Hey all, thought I’d drop some headcanons here. You’re welcome to take any that don’t pertain outright to characters in my stories. I’ll be coming back to add things as I think of them. Thank you for reading!
The Differences Between Wildtype and Bred Fluffies
Bred Fluffies come in two varieties: Purebred and Crossbred. Purebred fluffies are fluffies with only a singly type in its bloodline back to its line initial conception (unicorn, earthie, pegasus). Crossbred fluffies, by comparison, are any bred fluffy that has a multiple typing in its bloodline. (All alicorns are Crossbred by default, as Alicorns were one of the only fluff types untouched by the initial HasBio raid by PETA. This is how HasBio managed not to go under, along with merchandise sales.)
Bred Fluffies have smooth, silky fur with some variations based on type. Assume unless otherwise noted I am talking about Purbred fluffies for this section. Pegasi have less “fluff” and more “down”, as their fur is replaced by soft feathers not unlike those of a duckling or a chick. Some pegasi are afflicted with things like pinfeather problems, mange, stress plucking etc associated with pet fowl. Unicorn fur is more silken and akin to our own hair. Some unicorns have fetlocks and are prone to things like flystrike, matting, etc associated with animals such as angora rabbits. Earth fluffy fur is still soft and fluffy, but more akin to plush cotton or puppy fluff.
Unicorns’ horns are mostly keratin, not unlike our own nails. At the very base of the horn is a sensitive nerve cluster that can cause small bio-luminescent lights up and down the horn, HasBio’s answer to “magic” done on the show. Below that is the skull. Unicorns have the most neural folds and connections of all fluffies, due to their high amount of [REDACTED] DNA. As well, some breeds of unicorns have more goat DNA, causing a more “medieval unicorn” appearance, with more whip-like tails and beards. These are more of a selectively bred fur pattern rather than anything else, though. Unicorns are predisposed to behavioral issues, such as the well-known Smarty Syndrome, neurotic anxieties (separation anxiety, illogical phobias, etc), and are generally more prone to stress as a result. If kept in stress free environments and provided appropriate enrichment, they can live long and healthy lives, otherwise they may die early from accumulated stress over time. (Or someone’s boot to their face)
Pegasi have wings, of course. Although these wings do have a full set of feathers- ancillary, secondary, and primary flight feathers- fluffies are unable to achieve much more than a glide without human assistance. Although they are rumored to have hollow bones, this isn’t true, although they do have much lighter bones than other types. They also, as mentioned above, have feathers rather than fluff, save on the mane and tail, where there is the characteristic silky hair of other types. Above the base of their tails is a gland that secretes an oil, which they use to preen their feathers. This should be encouraged, as the waxy oil makes excrement less likely to stick to them, and also promotes general cleanliness. If this gland is either blocked or the fluffy is prevented or taught not to use it to preen, they will soon find themselves weighed down in dirty feathers, beset by lice, and possibly facing mange.
Earthies are a stronger, hardier type than the other two. As their genetic profile contains less disparate species overall, they have more stable health and can live longer lives as a result, provided they’re cared for appropriately. They tend to be more muscular than the other types and friendlier overall, without the flaws of the other types. However, this is both a blessing and a curse to the earthies. One one hand, they’re only prone to a few health problems (obesity, arthritis, gut twist etc), but on the other hand, this hardiness makes them an abuser’s dream.
All fluffies share a few commonalities. One is that rather than having a proper “hoof”, instead what are called hooves are really soft, leathery pads. These pads are akin to the paw pads on a cat or dog, and provide very little protection or traction from harsh elements. However, they do have an over-developed pair of muscles where the “frog” would be on a proper hoof- this can be used to very lightly grip something. This is usually used for traction on things like toys and do not provide any sort of grip force sufficient to actually hold something. All fluffies also do have a mane and tail unless specifically bred not to- this mane and tail are much like our own hair, save for the pigmentation. Intelligence on average for fluffies is akin to that of a toddler between the ages of 2-4. Some fluffies are even capable of learning things such as letters, how to read simple words, how to do simple math problems. However, this is rare and generally most fluffies will be unable to form the long term memories needed to learn how to read. All fluffies are born with the knowledge of basic colors, and, once they reach a point of neural development, they will speak the primary language of whatever country they are native to, albeit with a “childish” or “baby-talk” accent.
HasBio, as previously mentioned, has the only claim on a true “Purebred” alicorn, and all other alicorns are Crossbred. As a result, outside of FluffMart® officially pedigreed lines, all alicorns will have a different temperment as a result of their genetic tree. Crossbred alicorns are near-universally despised by other fluffy types. The reason for this is rather than producing the true Alicorn pheremone that FluffMart® Alicorns do, they produce a confusing mishmash of pheremones, with some chemical markers being more present than others depending on their lineage. A true alicorn produces a different pheremone- while some fluffies may find them scary, they will react with a response more akin to awe than disgust. This was due to the Celestia Project, the project that produced the first lab-grown alicorn. Despite these differences, however, there remain some commonalities between both Purebred and Crossbred alicorns. Most fluffies stand at roughly one foot in height, but alicorns regularly reach two feet or more, reaching sizes akin to a small pony or medium sized dog. Their wingspan is greater as a result, and alicorns are capable of short bursts of flight not unlike a chicken. Their bio luminescence is stronger than unicorns, but they’re also prone to seizures and headaches. Their fluff is a mix of fur and feather, with the feathers smoothly blending out to fluff as proximity to wing decreases.
Wildtype fluffies, as stated above, are any fluffies that are the result of bloodlines that were released during the original raid on HasBio labs by PETA. Due to the rabbit DNA present in all fluffies, their reproductive cycle is very similar. A 3-4 week gestational period per pregnancy, with 4-8 foals per litter lead to a massive population boom that still sees fluffies as a massive pest to most of the continental United States, Canada, Mexico and Southern America. Thanks to restrictions on transportation of fluffies combined with their natural fragility, other continents and islands escaped the worst of the fluffy plague, instead putting into effect various laws that control the population of fluffies. After the inital raid, many people began to breed and sell fluffies as a way to make money- this has died down over time in part to strict laws in many places on the breeding of fluffies, but hasn’t completely stopped. Wildtype fluffies fall into two subcategories: domesticated and feral.
All domestic fluffies are selectively bred for traits that are either on brand, on trend, or lead to desired bloodline traits (longevity, behavior etc). All fluffies are bred for friendliness, gentleness, fur/down quality, color, speech clarity, and intelligence. Earthies are generally bred for more friendly and hardy, but less intelligent traits. Unicorns are bred specifically for their intelligence, bio luminescence strength, and cleanliness. Pegasi are bred for plumage, curiosity, speech, and wing shape. Colors available in domestic fluffies tend toward the bright, with some more rare and sought after colors. A good rule of thumb for selecting for sell-grade fluffies is to aim for bright, primary or secondary colors. As well, clear patterns are always bred for above color, as it is harder to “set” a coat pattern into a genetic line than it is a color. Some rare colors are iridescent (a single colorshift in light), holographic (a full spectrum colorshift in light), ombre (a coat pattern with one predominant color fading smoothly into a second color), and rainbow.
Feral fluffies will struggle to choose a mate for many reasons, but one is color choice. All fluffies are pre-programmed to want to select for bright colors, rare coats, etc. However, ferals that have lived in a herd long enough or were born feral know it is safer to select for drabber, less eye-catching colors. As well, there is the choice between choosing a mate that is less likely to be hunted by a stray cat or bird and choosing a mate that is more likely to give a “good color” litter, which will raise the chances that the fluffy and its family is adopted. As well, seeing as feral fluffies tend to lead hard, short lives, their general attributes are more dulled and general, leading to Smarty Syndrome, wasting diseases, unviable foals, etc. As well, feral fluffies will develop a thicker, coarser fluff over time, even if they were originally a domestic fluffy, provided they survive long enough.
All fluffies are obligate herbivores. A fluffy can eat some small amounts of meat- mares will eat their placentas after they birth their litters both to recover lost nutrients and protect their newborns from predators- but any large amount will lead to digestive issues and sickness. Fluffies should be primarily fed a diet of fruits, vegetables, and grain, with little to no processed sugars. While they are programmed to crave “spaghetti”, it is meant as a way to teach small children the concept of a “sometimes food”, as feeding them actual spaghetti will leave them ill if it is more than a very small amount given rarely. Instead, a meat-free, garlic-free and onion-free sauce should be used instead, with vegetable replacing wherever possible.
There is also a difference between wildtype and purebred fluffies in other ways- although there are always variations due to people abandoning unfixed fluffies, fluffies running away from home to have babies, or other such things- purebred fluffies have mostly been selectively bred and culled for personality, and as a result very rarely submit to Smarty Syndrome/Hellmare Syndrome unless they’re excessively spoiled. Wildtype fluffies, however, have generally more of the old genetic pool from the PETA raid which infested most of the temperate belt in America, which leads to increased percentages of Smarties/Hellmares. However, wildtype fluffy populations will over time trend towards more intelligent fluffies over time- this is simply due to nature doing the culling of smarties/idiot fluffies that would usually have been done at FluffMart breeding facilities. This trend only happens if the herd is established long enough to have survived for a few generations, however.
Fluffies have been programmed with a few quirks as a result of being the first ever BioToys. First and foremost, all fluffies are deeply programmed that humans are good and that they should seek out humans over other activities. This programming is unshakable by all but the worst abuse and reprogramming, and even then, a fluffy that may have been badly abused will still seek out companionship from other humans that are not its abuser. This is also because they have been programmed to be incredibly social creatures. They are born with the innate knowledge (barring hellmare/smarty syndrome or bad husbandry) that they must be good, kind, helpful and curious to encourage their companions to do the same. In fact, almost all of the fluffy programming is related to teaching small children lessons akin to lessons one might find on Sesame Street. This is why all fluffies that have been named resort to calling themselves “fluffy” instead of their own name when they lie- this is used as a way for the parents of the child to teach them about lying, consequences, and discipline.
Fluffies have also been programmed with a few automatic actions that they will do with the right stimuli, regardless of training. One such action is the “huggies” pose. If something that appears sufficiently enough like human hands is seen outstretched towards them, they will automatically assume the “huggies” pose, even if they do not want to. This was to facilitate ease of cuddling/playtime with children originally, but has been kept in the new bloodlines specifically for use with husbandry. Another such function is less-well known, but still programmed in fluffies today- all fluffies will re-write terms in their head in real time. This is why fluffies take to new names immediately- their neural pathways are actively re-written in real time. This also means that you can teach fluffies to call certain people different things to reduce confusion or for preference.
As stated above, Smarty Syndrome is an incurable behavioral problem that plagues some bloodlines. However, not all smarties have Smarty Syndrome, and are simply acting out bad behavior they’ve learned. A non-syndrome smarty can be rehabilitated, but most people find the effort not worth the result and will simply euthanize smarties even if they don’t have the syndrome. Smarty Syndrome can affect fluffies of all genders: although it is significantly more present in males. Smarty syndrome begins at the onset of puberty in fluffies, and you will be able to tell if a fluffy has the syndrome by that time, assuming previous behavior was in-line with what was being taught to it. It is caused mostly by an influx of hormones, and some breeding facilities will actually use mitigating hormones in their fluffies to lower the possibility of the Syndrome occuring.
Smarty Syndrome has an off-shoot that is sex specific: Hellmare Syndrome. While some people call all smarty mares Hellmares, a true Hellmare is a mare that was otherwise a perfectly well-behaved fluffy who turned awful after pregnancy/birth. This is because of the massive influx of pregnancy hormones coupled with a recessive Smarty Syndrome gene causes the gene to activate, causing what would be a carrier of the syndrome to instead present with full symptoms. A mare that has never been pregnant and is a smarty may have smarty syndrome, but is not a Hellmare.
In regulated markets, fluffies cost anywhere from 5$ to upwards of 1000$, and this is dictated by the following, in descending level of importance. Type (Alicorn, Unicorn, Pegasus, Earthie), Pattern, Coat type, Color, Personality, Intelligence. Markets vary all over, however, and some eccentric collectors of fluffies or areas with particular preferences can pay much more for “undesirable” fluffies than desirable fluffies. As well, while some people do make significant money from breeding fluffies, the average backyard breeder does not. Not only do the costs of breeding cut a bit into beginning profit, but many people do not want more than one or two fluffies at the most, and even with the fluffy predilection for dying in stupid ways, this results in few repeat customers. The main sustaining source outside of pedigree breeding is in item sales, fluffy training, or rehabilitation rather than actual sales of fluffies.