Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief as she set her hooves back on solid ground. It was hard being the only pegasus alive who was afraid of heights. It wasn't that bad normally but anything that took her more than treetop height above horizontal ground directly below her left her terrified. Thus, going with everyone else to check on Rainbow at the Wonderbolt Academy had been a huge effort for her. The tornado that had nearly sent them plunging to their deaths hadn't exactly helped her issues with being at cloud height.
Of course, she did have a ready made excuse for her nerves as they were heading there. She didn't like leaving Sapphire while she was still in her little cocoon. She didn't know what Sapphire might need while in the cocoon, what she might need when she got out, when she'd come out...
Admittedly, it had been a couple weeks since she'd gone in, settling in the exact center of Fluttershy's bed. Fluttershy had done her best to mother the small creature, curling around the cocoon every night when she slept in case Sapphire needed extra warmth. It always amazed her when she did this just how quickly Sapphire had become 'her baby'. Sapphire's voice in her heart had claimed her fully, and Fluttershy knew she could never turn her back on the little gem.
Which is why she was more than a little startled to see the cocoon broken open, its fragments scattered over her bed, and much of the room a mess, as though some creature had torn it apart.
She began to hyperventilate. She tried to come up with possible explanations, but the only one in her mind that seemed to make sense was that some creature - like a timberwolf - had found its way into her cottage through the window she left open for the birds and had eaten Sapphire whilst she was still in her cocoon. "S-s-sapphire?" she whimpered, staggering forward to the cocoon, tears falling from her eyes as she cradled the fragments, hoping against all reason that she might find some evidence that she was wrong.
A loud 'Skree!' startled her out of her thoughts. At first, she was certain it was Sapphire, but it didn't sound quite right. It was a much deeper sound, and a much harsher tone, a predatory noise. What startled her most was that it was coming from her kitchen.
Cautiously, Fluttershy made her way downstairs. As she went, she noticed several holes in her walls, looking not unlike the aftermath of the one time she'd left Tank's copter active when pet sitting him. The holes were about the same size, though perfectly round instead of dome shaped. There were also several gashes in her wall paper, as though something had dragged a claw along it.
Another deep 'Skree!' greeted her as she approached the kitchen door. She noticed all of her animal friends hiding deep in their homes, not showing even so much as a feather or whisker. Harry the bear had actually managed to brace himself flat against the ceiling above the rafters, bracing himself with his four paws and doing an impressive impression of a ninja despite the fact he was shaking enough to rattle the roof.
Inside the kitchen, she saw why. Angel was cornered on the counter, waving a rolling pin back and forth like a sword, warning off the creature before him. Said creature was a translucent green, and about the size of Fluttershy's head. The transparent dome of its body seemed quite solid, and revealed the quad-nucleus inside it, along with several nerve clusters branching off from it, each cluster sparking with different colors as information visibly flew back and forth between them. One cluster glowed crimson, one pink, one pale blue, one dark blue, one orange, one pink and purple, and one green like a flame. Below the transparent dome, four razor sharp fangs hung, flexing idly, the inner two shorter than the outer two. All four fangs gleamed a metallic silver.
Angel desperately waved Fluttershy away, but that only cause the creature to turn to face her. It hovered for a moment...and then all seven nerve clusters flared together, and the entire creature glowed blue. "Mama!" Sapphire skreed happily, the hostility gone from the sound as she floated over to nuzzle the startled pegasus. "You weren't home when I woke up! I was worried and confused."
Fluttershy gasped and hugged the somewhat larger and more durable jelly creature before her. "Oh Sapphire, I was so worried! It looked like something had torn into your cocoon..."
"I got bigger!" Sapphire skreed happily. "I have more words now, too! Bigger brain!" She paused, tilting back and forth. "Why is Harry the Bear pretending to be a spider?"
Fluttershy giggled as Harry dropped from the ceiling with a heavy, relieved Fwhump as everyone else began to come out of their hiding spots. "They were just a little scared of you is all, sweetie. You are a lot different."
"I'm Sapphire, not Sweetie," Sapphire countered, making Fluttershy giggle again. "I can cook! Made coffee!" Sapphire hovered over to where a cup of coffee had just finished percolating. "Thirsty, Mama?"
Fluttershy couldn't stop her giggles at this point. "T-thank you very much, Sapphire," she gasped out, taking a few sips to calm herself a bit. "I'm just glad you're all okay." She then blinked for a bit. "Although you made a bit of a mess..."
A bit of dark green contrition entered Sapphire's glow. "Sorry, Mama. I'm still not used to being so big..."
Fluttershy smiled proudly. She wasn't sure if it was learning more words or a sign of her developing mind, but Sapphire's syntax was getting better in some cases, too. "It's alright, dear," she comforted. "We'll just clean it up."
"Not deer. Sapphire!"
As the Queen burst into laughter, Sapphire skreed her own joy. She had learned of Friendship. She understood it, and she was applying her lessons.
She had just told her first joke.