away." he said as he rolled over and covered his face with his pillow. 
Twilight opened the door and Woodwind burst into the room. "Twilight! I need your help! It's Fluttershy!" he yelled frantically.
Twilights tired eyes widened in fear. "What happened? What's going on?" She said rushing to him as he was busy searching her bookshelf. 
"I don't know! I found her on the floor when i returned home. She's sick!" He yelled as he kept searching the bookshelf. "Do you have any books on diseases?" He asked still searching. 
Twilight ran into the other room. "Hear, It's called Mysterious Pony Plagues. Lets get going! I want to see if she's ok." 
Woodwind grabbed her and threw her on his back. "No time to waste! Lets go!" he yelled and bolted out the front door with a confused Twilight hanging on to him for dear life.
Woodwind opened the door to a chorus of frantic crying. Twilight wasn't used to that kind of noise and she shut her ears as tight as possible. Woodwind knelt down holding his children close. 
"Aunti Twilight, you have to help mommy!" Squeak yelled as she ran up to her and grabbed her forelegs. 
"I'll do my best, Squeak." She said as she went to Fluttershy's side. 
Seeing her friend like this turned her blood to ice. She couldn't even begin to imagine what woodwind was going through. 
"Ok, I need you to tell me the symptoms she had. Did you notice anything odd the past few days?" Twilight asked checking her book. 
"Well, she has been coughing for the past week. We didn't think anything of it."
"Hmm. What else."
He continued on, pacing the floor now. 
"Well, when i found her, she had blood coming out of her mouth."
Twilight opened Fluttershy's mouth and she saw blood trickling from every opening. Her gums, tongue, and lips; all gushing red. 
Twilight closed her eyes. She wanted to cry. she wanted to break down like one of the foals. Fluttershy was the sweetest pony she ever knew, so caring and gentle. 
But she had to be strong. "What else?" She asked as she let out a low sigh. 
"She hadn't been flying a lot lately. She's been asking me to go up the trees to feed the birds for her." 
Twilight flipped through the book. going from cover to cover, and then cover to cover again. 
Woodwind was still pacing. The foals were on his back sobbing. Twilight continued to check Fluttershy for more clues to her mysterious plague. She shut the book with an, "Ahah!"
Woodwind bolted over, still cradling the twins on his wing. "You know what's wrong with her?" He asked, a hopeful smile on his face. 
Twilight read out loud from the massive book. "It's called Pegasi Blood Plague. It says here, that when pegasi spent too much time away from the clouds, their thick blood, helping them breath at the higher altitude, begins to slow and clot. causing the pegasi to slowly bleed internally."
"Oh no." Woodwind said quietly as the foals on his back were now fast asleep. 
"Is there a cure?" he asked her leaning in close to the book. Twilight continued reading.
"Bringing the pegasi up to the clouds will help slow the disease's progress, but it wont stop it. A plant called, feather free, is the only way to send the disease into remission."
Woodwind frowned. "It's wintertime though. There's no plants growing." He looked more flustered than before. He sunk into his armchair, cradling the twins in his forelegs. 
Twilight sighed and looked back to him, tears in her eyes. "It wouldn't matter anyway. The plants been extinct for over a hundred years. I'm sorry." 
He shot up. "No! Someone has to have a cure!" 
Twilight thought for a while and let fly the only answer she could. 
"Perhaps Zecora might. It's a long shot, but i wouldn't hold anything past that zebra." 
"Then what are we waiting for!" he said "Lets go!"