FINAL REPORT:
THE HASBIO TOYPONY GENETICS PROJECT:
Name: Cyrus E. Bowen Period: 3 Date: [REDACTED]
Analysis and Review of Overall Genetic Development of ToyPony or “Series 113”
ABSTRACT:
The ToyPony project was a genetics developmental and research project designed to create artificial living creatures that resembled the characters of the popular Television Show “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic”. The Project was sponsored and paid for by Hasbro through their advanced toy developer subsidiary Hasbio. The Project goal was to create living breathing creatures that would be the perfect animal companions for their target audience of young girls aged five through 12. Though this was later expanded to young boys of the same age demographic. The project had several phases and was cancelled on [REDACTED] after a serious security breach in the Hasbio labs in [REDACTED] on [REDACTED]. The security breach resulted in a serious outbreak of the subjects, and resulted in a total failure to create adequate improvements on following series due to the lack of statistical analysis done on the escaped subjects. The total loss in material also caused incredibly financial loss and the size and scope of the project had to be reduced, further slowing the process. This does not account for outside factors. Here follows the final results, data and information regarding project ToyPony and the final state of the ToyPony Subjects before their eventual official cancellation by Hasbro, and the shutdown of Hasbio.
It should be stated before we begin, that though colaquially known as “Fluffy’s” by many. We shall refer to them for most of the report as specimens, subjects or members of a series. As this is how we scientifically referred to them before their release.
Concept, Development and Creation:
Hasbio hired I, and at least 67 other highly trained microbiologists and geneticists for this project. Initially the idea was far reaching and seemingly impossible. We were formed as a think tank by Hasbio to conceive of an idea for an artificially created toy animal. Initially we had to reduce the demands made by the Hasbio representatives in order to make them more realistic. For example: Part of the initial request was that the animal be able to be made to satisfy different sizes and ages. Full on equine style animals were demanded, as well as Gryphons, Hippogriffs, Dragons and Changeling spin offs and other mythical creatures be created out of thin air purely to meet business demands that the show would create.
After a consensus was reached, it was decided smaller creatures would be acceptable, and only one would be actually attempted. The ToyPony was created in concept. The biotoy would not have excessive growth and the relative “similarity” to equines would provide a suitable starting template as opposed to the fantastical suggestions proposed earlier. Due to the small size energy concerns were low, and materials and conditions necessary to create such a creature were greatly downsized to more manageable levels.
Research and development was conducted in several Hasbio facilities across the United States and Europe. Initial testing on pure equine DNA proved inconclusive and ultimately resulted in failure. It was determined that to create the specific requirements needed by Hasbio to fully create the type of product desired. Different DNA strands would need to be introduced, which proved incredibly complicated.
It should be noted a huge phase of this project was spent in this phase. While many reports and theories claim that the extensive portion of the project was conducted during the “series 113” or “Fluffy” phase. This is incorrect, at least 10 years of development was spent comparing and analyzing compatible DNA types and editing them to create desired results. Then another three were spent tweaking suitable DNA types that were found to be compatible, and then finally after another three years first specimen production began to test live subjects and began to refine the specimens to a desired state. As this is an overview, I will not go into details on the DNA types incorporated or their purpose. It shall be merely stated that while looking and developing in an Equine shape. Series 113 was the product of extreme diversity in DNA makeup. It was finally concluded that the ToyPony project included the DNA of a multitude of creatures including but not limited to: dog, cat, bird, horse, goat, and rabbit.
After the first 10 year phase and then three year phase, the generation of successful specimens began.
The First “Series”
After Genetic makeup was acquired, the ToyPony’s began to endure a significant trial and error phase. While it could be hypothesized what might be the result. The only way to know for sure was to create the specimen. To summarize, many of the early series were disasters, some living for as long as a few days and others never even achieving life, let alone any form of sentience.
One of the first major issues was correctly creating the embryos, and then successfully forming the fetus, and afterwards guiding the genetic code to create life. What had to be done to do this was to hijack the DNA structure of the many different animal types used to create the specimens to do the work for us. However, getting them all to work in unison was a nightmare. It should be noted that several times complete reworks of the DNA structure had to be done and more than once a complete reset was necessary. This is why, as many have observed, “Fluffy’s” as they are called demonstrate a great deal of biological issues.
After much work the first successful series was created: Series 89. Series 89 lived a total of 5 months, and exhibited many of the features required. It is unfortunate however that due to the fact that it only created “earth pony” features, and furthermore was riddled with health issues. That this series was ultimately a failure. The genetic code was also not refined and was not capable enough to create multiple subtypes of ToyPony creatures. Primarily pegasus, unicorn and earth types as were desired. Alicorn types had been deemed to much of a genetic basket to truly tackle, though later in Series 110, 111, 112 and 113 the Alicorn Variance emerged as a happy accident. The only one we experienced during the entire project. Though that too quickly devolved into its own complicated issues.
After Series 89 a great deal of work went into tweaking the genetic features of the specimens. Though short, 89’s short lifespan as well as the total 73 produced gave all of us much needed data to see how the DNA process would play out later into life. After this, we saw significantly exponential improvement. There are some notable facts and information that must be shared about the earlier Series before Series 113 can be discussed.
First, it should be noted that there are some misconceptions when it comes to unique situations and phenomena that have been attributed to series 113, that are actually present in the earlier Series. While these issues have been seen, witnessed and proven to be present in Series 113, they are not expressly common to it, or specific to it. Nor did they originate with the Series either.
For example: The Phenomena known as Fluffsplosion. This phenomena was observed first in Series 97 when after creation of nearly 900 Specimens, it was noted that some ToyPony’s would literally explode into smaller (and younger) newborns, foals and weanlings. Even when the subjects were male or not pregnant. After serious testing it was deduced that this occurred as a genetic defect. Primarily in cell recreation. Due to how the genetic code was built, typically when cell reproduction encountered failures. The cells were written to attempt to repair the damage by resetting to earlier states and, if possible, overwriting and erasing cellular damage. This involved certain aspects of the RNA to essentially reverse itself back to at least a few seconds and literally wipe the damage. This was only possible thanks to certain aspects of the genetic code that we understood intimately at this point. While a gross simplification of the process (for example the actual process involved using multiple RNA strands to overwrite old information in the event of an error), it was implemented to attempt to fix the genetic imbalance present in the Series without extensive reworking of the genetic code by hand. As at this point fixing all of the minor errors was proving to be quite costly and budget constraints were getting tight.
Anyways, the Fluffsplosion occurred when, naturally, there were too many errors to be directly fixed and the RNA could not overwrite itself to fix an error. This resulted in a quick cellular decay that occurred within either seconds or minutes. Essentially the cells would go further and further back in an attempt to fix the genetic error. At this point, often creating new ones in the process. Essentially the specimen would be subjected to mind crippling pain as their cells degenerated as they lived. However, due to the inability to remove the mass already created, the cells would either die or would in fact split off from each other. Essentially causing the specimen to break down into smaller versions of itself. Before eventually the fluffsplosion, as it is called, occurred. Creating more offspring via its own genetic material in an attempt to correct the genetic error.
This usually resulted in the death of the ponies in question. Typically living very briefly after this. While some lived longer, it was rare. It should also be noted this was a rare case in it of itself. Typically, this error resulted in death or a genetic breakdown (melting) of the Subject.
It’s presence in Series 110, 111, 112 and 113 was significantly reduced, and was considered extremely rare by those in the lab. However, it is known to happen.
Another was “Smarty Syndrome”: This unfortunate syndrome is the result of a failure of our genetic work. It was deemed a genetic variance and was widely regarded as a cognitive malfunction of the brain. The subjects or “Fluffy’s” as they are now called, were designed with the intent of being loving friendly companions. However, “Smarty Syndrome” was a result where the brain of the subject never developed fully, and rather more selfish and aggressive behavior came to the forefront. Though we at the lab had a different term for it. It is called Smarty Syndrome due to the tendency for those afflicted by it to latch onto the word “smart”. They would refer to themselves as the “smarties” and would often engage in cruel and tyrannical behavior. Though this behavior is often attributed to those specimens who go out of their way to make themselves seem smart (mainly by securing for themselves more resources and support) and punish those who do not agree with their every whim. It goes beyond this and ultimately does not require that the subject even refer to themselves as a “smarty”. Any mare who distinguishes good and bad in their offspring. Any specimen who takes vengeful action against a human or on their kind. Any specimen who ignores the feelings of others and shows a total lack of empathy. All these examples are smarty syndrome. If the subject has no basic empathy, and tends to display sociopathic behavior, that is smarty syndrome. This syndrome first showed signs of its existence as far back as series 92 and had been slowly weaned out of the series that came afterwards. It is extremely rare in Series 113 but unfortunately was not fully fixed. However, it should be stated that despite what some believe, this syndrome does not represent the entirety of the project and was RARE.
Another Misconception: Resets. It was believed that Series 113 came with chips directly embedded into their skull to facilitate easy mind wipe and reprogramming. Typically, with a single electric jolt on the back of the head. While it would be helpful to the Hasbro representatives who wanted to treat the subjects as literal toys. This was not possible, as it required intense surgery on an already incredibly fragile creature, and certainly could not be “genetically” created within the subject. This does not account for the fact that the microchip needs to be able to interface with certain parts of the brain correctly, while not killing other brain processes.
With these misconceptions dealt with. This brings us to the most widely known Series in the project, Series 113.
Series 113
Much like how the world today now sees these creatures. Series 113 was for us, largely harmless, inconsequential and seemed marginally important at best. It was another successful step forward towards what was likely going to be the conclusion of our project. However besides providing useful data it was not important. Series 113 was never meant for public consumption and was widely regarded by all the researchers and scientists in our lab as a failure in that regard. Major issues displayed in Series 113 had already appeared earlier in series development, and no significant improvements had been made in it to make it noteworthy. However, we shall discuss Series 113 major pros and cons as they are now understood. Regardless of their initial appearance in earlier testing phases. To keep the train of thought simple for this, we will start with pregnancy and move forward chronologically in time, discussing how the pregnancy functions, and then going through the life cycle of a foal after it is born.
First, obviously, the mare has intercourse with a male. The chance of pregnancy was made by us to be incredibly high. By this point in development it was a near 100% certainty that the mare would become pregnant. Chances for a mare to be born infertile were reduced to near zero, same with male chances of infertility. It should be noted that to accompany this, the male is extremely potent. Sperm in the male is produced in great quantity, and is very active. Therefore, this meant that on both ends, fertility is extremely high. Thanks to the rabbit DNA we were also able to ensure that the mare has a plenty of eggs to be fertilized by the male sperm. The highest numbers we managed to push were litters of at most 15. The lowest was at least four.
It should be noted that this was an intentional design feature, but it was never meant for public consumption. As we had realized that we could produce far higher numbers of the specimen more efficiently and with less resources by simply having them do it. However, in the final product, the intention was never to release the product with the ability to procreate. As Hasbio made clear they wanted full control of the breeding process and the ability to control populations, not limited to certain colors and designs, to create demand and scarcity. This also prevented any third-party sellers from being able to appear. As any official Hasbro product would be naturally infertile and unable to procreate. We at the lab agreed. As birth was a naturally filthy process filled with pain and anguish. It would not have made a good selling point.
Regardless, the high fertility was by design, and was done to provide us with ample specimens to research and gain data from. It allowed us to find variance in the genetic code and was only to be found in a finished product as a way for Hasbio to achieve high numbers of product for sale.
Moving on, once the mare is pregnant there are two different possibilities in terms of how the pregnancy goes. It has been noted that some mares can become so bloated from their pregnancy that they in fact become immobile. Others will still be able to move and enjoy normal lifestyles. During the three to four week gestation period, which is intentionally short. Mare immobility typically happens about midway, this again happens when litters are quite large. Due to the short nature of their legs, their fluff and high levels of fat. The expansion that occurs when the womb is stretched from having multiple young is made worse. To the point where they can no longer move. Originally this was seen as a defect, as it was postulated that the mare would starve to death due to her inability to move. However, it was discovered that, even when hunger was not communicated by the mare (let us not forget these creatures can express themselves, which means they can complain about hunger to potential mates). Usually, the male would bring food to the mare and feed her. This was then seen as a potential strength, as the mare could give birth to more young than those who remained mobile. The only thing that had to be done is ensuring the mare stay in a safe location once immobilized.
This behavior was unusual but later believed to be due to the bird DNA present in the subjects. As Male birds will often bring food back to the female while she incubates her eggs. It is believed that while the Mare is not “incubating” the immobility triggers an instinct within the male to find food and return it to the mare. Due to the inherently kind nature within the subjects that we designed the male would typically not show signs of selfishness in this period. There were cases even, when food was made limited on purpose, that the male would sacrifice food for the mare that he needed. Indeed, the ability to think, however small, allowed the creatures to be far more kind and sacrificing than the animals they were put together from. As they could reason that they could go without food for a time in order to keep another alive. The males even displayed behavior of pushing or rolling the bloated females to better locations, and ensuring their safety in situations where they were believed to be in danger. Though there have been many well known examples of the subjects being selfish and abandoning others for their own good, typically coming from those few subjects who had developed smarty syndrome. The inborn desire for comfort, companionship and love often prevailed and would show itself as signs of self sacrifice. Be it for food, in the event of danger or even simple joys and comforts. There were obvious examples of clumsiness when the specimens would be selfish. Though these were often not meant in a spirit of hostility, and often came from places of well meaning intentions. Meanwhile, those mares who remained mobile were able to continue their daily lives, though at significantly greater effort due to the weight added by pregnancy. Some variance in diet also occurred.
Regardless, after three to four weeks of gestation. The mare would undergo further changes, mainly that of breast growth. This occurred as a result of heightened breast milk production. The mare would then finally give birth. Now while the negatives of immobilization were rather small, as seen by the male’s support and protection being able to render much of it inconsequential. A rather sizeable con of the immobility was that the mare could not move away from the feces produced behind her. This meant, unfortunately, that when the young was born. They would fall into the feces. This issue was not present in the mobile mares, typically.
When the mares gave birth, they were not able to distinguish the pain as being apart from typical stomach pain, and often simply thought they were making feces. Typically, being utterly surprised when they would turn to see, or hear, that they had given birth. At this point the mare, usually in the middle of still giving birth to other young, will turn and start to clean the foals by tongue, if not attended to be another who can bring the foals in front of the mare. It should be mentioned that, unfortunately, due to the high level of feces the subjects are known for. They unfortunately would expel much of it during childbirth. There were some cases of young being literally buried in it and never discovered, and those that were found usually had to be cleaned of it. Thankfully the maternal desire present in the mares was strong enough that a proper cleaning would be provided. It should be noted that here the tendency towards kindness and the willingness to endure sacrifice for another’s comfort and joy is a weakness. For even if a foal was deemed impaired or flawed in some fashion. Most mares would continue to provide support and try to raise it. The reason being that the subjects were too kind to abandon a foal that would take extra effort to raise. It would see all it’s young as worthy of care and support, and would show great sadness when losing even one out of many. In a normal human environment this would be seen as sensible, especially if the impairment was not too directly harmful. However, in a pure survivalist sense this tactic causes resources to be strained and often can be a wasted effort if the young ends up dead anyways. Therefore, we can see in most mares there is a strong maternal instinct. Being eager to instantly see the young that are born, even while in the midst of childbirth. They are incredibly careful with the young, and clean them thoroughly before setting them to suckle on their milk. After birth, the mare is then able to breed again within a day. This again plays to the high fertility we intentionally designed into the specimens. This ends the process of describing specimen reproduction.
Now we shall follow offspring from birth throughout their entire lifespan. Mainly observing the physiological development, speech, intelligence and adaptability. We will cover instinctual behavior, intentionally developed by us and accidental.
First, as soon as a newborn leaves the mother. It will begin cheeping, or chirping. This is, again, a carryover from the avian DNA. This chirping alerts the mother who, at this time, is usually still not aware they are in the process of childbirth. The foal is usually nurtured by the mare after being alerted by the chirping, and will be licked clean, even though the newborn is usually covered in feces at this time. The newborn is born with its eyes closed, yet can still cry even at this stage. It is born with a thin layer of fur on its body that will become its fluff later on, and is usually poor for warmth at this stage. It shall be stated now and early on, that this species fur or fluff can have any color. From white to black and anything between, and varying with a multitude of patterns. Typically, the mane associated with the adult specimens is barely even a tuft on the body of the newborn. The mane and tail usually have the same color, but are different than the fluff itself.
Pegasi will have small wings, but the newborn will be unable to move them, and they will simply be small furred sticks, as the feather development has not begun. For unicorns, they will have small capped horn on their head. The cap will fall off shortly after birth, usually during cleaning, and will reveal a small nub that will become the horn. At this stage the newborn is incredibly weak, and can barely crawl. This is because many of the resources going to support the development of the newborn while in the womb is split between many of its siblings, and the gestation period is incredibly short. Designed to end as soon as many of the newborns are able to survive outside of the womb. In this stage the newborns have an intense desire to feed, often interpreted as suckling. At this stage, even if there is no sustenance coming from it, something that can be suckled on will be. Therefore, the newborns are incredibly easy to feed and keep complacent. Any teat like object will suffice for feeding, and even miniature binkies will keep the newborn complacent in a time of distress. After about 4 days, the newborn will usually be able to interact with others in a limited fashion. Usually via hugging.
An important note. This was an early design feature we managed to develop into the instinctual level of the subject mindset. As part of Hasbio’s requests to make sure this creature was marketable. Hugging was a well received behavior that Hasbio wished to see be incorporated into the behavior patterns of the subjects. As such, we designed the subjects to gain intense comfort from hugging, and built it into the instinctual behavior of the subject. Almost all members of this species will try and fix problems by hugging one another. It was watched with intense interest by researchers in our labs, and it is prominent in Series 113 as much as the rest of its kind. It was theorized that it was due to the limited reasoning skills provided to the subjects that they seem to apply this solution to all problems. It also theorized that these instinctual desires are too intense, an overcorrection in our attempts to make it a strong instinct. This combination of factors therefore makes it so that no matter the issue hugs will be applied as an attempted solution. Deadly wounds, intense blood loss and extreme trauma will all be given hugs as the first solution without fail. Hugs are of course given for other basic means, such as warmth, as a means of coping with stress and of course to show love and care for another. This instinct is even stronger in the newborns who will quite literally form hugpiles while making the few noises they are capable of, primarily chirps. Typically, this done when they are not being attended to by the mother or another parental figure, whom they will naturally wish to be close to. They will then group together with their siblings and gently hug and caress one another while chirping quietly and indiscriminately. They can associate their mother by scent, sound and even touch. If a parental unit is nearby, the newborns will instead hugpile the mother or father depending on who is available. Typically, the mother is prioritized due to the instinctual need to feed on milk provided by the mother. Thankfully, the placement of the teats is between the rear legs of the mother, and it has been observed, even in newborns 4 days old that the subjects can sit upright. Therefore, it is easy for the newborns to clamor in front of the teats to feed.
By 4 days old the newborns will be able to move easier, as muscle strength will have become significantly greater. It is usually by this point weaker newborns will have died. Typically, by their own genetic flaws if they were present. While expected, it is actually uncommon for a newborn to die of starvation in this stage unless there is an unusual circumstance (like becoming stranded from the mother). This is because the mare will actively keep track of which newborn has fed the most. This comes from the intense instinct to ensure the maximum degree of happiness and comfort for her newborns, boosted by maternal instinct. Therefore, unless the litter is comprised of two or more similar looking newborns, the mare will be able to distinguish between the newborns and ensure that all are being properly fed. While the subjects are naturally unintelligent. It is surmised that the mare can make these distinctions accurately (most of the time) thanks to the intense maternal instincts at play. It is also deemed a rather important instinct in the mother, as some newborns will continue to suckle past the time they are full if they suckle to quickly. This had resulted in the death of some newborns who literally drowned themselves in their mother’s milk. Therefore, the mother is actually very busy in this stage managing the newborns and ensuring their survival. It is an odd and rather interesting fact that the mares are often more immobile in this stage than when in gestation. They will typically sit and happily do nothing but focus on the newborns for days on end, barely moving save to perhaps defecate or urinate. This again shows that the male is showing signs of bird behavior. Gladly leaving burrows or nests to bring food back to the mare to feed her regularly. All while the mare continues to dote on her offspring and attempt to keep them healthy and most of all loved. This brings us to another maternal instinct, singing.
Classified by the subjects themselves as “Mummah Songs”. This was another instinct designed by our lab. This one was difficult, but we were able to replicate this by using the sing songy nature of (again) birds. Birds who will often sing songs or chirp in specific ways to attract mates, chirp to her young to encourage them to feed and even the ability for some birds to replicate sounds perfectly if they hear them. By doing this, we implanted the instinctual desire to “sing” into the mothers and to sing to their newborns, well into their later childhood. This again pleased the Hasbio representatives who coined it “a fucking damburster to silly girl’s wallets” I have been requested not to state who in the Hasbio team said this however. Regardless, it is a big part of the mare’s maternal instincts, and she will do it often. It is important to note that the words used will only be those currently present in the mare’s current vocabulary. This resulted in some mare’s repeating the same word and simply trying to change tune to make a song. Regardless of quality or words known, the mare would always attempt to sing and would do it constantly. Typically, when newborns were suckling at her breasts. Though it persisted well into the adolescent stage.
A trait that afflicts all specimens and indeed ESPECIALLY newborns and younger offspring is temperature. While older specimens are able to tolerate a wider variance in temperature. The newborns are incredibly susceptible to it. This is due largely to an inability to manage their own bodyheat. Therefore, being exposed to cold outside conditions, or just cold water for extended periods of time will almost always endanger the newborn’s life or outright kill it. This is usually avoided thanks to the mare, who will use her own body to warm the newborns. This is another reason why the hugpile tactic is so successful, as it does preserve any body heat that is already present. It is not perfect however, as after a long enough time the entire pile will grow cold due to their inability to produce more heat.
Before moving on to the next stage in a subject’s lifecycle, that of a foal. What must be mentioned is the importance of the human element. As was the intent, the ToyPony project was designed for the sake of selling these creatures to humans as products. As such we encountered a unique problem. With most toys, the toys “opinion” of their owner is not an issue, as the toy is obviously inanimate. However here we had a living, mostly sentient creature. If this thing decided that humans were not to it’s liking, the product would then be utterly broken, and would cause dissatisfaction with the owner. This would, as Hasbio pointed out, hurt sales. Therefore, we had to ensure that in the existence of these creatures. Human companionship, leadership, ownership and overall presence was the utmost important factor in their instinctual psychology.
In this we succeeded, and often we pushed it beyond what some in our labs considered necessary. ToyPony’s are utterly dependent on human interaction and affection. As we tested, especially in Series 113, a human could utterly destroy a specimen’s existence. It could do harm to it that would cause any sane human to never again forgive the perpetrator. However, in the specimen, the levels of harm required to overwrite this base instinct was so great that it would require psychological and physical trauma that would usually send the creature into woes of such insurmountable grief and pain that they typically would not survive. Rejection and disapproval by a human to a healthy functioning specimen is the worst thing imaginable. It will cause severe distress and will illicit an immediate emotional response to try and “change” or “improve” to better fit the feelings and needs of the human owner, to make them happy. While deep down it might have misgivings about the changes demanded, it will almost always comply and may insist on being happy to do so. It will actively try and push away feelings that would make it want to be “more like itself” and will instead only focus on the desires of the human owner. Any human can interject into the life of a specimen, a mother and its children or a male and it will be accepted as the utmost authority. It will seek humans for food, companionship and protection.
Now it should be noted that the specimens will ask questions, make pleas and may show initial signs of sadness if asked to change or told their behavior is bad in some way and that they are to be blamed. These creatures will even be combative in some situations. However, the chance to make the human owner happy will win over in the end. A good example of this is if being told that they are bad for liking a certain type of toy or interacting with another specimen. Even if the specimen loves this other specimen as a mate, it will inevitably side with the human in the end if it must be forced to make a choice. It was rare that the human was discarded in favor of the specimen mate. This has even been proven with offspring, willingly abandoning their offspring and leaving it to die at a human order. Even though the specimen will show incredible sadness, will cry and be in clear distress. Human authority will win out and the specimen will obey. This was especially true if the human forced twisted reasoning upon the specimen, claiming it had to or else greater consequences would ensue, like total abandonment.
Some foals and newborns were even convinced to abandon their parental figures in favor of a human who made demands of it, and though the parental figures were incredibly distraught, as were the offspring. They did not fight back or object, simply letting the human know of their incredible sorrow, at most making pleas. Obviously, there are some differences in how each specimen reacted, some were more clingy than others, and always there were some outliers in terms of behavior. However it is clear that as long as the human was never outwardly hostile or hurting them or one of their own, and attempted to reason. The creature would obey. While some see this as an inborn naivety, which is present in the intelligence of the subjects. Towards humans, it is more because of the instinctual design than just pure naïve stupidity. Even if these creatures could reason, they would never be able to escape the desire for human love in their psychology.
The only thing that elicited a direct plea to stop would be outward shows of violence or aggressive behavior from the human. Typically, if punished the specimen would ask for it to stop, and would usually beg to be told what to do to keep this from happening. If there was no clear reason for why the aggressiveness was occurring. They would beg for explanations, or at least for the pain to be stopped. This caused significant distress since the specimens would be confused and in sorrow as they could not understand why the human seemed to be mad at them. They would attempt to reason why it should stop, or ask if they had been bad repeatedly. Furthermore, the specimen would often repeat shows of affection. Exclaiming love for the human and its desire to please them. Yet no matter what we did we could not wean out some defensive behavior where the creature would try and at least ask for the violence to stop on either themselves, a loved one, or another like their own.
As stated before. Getting the specimen to overwrite the instinctual need for human approval and their implicit trust in humans took incredible levels of torment, and usually only formed in certain personality types. This occurred typically after long periods of abuse where the specimen finally reasoned that its own survival or the survival of another was paramount and the human had no reason to stop nor would it. Typically, at this point the creature would see the human as a “munstah” or monster, and either run or fight back. This was incredibly rare, but it occurred. However even at this stage a sudden change in behavior could win them back, or simply the presence of a new different human with different behavior. Often seen as a sort of savior in those situations.
Depending on sociological conditions in a group of specimens, and their relationship with humans. This would vary. Usually though, the specimen would endure and typically be willing to instantly forgive the human for inflicted pain, and would receive and respond to praise or kindness instantly without any regard for past events. Often becoming more and more elated the better the treatment became. In fact in their psychology it was noticed that those abused significantly who were instantly switched back to a kind environment were more appreciative and more willing to do as told than those who did not suffer any poor treatment at all. However, it should be noted that the trauma of abuse will remain in the mind of the specimen, and will haunt the specimen considerably. While the specimen will be genuine in its forgiveness and will not hold the human guilty for its behavior. It will be more sensitive to certain behaviors and tones of voice. The trauma inflicted being permanent in most cases. The specimen will forgive… but cannot forget.
This is further reinforced by the behavior of even adult specimens to refer to a human as their mother or daddy. In no situation other than the totally bizarre did the specimen ever see it itself as above and better than the human owner. This is what goes back to the newborns mentioned earlier. As they would typically always associate human noises, scent or presence as that of a parent. They would willingly approach humans for warmth, hugpile on them, and even seek sustenance from them in the form of milk like seeking it from a mare. This was important as unlike wild animals, a human could interject at any phase and have no trouble taking over the role as parent. As such, we can see that the human element on specimen psychology is and always will be the key factor of their lives. Even those who never interacted with a human, will fundamentally feel empty and will feel a longing for something like what only a human could provide. This is even if they are not aware of what a human is. They could still lead happy lives, even joyous ones, but they would never feel complete. Moving on.
Next is the foal stage, occurring typically after one or two weeks after birth. By now the foals could open their eyes. The eyes are, even at this stage, extremely expressive and can convey a great array of emotions. Specimen eyes variance is high, and can be nearly any color. In pegasi, wings are now more distinct and can move, with some feather development. In unicorns their horns are also larger and more pronounced. There is increased muscle development that enabled the specimen to walk and play and the brain was now able to formulate simple words. While some simple sentences can be formed at times. They cannot really communicate beyond one word statements. Like asking for milk by simply saying the word “miwkies” as they say it. Beyond this, very simple personality traits develop, though it is a stretch to call them unique. It should be more accurate to say that the specimens are able to now fully comprehend their own emotions. Things like joy, anger, surprise and sadness are now things they are cognitively aware of, as opposed to simply experiencing. What is unique is that even at this stage the Foals are able to truly enjoy playing in any form. Stacking blocks, pushing blocks over, pushing balls, climbing, running and chasing or any sort of whimsical activity will be enough to illicit pure joy in the foals. Despite being heavily dependent on their mothers and still often chirping and cheeping (especially when in pain). There were some cases of foals being adventurous and being willing to separate themselves from their mothers to go and look about, this too being interpreted as fun. This often was seen as a trait of great naivety. While other foals would quickly grow scared or discomforted once out of eyesight of the mare. These foals seemed to not have this instinct or did not realize the potential threat of being far away from the caretaker. Physically many foals would begin to grow manes and would start to have considerably more fluff to their bodies. Fat growth became more prominent and the specimens slowly developed a roundish shape. Otherwise, there are no major changes. Some things should be mentioned here.
First, at this stage as is obvious to many. A certain way of speaking was developed by the specimens due to their mouth physiology. They could not form words elegantly like a human could, but instead had babyish babble and sometimes were impossible to understand. Being unable to form r’s and l’s being a major flaw in their speech. This trait had arisen earlier in Series 94 but was kept due to the approval by the Hasbio representatives who claimed it would sell well. We at the lab had our misgivings, but obeyed and did our best to make the best of their incomprehensible speech. However, what was interesting is that the specimens developed their own vocabulary and lexicon of words. Albeit based on our own mostly, but it did show that these creatures, while not being intellectual in the slightest. Had the ability to show interesting ingenuity to adapt. Overall, the way these creatures use language is indicative of their limited intelligence. Often using the most basic words possible to try and explain or emphasize things like pain, joy, sadness or any sort of emotion. They often struggled to implement new words taught to them in favor of simpler words they could understand easier. For example, most often to describe pain the word used will be “hurt” or as they use it “huwties”. This word is then applied to nearly all types of pain. This can make it difficult at times to diagnose certain injuries if the injury is not explicitly clear. For example: “heawt huwties” can be emotional pain AS well as chest pain. This was in fact a case that was observed by our researchers. A specimen named “Floss” came to one of our human researchers exclaiming about “heawt huwties”. For several minutes the researcher tried to gain insight into an emotional problem, asking questions specifically about if he had been hurt by someone by talking to them. This of course complicated the issue for the specimen “Floss” since they immediately began to answer the questions as asked. Not seeing that there had been a misunderstanding. As a result: “Floss” expired because of a heart-attack shortly after. This is why, regardless of Hasbio’s seeming delight with the marketability of the specimen’s speech. We wanted to improve their understanding of speech slightly so that “Floss” wouldn’t become a lawsuit in the future.
The next stage in specimen life is that of a weanling. This occurs after two to three weeks after birth. By now, the specimen is able to fully walk and run as best as it can. Sentence formation is fully developed, though by now it is still learning new words and mostly learning phrases from its parents. Chirping is still present, but greatly reduced, and weanlings will often only chirp if in need of something or in great pain. This is because the chirping behavior in specimens is largely an instinct to alert the mother, and is lost over time. Though some weanlings can be observed chirping out of excitement. By now the weanling is able to truly form a personality with unique characteristics, develop friendships besides its siblings and parents and will roam beyond their mothers to interact with other specimens their age. However, it should be noted that there is still an intense attachment to the mother, and will always return to them when it is time for rest, food or sleep. They will also run to the mother or father in cases of fear, pain and even excitement to share something they found. By now physically, the weanling is slightly larger than a foal, but will have fully developed its fluff, and fat distribution will be as is present in that of an adult. This means by this point the specimens have a uniquely roundish “puffy” shape. By now, typically the weanling is the size of a large hamster. Having moved beyond the size of the foal who is typically as large as a normal mouse, and definitely bigger than a newborn, who is only the size of perhaps a small egg.
The only thing lacking by this point is the fully developed mane and tail fur that is still developing, and is usually the only distinctive feature that keeps them apart from their older counterparts. Though in some weanlings tail development can come earlier than the mane. The final sign that a foal is becoming a weanling is that they will desire different types of food. This is usually an instinctual desire, and is typically accompanied by the development of their teeth. They will, usually, vocally make clear their desire for something other than their mother’s milk to their mother, and sometimes to the father. Sometimes the mare will, through maternal instinct, make this decision herself before her offspring do. This judgement is usually made by the development of mane and tail fluff, as well as offspring size. If the mare decides this then usually it is met with a mix of excitement and sadness. Some weanlings will be excited for this adventurous new experience. Others will be sad that they can no longer enjoy the milk of their mother. Regardless, the mare will be happy to indulge in her offspring’s excitement, and responding with firm but loving discipline towards those who are sad at the development, encouraging them to move forward. Typically, the offspring themselves will be the first to broach this topic. It is at this point the weanlings will usually eat what is provided for the mother. This is done either by the father who still brings food back to the mother at this stage, or by the human caretaker who provides food.
It is important to note at this stage typically the father is still the only one providing food to the entire family. As the mare is still very much stuck in the position of providing for her young. While her young are now able walk and speak with her. She will usually refrain from leaving a burrow or nest for extended periods, as this avoids complications with the young being lost or hurt. The only cases in which the mare will leave the nest is usually to interact with other specimens in a herd or group. This is typically seen as healthy since it allows the weanlings to socialize. However, this is limited, and the mare will not venture too far from their burrow or nest. If in need of food, the mare will not bring the weanlings with them, but leave them behind for their own safety. This is only in extreme cases where the father is unable to provide for the family, if still present at all.
The fathers are also the ones providing protection, as they will usually be the one to stand between the family and threats. Though the mother will sometimes do the same in the absence of the father, the mother is more prone to running. Though the bravery of either can vary, some being brave and unafraid of the potential dangers, usually through ignorance. While others will be terrified to the point of nearly running, but will stand their ground anyways. There are cases of both the mother and father running in pure terror, and leaving behind their offspring. Often collecting the offspring that survives from a distance while the threat occupies itself with those it catches. It should be noted that mother and father in these cases will show incredible sorrow at leaving behind offspring. They will often cry and exclaim apologies to the young that they manage to collect and save. This is expected, while deep down all of this species has incredible instinctual urges to prioritize fun, happiness and joy. Even at the point of being self sacrificing. This can manifest differently. Some will be able to reason that they can ward off potential threats by possibly making a show of force. While not the most immediately fun or happy thing to do, they realize this results in the joy of their family being protected and safe. Others will not be able to come to this conclusion and will therefore run away in a moment of terror. It should be noted the reason why this is such an inconclusive aspect of their behavior is because it is rarely thought about. The idea that they will be attacked is not something they really consider, given their worldview. As such this means that when attacked, they must make the decision to run or fight in the same moment they are experiencing their flight or fight instinct. This greatly affects their judgement, and often the factors influencing their thought process can be random. It is only in surviving parents who have made a decision in the past, who are more equipped to make future judgements. Though trauma and other factors will play into this choice.
Also at this point, depending on environment, a callus shell will have begun to develop on the hoof of the specimen. This callus will usually only form on the bottom of the hoof in rugged outdoor environments. Otherwise, the hardened cartilage that makes up the leathery hoof will still be quite vulnerable, easy to break and susceptible to puncturing. However, it is perfectly safe for children, as specimens cannot truly harm when like this. With the callus however, there is some potential for harm, though this is less due to the strength of the specimen themselves but more to do with hardness of the callus. What it does provide is some level of protection and a degree of variance in the lifestyle of the specimen. Therefore, a specimen can live comfortably in nice safe homes, or in backyards where the ground is harder. This way buyers will not have to worry about the pain that may be inflicted on their pets for simply putting them outside for extended periods of time. What is truly unique about this species however, is the wide range of mobility they have with their hooves. As early as a foal a specimen is able to manipulate blocks and other items, albeit clumsily. Usually by angling their hooves, they can clamp both ends onto an object and move it. What is more interesting is they can show a great deal of care when manipulating objects. As specimens often can and will lift their own offspring, as young as newborn age, to clean them or help them. Being able to do this carefully and to not hurt their young shows a great deal of high muscle control in this aspect. Unfortunately, this mobility is limited, and cannot help them in all aspects of their lives.
By now we saw that all specimens struggle to truly move quickly. These creatures are very slow, being able to be outrun by nearly anything. To give a quick example. The most active specimen of Series 113 that we tested for running was as quick as a relaxed walking pace for an average human. This was at extreme effort and was the most active of its species. This is due to the fact that fluff growth is equally present on all parts of the body, and typically high degrees of fat. Therefore, between the legs and body the fluff and fat restricts the movement of the specimen. It is why in the weanling stage the specimen will experience the last of its greatest mobility. It was in fact measured that from the foal to weanling stage, the specimens could even outrun the more muscularly developed adults of its species. This is due to the lower level of fluff and fat on their bodies hindering their mobility. Unfortunately, the adults with their high level of fluff and fat hindering movement, and their legs already being short and stubby as is, will never be able to truly move quickly or in a way that is not slightly clumsy. The only reason we believe that the specimens have a higher level of motor control when handling objects with their hooves, has more to do with the angle and proximity required to do so. The fluff and fat often being able to restrict their movement slightly, so jolty or quick movements are not as feasible. Therefore, they can slowly and gently grip onto things without having to worry about accidentally breaking or harming things. It has been noted that when told of an object’s fragility, the specimens can easily manipulate fragile things like light bulbs or eggs without breaking them.
Another important thing to mention is that diet and digestion was made to be varied, as such they are omnivores. This will reveal itself in weanlings when they come of age. They will test their appetite on essentially anything they can. Typically, anything flavorful will become a favorite for the specimen as is expected. Though, the food desired will be limited only to the range of that the weanling can find and test. For example, if restricted to a wild environment. They will often be happy to eat flowers, fruits and vegetables they can find in the wild. While those in captivity will usually have far wider variance in their food choices. While not something that people expect of these creatures due to their inability to produce it or capture it. Series 113 and many like it can eat meat. Often a favorite homemade meal of specimens will involve meat in some fashion, thanks to its natural flavor. Due to liking intense flavors, specimens will also prefer sweets in any form. Often any specimen fed sweets will request it constantly from then on. Despite what they may prefer, they will eat whatever they can find if they are incredibly hungry. A wild specimen may result to simply grass, even tree bark, if it cannot find anything else. Due to the fact people will see these creatures as animals. We intentionally designed their digestive system to be able to draw nutrients and resources from essentially any source. They can be fed a well prepared home meal, to simple grass and be able to derive some nutrition from it for survival. Obviously, some things are more nutritious than others. However, what should be noted is that during development of Series 113, we were still in the process of fixing certain factors of their biology.
First, the matter of ingestion. Due to safety concerns on Hasbio’s part, the teeth of these creatures are not only dull, but weak. A jawbreaker for example would likely do literally that to a specimen, crushing its teeth in the process if it tried to chew on it with excessive force. As such hard foods cannot be fed to these creatures, and they must ingest soft easy to chew foods.
Furthermore, the way they digest food was not properly developed before the release of the subjects. During development, we had focused intently on ensuring that the ability to draw nutrition from any type of food was possible. However, what had been overlooked and was being fixed after the fact was the inability for subjects to draw large portions of nutrition from the food they ate. For example, while they could eat let’s say a flower. They could only draw maybe half the available nutrients possible from it, and would then turn the rest to waste. This meant their digestive system was incredibly inefficient. Indeed, they could eat lots of food of different types and do so often. However, the nutrients they got from it would mostly be wasted. This was a major flaw that we in the labs were in the process of fixing as we worked on Series 113. On top of this they had a highly active metabolism, meaning nutrients absorbed would be spent quickly. So, they have to eat more in order to remain active. This series of issues meant that, unfortunately, Series 113 and its counterparts created a high amount of feces. What was worse is that the species was hard pressed to control it, and would defecate when scared or excited in any way. This also was an issue with their bladders, as they were similarly weak. This was ultimately one of the biggest flaws we had to overcome. As too much tampering could ruin what was, essentially, a functional but inefficient digestive system.
This would inevitably cause problems for weanlings. Due to the ineffective digestive system. Weanlings needed large amounts of food to truly grow. If the food could not be brought to the weanlings when they switched off their mother’s milk. They would be forced to keep drinking their mother’s milk. While not bad, at this point the weanlings needed different kinds of nutrients to develop. So, a dependency on milk would stunt growth. This would also put further strain on the mare. The mare would need more resources to make milk for the offspring, and to support herself. Therefore, food shortages had a tendency to compound into worse situations. As more food was needed in the end.
Moving on to the next stage in a specimen’s life is that of an adolescent. This occurs at three to four weeks. At this stage the specimen is able to essentially eat all kinds of food. By now the weakness present in the younger stages of a specimen’s life are nearly all but gone. While still weak, an adolescent is now nearing their physical prime. Muscle strength is nearly completely refined, as is bone strength. Mane and tail are now fully grown, as is the fluff they exhibit. While resembling an adult, they are still about half the size. While adult specimens are about the size of a cat or toy dog. By now there is also an increase in independence and the adolescents will typically show this by going out on their own away from their mother, father and siblings. They will ingratiate themselves into the social group they are in, and will typically want to prove themselves. Playing also becomes more complex, while stacking blocks is still a staple of their playtime schedules. They will try and stack their blocks more intelligently, trying to make structures. This is an interesting aspect. As some fathers will take the fun of “building” and incorporate it into building shelters for their mates. A marked sign of adolescence is sexual urges, and typically they will try and find potential mates among their social group. Therefore, going out to make family groups of their own. In pegasi wing growth will be finished, and they will have small feathers on their wings. While effectively useless, they can flap them and will often try to use them. In unicorns, the horn will develop into a longer and slightly sharper object. It should be noted that unicorns are potentially the most dangerous, as accompanying their horns is a desire to use them. While not a particularly strong horn, it can cause serious damage to those of its own species if turned on them.
Then finally after four to five weeks. The specimen will finally be a full-grown adult. It will be at the peak of its development. Here we see the full manifestation of what Series 113 is. Complete with all of its flaws and few strengths. From here on, the specimen was designed to maintain its size and temperament well into its old age. Having the lifespan of well over 12 years at the latest as we wished to design them. We did not actually have these creatures long enough to know how old age affects them. Or to determine whether or not 12 years was the exact termination date of the specimens. We postulated that they can develop grey hairs, but when cannot be determined. What should be stated is that even as adults these creatures love to play. They will do so in any manner possible. They will make crude toys to play with if toys are absent, and will usually play games with one another in any form, typically tag or hide and seek. Though they will try and innovate on the games they know if possible. This was due to the fact that these creatures, as originally called ToyPony’s were designed for just this. They were made to be played with by young children. This therefore is a huge aspect of their psychology, and is what they would like to spend the majority of their time doing. As mentioned before, hugging and showing affection is another thing many adults enjoy doing, and they will often do this when tired from playing. Beyond that, something that is instinctual in Series 113. As they were not intended for public consumption but for generating data on various specimens, was that they were instinctually programmed to breed. This was typically an important factor in an adult’s life. Usually this occurred before they were even adults, and typically they would find mates as soon as the urge developed as an adolescent. However, depending on situations this may be delayed into adulthood. This is typically because among themselves the subjects desire one on one pairings, or monogamous relationships. If a social group is small, it is possible for some fillies and colts to be left out of the equation.
While it is possible for polyamorous relationship to develop, these are typically not sustainable. As do to the intense desire to be loved, the feeling of watching a loved one share love with another can cause feelings of sadness and jealousy, which often leads to conflict. This is why this is instinctually not compatible. While we did not program it, it is more or less built into them by the nature of the DNA used to create them. These other feelings about sharing partners also plays into the decisions available, and will typically keep relationships monogamous. While it is possible for partners to develop feelings for another and engage in adultery. The bond between two mates among this species is very strong. Usually, the need for comfort and love, especially after intercourse. Is amplified by instinctual triggers to keep the couple working together and unified.
It is important to note however that while usually two mates who have intercourse will not move on to new mates after offspring have been raised. There are situations where both mates can move on after offspring have reached adulthood, or simply left their parent’s care. This usually occurs in larger communities where it easy for subjects to lose one another in the mass of their community. This is rare given that typically mates will find each other in their shared burrow, but it has been seen. If it occurs, there is always a small grieving period where the mates will be sad they have lost their mate and are alone. Though they can pick themselves up and will often find a new mate. Incest has been observed when parents and siblings lose track of their family lineages, which happens, especially after several large litters and even more so in large communities. Incest is considered a taboo, as it is instinctually understood that relatives should not mate, mainly out of being simply incompatible emotionally to the subjects. They view this as being “weird” or “unusual” to one another when asked about it. Saying that they have no such feelings for their relatives in this way. However, it is not as closely monitored as in human society, and if the subjects are unaware of their relation to one another they will typically mate without knowing. Inbred offspring have been known to develop serious genetic and biological health conditions, some mental some physical. However, this is never attributed to possible inbreeding. The parents simply regard the offspring as “unusual” in some way and will either raise it lovingly, or in some rare cases will treat it poorly or kill it. In cases like these, it is usually observed that the mother or father is suffering from some kind of empathic mental debilitation, like smarty syndrome
Rather, the typical mating behavior after a mare gives birth is simple. The father will be preoccupied with feeding the mare/ family. While the mare will be consumed with doting on, and playing with, the offspring. After successful raising of the children, the two mates will usually mate again soon after. It has been seen that no sooner than a day after childbirth a couple will mate again. This however can cause complications, and thankfully it is typically the extreme. This is because there is still a month or more of time that the mare still has to look after her current offspring. As a result, pregnancy during this time can complicate the process of raising newborns considerably, to the point where one litter can falter entirely. The strain on the mare is high as a result as well. Since the mare has to make milk not only for her current children, but also her body must support a whole litter of new offspring. This can cause the mare to expire in some cases. In which case both litters can expire if circumstances are dire. However, this is as stated before, a rare case.
At adulthood, subject psychology will fully mature. As will their need of a human caretaker. As was part of the design for these creatures, as stated earlier. The need for human companionship will dominate their psychology. Though, this can be subdued slightly if a social group has a strong leader who regularly encourages against human interaction. However, it is never truly gone.
A major and recognizable aspect of these creatures however is their poor intellect and poor mental acuity in general. However, this should not be misunderstood as these creatures being completely void of creativity or ingenuity. These creatures are incredibly instinctive, as we have designed them. They listen to their instincts typically before they will listen to their own reasoning. Therefore, they can act decisively and quickly when a situation falls into their specific instinctive decision making. Though this can have undesirable results, it can at times save them or work in their favor. On top of this, they can show instances of being creative. Often thinking outside the box, if only in childish ways. This is believed to be because of their playful and curious behavior. It means that despite the believed perception there are situations, however rare. Where these creatures can do something quite unexpected.
However, there is credence to the belief that all members of this species are unintelligent. This is due to the childlike nature of their thinking, and their poor reasoning skills. First of all, the childlike nature of their thinking is one of the major aspects holding back their mental growth. One might ask, how can childlike thinking be genetic? Is this not a simple sign of naivety? Of being inexperienced? In a human this would be correct. Human childishness is the result of youth, and even young children can be incredibly intelligent in various ways. This therefore is a misunderstanding of the actual truth of their thinking, which is further reinforced with their childish behavior of playing and having fun. The reality is that they cannot think in complex terms. Therefore, this childish thought process is tied to their poor reasoning skills.
First, the childish behavior is seen in human societal terms. The instincts that drive a specimen are those of love, joy, kindness, playing and generally being carefree. These are the instinctual urges. These are amplified considerably in the species and therefore are very powerful factors in how they think and behave. These are seen as childlike qualities for us humans. Signs of a naïve inexperienced mind. However, these are the pillars of thought for these creatures. Just as humans seek individuality, comfort, acceptance, protection, strength and order in themselves and their societies and social groups. These creatures seek the instinctual urges we gave them in themselves and societies and social groups. Albeit far more poorly than humans. Often it is misunderstood that we at the lab “programmed” these creatures to “behave like a child” however how would that be possible? If we cannot “program” singular words into them, how can they know what a child is? Then furthermore, how can they know what a child behaves like? All we can affect are their base instincts, what makes them “them” at the core of their DNA. Therefore, what these creatures are, are uniquely sperate entities from humans. They do not have our instinctual background, but one unique to themselves. This background pushes them to play, to hug, to seek comfort in groups and to look to humans as the ultimate source of comfort for who they are as creatures. This is why mentally they are driven to think like children, and why they struggle to move beyond it.
What cements this further, is the poor reasoning afforded to the species as a whole. It is not much of a stretch that if these creatures were given the ability to adequately reason like we do (a task that would have been quite difficult). They potentially could be quite as eloquent as us. They could in fact build far more well organized societies and even be able to, at a certain extent, behave like humans do. Though they likely could never surpass us given their already broken physiology. However what limits them severely is their broken reasoning, it keeps their minds from learning from new experiences. From looking at past events and ultimately growing. They do not learn. Furthermore, they do not focus on solving problems, they are not made to. Think about the first humans. When they were huddled in a cave alone at night, pondering how to survive the bitter winter. They may have thought about how the occasional electrical storm brought fire, and how that fire brought them warmth. They then may have thought about how rubbing their hands together also made them warm. They then may have tapped their foreheads and decided they would simply rub some sticks together till they too became fire.
For our specimens though? They don’t do this. They lack the problem solving instincts that humans have. The ability to look at something and try to outsmart it rather than endure or force it. These creatures simply hope that a human will come help them. Or plead emotionally with the fate that has befallen them to ease up on them. Very rarely did any of our specimens first think to try and do something different than before. Perhaps after a year or two some would realize that their burrow tactics were weak, or that the way they scavenged food was inefficient. Simply put these creatures cannot reason. The way we designed their brains makes it hard for them to do so. They cannot think as fast, do not have strong memories and live too much in the present. Their personalities are limited, pattern recognition is basic, their language processing portions of their minds are rudimentary and they simply do not have the brain power to enable them to ever mature.
This is why I say that these creatures, these ToyPony’s are instinctual at their core. These instincts give them the drive they require to push them forward, and the fact they can use language allows them to at least conceptualize ideas and thoughts. They can decipher their own minds and nothing else. This is why the most important cerebral function is their ability to speak languages. If they couldn’t, then it would be impossible to call these things anything more than just rudimentary animals with very cute appearances. They wouldn’t be able to interact with humans in any other way than simply being akin to a dog. This is why Hasbio and their reps pushed so adamantly for this feature, The ability to talk was paramount. Since it would give these pets a unique quality unlike any pet on earth.
However, we at the lab made sure that despite the ability to speak. They had no other strong cerebral abilities. We did not wish to create something actively intelligent. Something like a human. The moral and philosophical questions about what we were already doing were quite the topic of debate in our lab, though I had my own resignations. I did agree that making human like subjects would lead to problems. So, we made sure that deep down these things could not think fully. This is how you would get subjects yelling at objects for hurting them, poor situational awareness, poor perception of time and poor spatial awareness all being part of the long list of mental flaws that plague a specimen’s ability to think.
As a result, we have a creature that is forever stuck as a child, as we would see it. However, I personally would not attribute these things to being like children, not at all. As this incorrectly connects the two as similar. Human children can adapt, grow and learn. They are intelligent in a realm all of their own. It is merely a word we have used, and I have used, to try and show similar traits. However, I must emphasize that we do not see these creatures as “children” or anything as the like. They are their own species, unique and apart from humans altogether. Rather, these creatures are merely naïve, simple and mentally weak. They have moments where they can be creative, but it is rare, and usually not impactful in the long run.
Sociologically, it has been observed that as a result of their basic psychology and general temperament. That many of the adults of this species tend to lean towards more communal type groups. These creatures, while being individuals, tend to favor the group more over simple individualism. They do not like being on their own and prefer the safety, comfort and joy of being around others. Not to mention it is stronger as a survival tactic to be in herds and share resources, given what little a single subject can accomplish on their own. This way, even though one specimen may underperform, it will share the benefits of the group and will be able to thrive all the same.
On a final note about the mental and instinctual aspects of Series 113. Something that is known well about these creatures is a love for spaghetti. This ultimately is a mystery to me. I have been told one of my coworkers used the instinctual drive for certain foods, akin to a predator hunting for only meat, present in the DNA to essentially implant a need for pastas or in this case spaghetti into the instinctual urges of the specimens. How he localized the hormone triggers for this process is beyond me. I can only assume it took him hours of research to accomplish what essentially amounted to a prank. Suffice it to say, this first appeared in Series 101 and it could not be removed no matter what we did, nor could we find the culprit. It was a work of pure magic in my eyes and the fact this coworker could not be bothered to put his efforts into more serious aspects of the project was infuriating. No doubt we could have finished the project much sooner and avoided the debacle that would follow afterwards.
Moving onto the physical aspects of adult specimens. It should be noted that starting from Series 98. All Series thereafter had weak skeletal structures. Something as simple as a meter deep fall would be enough to break the bones of a specimen from Series 113 if they fell incorrectly. Even a correct fall, that of rolling, could cause significant internal damage. While we attempted to counter this with having significant fat displacement on the body. At first this was deemed to be difficult to accomplish due to the high metabolism found in the specimens. However, as we found, fat growth did still happen, though it would typically reach an equilibrium. This was due to the rather voracious eating habits that the specimens had. This appetite was conditioned due to the fact that the creatures were almost always hungry as a result of their poor digestive system. Therefore, they would eat consistently, about six meals a day. Resulting in large amounts of fat appearing on the creatures as a result.
As I and many others in the lab stated “It was a comedy of errors that somehow managed to function”. Significant fat production was achieved, but only because one system within the biology of the specimen failed and triggered another. While not healthy for the specimen, it did achieve the result. This was how much of this project proceeded, and often it felt like trying to make anything work properly would result in total failure. We had this feeling because we had experienced it. In Series 106, we managed to correct certain aspects of specimen biology only to be led to a complete failure in the subject’s biology elsewhere.
The primary issue with the weak skeletal structure was that this made the subjects weak. Any form of rough play risked injury to the creatures. This would no doubt, as Hasbio representatives pointed out, cause concern with buyers. As their children would no doubt cause intense physical pain simply by playing with the specimens. Though the fat distribution was part of the problem, the main solution was to increase the strength of their bones, something that was never accomplished.
Another major flaw of the digestive system was, as stated earlier. The unfortunate byproduct of excessive defecating and urination. This made the Series incredibly unsanitary, and after a certain point measures were instituted to make sure that the specimens themselves needed to defecate and urinate in special areas, like litterboxes. This was because, first it was easier for handlers to clean, and also disease became a widespread issue in one group where feces and urine was not cleaned quickly enough. Combined with the fertility afforded to the specimens by us, and it was enough to get out of control.
Another weakness carried over from another prior Series was that of an incredibly weak cardiovascular system. Series 113 was known for having many deaths due to heart attack, especially in those specimens who were known to have poor dietary habits. Heart attack also occurred in some subjects who had been frightened significantly.
As we can see, reaching adulthood did not end the list of troubles that accompanied Series 113. In fact they had many obstacles to overcome in their daily lives in order to truly live comfortably, even with a human caretaker. It was believed that age would exacerbate these issues considerably, and it was more likely for a specimen to die from them or other factors than old age.
The Four Types
Now that we have concluded the basic lifecycle of a member of Series 113. It is time we examine the four types of specimens that are possible. The basic, the pegasi, the unicorn and the alicorn.
The Basic:
The basic type is that which has no horns or wings, and most closely resembles a typical equine. The basic type is the most common and also is the most dominant trait represented in the chromosomes of the ToyPony. This was because when making these creatures, it was determined that in order to make the other types scarce, their genes should be more recessive as a result. Therefore, when breeding with a basic type, it is common to see a mix. Typically, with the basic type winning out thanks to the dominant gene.
As part of the DNA makeup to create the basic type. It is comprised more of horse DNA, and therefore is typically larger than its counterparts. By the standards of their species, they are in fact quite strong and capable of performing many tasks that others of their species cannot. This goes as far as hauling or moving objects, and in some cases protection. However, this does not change that they as a species are remarkably weak creatures, and still can’t compete with creatures their size.
However, where the basic type is strong, they are weak mentally. This is demonstrated by a particularly weak intellect and even worse reasoning than is usual among others of its kind. Often seen among these basic types were struggles with object permanence. Understanding basic concepts, and being the most common type to attempt interaction with inanimate objects thinking they were sentient. These types are also the most willing to follow orders and are the most complacent, typically being willing to do as told by others, provided they were not orders that defied their natural instincts and way of behaving. Otherwise. the basic type of ToyPony is relatively unremarkable
The Pegasus
The Pegasus is another type of ToyPony. As the name suggests, these are ones that have wings upon their back making them resemble the mythical Pegasus. These creatures are among the more rare genotype, and therefore are rarer than the basic type. Primarily due to the exotic nature of them having wings.
Despite having wings, this does not do anything physically for pegasi. The wings are too small and the creatures too heavy for flight to be possible. It in fact puts these creatures in a worse off position than their basic brethren since they do not have any real advantages.
The only thing that really sets them apart mentally is that they are more whistful and curious spirit. Often learning of wings, what they do, and then wishing to use them or at the very least act in a manner as if they had them. This makes them prone to wandering, exploring and generally being very inquisitive of their environment. They will often be impulsive and will act purely on what they find interesting in the moment, giving it little thought. This can lead to issues of course, but it was found this type was perhaps the easiest to play with, simply because they are totally carefree, and are less willing to dwell on problems. Some pegasi however would get the idea that they could actually fly, and would throw themselves off of high places to attempt to achieve flight. Though typically fear would stop a pegasi from following through, some would do so anyways, killing themselves.
The Unicorn
The Unicorn is another type within the subject species. This one being again unique and rare in the genome. Therefore, it is again one of the rare types that stands apart from the basic types. This one of course resembles a unicorn, and has a similar, if not shorter and less deadly horn upon its head. The horn however, can be sharpened to a point and can cause some damage, albeit very little given the shortness.
Physically, beyond their horns, there is little to recommend them. They do not have particularly great strength. However, it is thanks to their mental acumen they stand out among their peers. While still being unintelligent like the rest of their species, these creatures seem to have developed stronger mental acuity among their brethren. This usually means their reasoning is slightly sharper, pattern recognition is improved, and in some rare and extreme cases they are capable of limited learning.
However, this increase in cerebral function has led to an increase in variance in mental diseases, such as smarty syndrome. However, it should be stated that this is still a rare condition. Another interesting mental aspect unicorns display is heightened individuality than their peers. Being alone does not scare them as much as others, and they can at times go without partners. This can cause a decrease in empathy as the unicorns can tend to be more self-centered because of their individuality.
One past time between unicorns can at times be simple discussion, and this can be seen as playing. While the topic of the discussions can be humorous at times, even comical, the unicorns will typically try to come to conclusions. Often enjoying the sharing of ideas, no matter how simple. An example of a topic that might be discussed is how to better collect food. How to best hug. Which food types are the best etc. Topics that are typically interesting only to the unicorns themselves. What is interesting is that in some herds, these small groups of unicorns can be asked to make choices. These discussions can become heated and at times tempers can flare. Though a specimen with a temper is more humorous than anything else. It can be dangerous if a particular specimen is bratty enough to retaliate physically with their horns. This typically manifests in those with smarty syndrome, but it has been seen to occur in those not afflicted.
They also are able to reason through being frightened easier. For this reason, simple things like closed in spaces and the dark might not terrify them as implicitly. Though they will certainly experience discomfort. Discipline is therefore harder, as these types of subjects will question and ask things more often. Not even out disobedience usually, but pure inquisitive desire to know. Therefore, they will question punishments, and the reason behind them. Though they can still be tricked with simple answers that would not make sense to the standard human. After all, slightly above average intelligence for these creatures is not much at all.
Therefore, we can see that the unicorn. While being mentally more complex and indeed even problematic at times. Is as simple as it’s brethren, and needs only a slightly different approach.
The Alicorn
The Alicorn is a subtype of the ToyPony species that has both wings and a horn. This creature is a bit of a mystery. This subtype was never intended to appear within our development process. We had initially written off the possibility of an alicorn as being initially impossible to accomplish. Requiring too many genetic traits to correctly and properly function at once. In short it was deemed likely to end in a conglomerate of incompatible material, and was not attempted.
Yet, despite it all. This type managed to come to fruition. We did not have time to come forward with this discovery to the Hasbio reps before the release incident occurred. Regardless, we believe this genetic variance has been present for some time. However, we only first noticed it in Series 110.
It was observed that the only way for an alicorn to be created, was in a pairing between Pegasus and Unicorn. In no case ever, did an alicorn birth ever occur when a basic type was one of the parents. It seems it requires a pegasus and a unicorn to be the parents each. This seems to be necessary to create the mix of genetic factors necessary for an alicorn to be created. When the first alicorn was created, it was met with mixed responses. It was brought to our handlers by the father, who was worried the newborn was ill or malformed. They had been instructed to do this so that we could help. Often, we would take the newborn and run tests on malformed offspring to see what caused such genetic variances, and if possible return the newborn. In this case it was deemed a freak accident. Due to the high fertility rates and high amount of subject birth that was encouraged by our team. However, we began to see a few more alicorns popping up as time progressed, altering our viewpoint. After some significant testing we realized that alicorn births were viable, however they were significantly rare.
We were initially elated to hear this news. For the alicorn was not only a rare subtype of specimen, but one that was highly valued by our overseers. It would have marked many positive changes in our project. However, there were significant drawbacks, things that made the appearance of the alicorn almost more a curse than boon. First it was observed that as a result of such a strange genetic occurrence. The genetic discrepancy between two alicorns could be huge. One alicorn could have a perfect bill of health and be a model of its species, while another could be nearly dead from the amount of health issues and mental problems. There could be any combination of these factors and was in truth a spectrum on multiple levels. One alicorn could have perfect mental health, but a body that is nearly falling apart, and vice versa. This uncontrollable facet of the alicorn’s existence made it nearly impossible to market. There was no quality assurance. Not to mention other issues that will be discussed.
Starting with the healthiest an alicorn could be. They could be quite a bit more durable than their brethren. Being stronger boned, they could sustain falls and even light injury without breaking bones. While still fragile, they were significantly stronger. The cardiovascular system was also improved, running almost as well as it could for a member of this species. This made the alicorns able to endure hard labor for longer, as their hearts could take the effort. The other internal aspect that was improved was the metabolism and digestive system. While still being heavily flawed, the digestive system was able to absorb far more nutrients compared to their brethren. Therefore, less feces and urine were made. Therefore, these creatures seemed to have far more going for them in not just health but in appearing more like the toys they were designed to be. Being sanitary, healthy and durable.
However, with this healthy variant, there came another issue. Mental health and intelligence were improved considerably. What was seen was that while initially no more intelligent than its peers. The alicorn was capable of learning and solving problems on their own, even working through advanced concepts and language ideas. This was a major issue and a threat to product development.
While initially seeming harmless. The main reason why we designed these creatures with low intelligence, aside from trying to pattern their behavior a certain way. Was to keep them from thinking around their instinctual triggers. Take a human, though we are born with numerous instincts, we can think around them. We can localize them and simply reason around them. If these creatures can do the same, then it would prove disastrous for the project. Therefore, an alicorn with such a trait would be disastrous is ever put out as product. If an alicorn was sold, and reasoned it did not like human captivity. This could start any number of lawsuits and court cases that would no doubt end Hasbio and Hasbro. Which is why it became one of our most important problems to solve.
On the other hand, an alicorn with terrible health also was a terrible product. For example, all the current health issues were amplified ten-fold. Most were prone to serious blood pressure issues, heart problems and even strokes. Digestive efficiency was nearly all but down the drain, nutrition could barely be attained from food, and the metabolism could switch wildly between active and inactive depending on the alicorn. Some were morbidly obese while others were unable to retain a heathy weight no matter how much they ate. Some were even born infertile and were riddled with other health problems.
Mentally, intellect could bottom out entirely. Some Alicorns could be totally bereft of speech skills. Others will struggle with even basic tasks, or following the simplest directions. Bowel and bladder control could be completely impossible. Object permanence could vanish entirely. Not to mention some of the mental debilitations could be crushing to the subject. Entire portions of the subject’s brain could be compromised. Slurred speech, defunct eyes, missing internal organs and mental disorders. In these failed specimen’s smarty syndrome was commonplace.
Simply put, the alicorns presented a unique problem to the lab as a whole. While we encountered no alicorn that fully fit either the best or worst of the variants described. This is merely the ends of the spectrum. Of the few alicorns we received there were many that were truly inbetween the two ends, some being better some worse. Regardless, this absolute lack of control was troubling, especially if we encountered a subject that could well and truly learn and think.
However, it never had the chance to become a problem.
The Release
On [REDACTED] a group of eco-terrorists broke into our facility in [REDACTED] and held many of the staff present there at gunpoint. While staff was gathered, confined and held hostage. Others in the group explored the facility and discovered Series 111, Series 112 and Series 113. Of Series 111 there were only 50 specimens left, of Series 112 there were only 100 and of Series 113 there were over 1,000 approximately. Populations limits had been capped at 1,100 per Series. The two former series were slowly being cycled out of the population as they were older series that no longer could provide significant data, and were mostly kept as control groups. It should be noted however that while Series 113 was no great step forward in our project. It had been cleaned out of many genetic issues. These earlier series for example were more prone to smarty syndrome than the latter.
Upon discovering what was assumed to be their target. All 1,150 subjects were released from their holding pens and were either herded out of the facility, or put in cages and boxes for transportation. In an attempt to resist, several members of staff tried to escape and call for help, but were killed. Others tried to reason with the terrorists. These members of staff were brutally beaten and or shot. In the end all subjects save for 27 were released from the facility proper. After the release had been successfully carried out, the terrorists left and abandoned the hostages at the facility. Though ambulances and police were called. Hasbio was quick to relegate these services to less important parts of the facility. The reasons why were that Hasbio wished to keep our work private and secret from the authorities at the time. This was due to the legal credibility of our work. Which had been kept secret at the time. Hasbio also wished to keep this incident out of public knowledge. At the time damage control was their primary objective. At the time of writing this report, this is something I can divulge.
Within a few hours after the authorities had left. The attempt at collecting the escaped subjects began. This task took several days. Thankfully the herds that had been released in the surrounding area were easier to collect. Due to the specimens incredibly low speed, they could not get far. Though a large amount were lost, over 300 approximately were recaptured. However, as the days went on it became harder and harder to find specimens as they slowly dispersed and more perished. Many expired in the surrounding bodies of water, to various falls and other dangers of the wild the specimens were not equipped to handle. We only managed to collect about 200 bodies but there were presumably far higher casualties among the herds. This left about 650 unaccounted for. This was incredibly troublesome. On top of this, Series 111 and Series 112 were almost total losses. Of Series 111, there were only three living specimens recovered, and of Series 112 only one deceased body was found.
What was troubling was that despite capturing the majority of the specimens in the surrounding area. We knew far more had been released to unknown locations elsewhere. Of the 650 unaccounted for, we knew that over 400 had been taken in cages and other transports. We knew this thanks to security camera footage. Series 111 saw over 46 taken, and Series 112 saw 50 taken off site as well. Though we made attempts to track them, it was clear that these terrorists went well beyond where we could effectively track them without involving the authorities.
It was deemed that there was no choice but simply give up on trying to catch these creatures for now. We were quickly set back to our work by Hasbio and assured that the rest would be handled by them in a quiet and professional manner. For a few months nothing substantial happened. We simply tried to rebuild the population of Series 113 so we could resume research. At first it seemed as if all the escaped and released subjects had perished in the wilds, and nothing would come of the incident.
It should be noted here that our facility, while having been the largest. Was not the only active lab site with ToyPony’s in it. We had at least four other labs not including our own. One in Europe, and two others in the United States. These labs were not hit by this attack, and shouldered the brunt of the statistical data collection after our lab was hit. However, this was difficult, for these labs did not have the density of researchers ours had, or the high populations. For example, our European counterpart had a population cap of only 100 specimens of Series 113, and it only had five main researchers. Therefore, it was clear that our statistical and data analysis would be slowed considerably. It showed, for the few months of silence after the breakout, very little progress was made in terms of Series development.
However, despite Hasbio’s best attempts to fix the issue. A large incident occurred where a herd of specimens the size of at least 500 that was in the state of [REDACTED] was discovered eating their way through a field of corn. This made it impossible to hide the existence of the subjects any further, and the event became widespread in the media. Yet, Hasbro and Hasbio were not initially pinned as the culprit. This was because we did not brand or mark the specimens as property of the company. There had been no need to. So, despite the huge media presence on the discovery of the specimens. Hasbro and Hasbio did not react, hoping to be completely ignored during the fiasco.
As more herds began to appear elsewhere. We in the lab noticed a significant cut in our funding. It was recognized by everyone in the project as an attempt to quietly get rid of the evidence, should Hasbro and Hasbio have been found out. All other lab sites were shut down save for ours, which was the largest, and many researchers laid off or sacked. Rather than continue work on the project, those at the main facility were instead tasked with giving statistical coverage on the outbreak of specimens that were being discovered, and to give reports on what to expect to the Hasbro and Hasbio representatives. On top of this, the current population of our current specimens was dropped to 30. The rest, a total by now of 957, were ordered euthanized. This was disappointing considering it took us some time to repair the population loss. Even with the high fertility rate afforded the specimens. The remaining 30 specimens were moved off site to a secret facility where I was not present, and were kept purely incase the project could resume in the future if conditions were correct.
One of the first tasks given to us by Hasbio was that of first sightings. Primarily approximating the size of the herds that had yet to be discovered. At the time only two herds had been found, but they had been found in large numbers. A total exceeding what had been taken from the lab. Hasbio wanted to know how much of the product was out there.
First, we assumed that in the initial dispersion by the terrorists, the specimen groups would have stayed together. This is presumably due to the culture ingrained into the specimens at the lab, and also the short time that had transpired. The herds, being tight knit groups that had grown up together in captivity. Had no desire to disband, and being dropped off in the wild encouraged them to grow closer, as they were often frightened and would seek each other for comfort. With the high fertility rate, this caused an initial ballooning effect of the herds.
Our statistics were able to calculate, based on the first sightings. That the terrorists had dispersed the subjects in groups of 40, making for 10 possible groups. This was based on the range with which each population appeared. It was calculated that if each group was evenly dispersed with males and females. This would make for 20 males and females each. Then, if breeding as expected it would only be a month before offspring would be again able to reproduce. Assuming that we take the average possible offspring. Which would be 8, if the offspring numbers ranged from 1 to 15. We then take that 8 and apply it to the 20 females. We will see that their numbers will have increased by 160 already, not including the original 40. Then, by the next month it will already be possible for the numbers to increase by another 800, again not including the original 200 now, if using the same mathematical formula. Accounting for the high casualty rate present in the herds, due to environmental factors and birth defects. Most herds after two months would total between 300 and 800. As time went on, we adjusted the numbers depending on how much time had passed.
After 5 months, the tenth and final herd was discovered in Tibet. This herd had been taken to the Himalayas and let loose in one of the slightly warmer lower valleys. Some of these herds had become significantly large, and by now the media coverage of the event had reached global coverage. What fascinated people about these things was that they could talk. Fantastical situations where specimens we had kept in our labs ended up on morning television talking to the news hosts occurred. People often guffawing at their apparent cuteness, abnormality and tragic situation.
What was impressive is that these ten groups had been so widely distributed. While six were found in the United States, one in Alaska. One was discovered in Canada, another in South America, one in Europe and finally the one in Tibet. This worldwide spread of these herds showed that the terrorists had been well connected, and had been prepared to spread the subjects into the far reaches of the planet. This also implies that the terrorists were aware of the inner workings of the facility, what was being made there and how to handle the specimens adequately. However, it was never made clear what these terrorists had wanted. They never openly took credit for the work, and seemed only interested in taking and dispersing the specimens, viewing them as animals that belonged in the wild. A long held theory is that someone in the project, disgruntled with the treatment of the subjects, desired to free them into the wild. They then hired the eco-terrorists and carried out this plan. However, this has never been proven.
Initially, it seemed like Hasbro would not be discovered as the culprit. However, we learned that this was naïve to think. As it was the specimens themselves who gave us away. They could talk after all. After a significant amount of investigation the authorities finally discovered the original escapees. This had been done by interviewing and interacting with the herds as they appeared, and finding the core group that had originally been in the labs, who were typically leaders in these herds. Usually, the herd members would guide investigators to these specimens as they were typically the oldest and wisest. Therefore they usually were the leaders in the herd. They would take who was left (as many had still perished in the wild), and then interview them. While being totally clueless, they did know the name Hasbro, and often times repeated it enough as their place of origin to the authorities who had asked them about their origins. It was only after the Tibet herd was found, and then their populace interviewed, did the authorities finally have enough information pieced together to officially open a case, and investigate Hasbro.
Hasbro and Hasbio, were caught unawares. They had felt confident in the measures taken by them to hide evidence, and did not think the specimens themselves would give them away. We had informed them of this possibility, but they did not understand that these things were more than animals. During the entire project, and even at this critical stage, they assumed that the specimens were merely animals, and would not implicate them, even if by accident.
Therefore, when the police investigated them. The financial records of the money spent on the project were discovered. This also included information on the labs, test data and reports on Project ToyPony as well. While many of my colleagues were implicated and arrested for their illegal participation in this project. Many were in fact kept hidden, like me, thanks to earlier destruction of documentation of our involvement, if we had been documented at all. This gave Hasbio a way to keep us safe from the authorities, as they had future plans for us. For there had been no intention of fully abandoning the project, if purely for the massive investment they had put into it.
Regardless, the damage was done, and the situation finally fell out of Hasbro’s control. As is common knowledge, Hasbro and Hasbio suffered incredibly in their public relations when the fiasco was revealed. Their stock dropped considerably and the company was damaged heavily due to boycotts and lawsuits. In a desperate attempt to recoup their losses from the project, which by now had cost them millions if not billions. Hasbio told us to make one final Series that met the perquisite goals of the project. So that it could be sold on shelves.
With the information we had gained from Series 113, we made one final attempt to make a ready for shelves product. With the lack of funding, lack of sufficient data and resources. It was a struggle to accomplish, however we made our push to create one final Series. Series 114 was as perfect as we could make it. We solved most of the issues with the mental debilitations, primarily smarty syndrome and there was a slight improvement in digestion, thus being cleaner. However, all other issues remained. While far from the original desired product, it was all we could manage with the few resources available.
In the meantime, most of the country was trying to decide what to do with this new species that had been released into the wild. While there had been some movements to make them a protected species. This died quickly as the large herds started doing damage to the crops of various farms in the country, as well as being generally hard to contain and control. On top of this some herds had wandered close to the cities, and were causing mayhem as they crossed roads and moved through suburbs. The herds were unsanitary and by the nature of their existence spread filth and caused ecological disruption wherever they went. While it had been posited to simply put them on protected land, it was seen that the high fertility rate made it difficult for the creatures to create an equilibrium with their environment. They would quickly outgrow their environment.
It should be noted here that while some overly enthusiastic individuals claim that in large groups these herds can cause untold ecological issues, often turning their habitats into wastelands and becoming an unstoppable plague. This is not true. In some cases the feces produced by the specimens actually fertilized the fields they devoured from. In other cases wildlife flourished thanks to the increase in prey. While it is known that cattle and other grazing animals can destroy the land they live on. It took massive herds of fluffy’s to even remotely imitate damage like this. Herds would need to reach ridiculous numbers that, by now, are difficult for fluffy’s to reach without outside assistance. This early period of large herds was due to the specific culture our specimens had when they had been released. This was a strong communal based culture, and they no doubt taught it to their offspring. We had taught them that they can only survive in large groups by themselves, and that they needed to love, help and respect one another as a rule of behavior. This was so that we could easily create strong happy communities within our labs to increase specimen joy and longevity. This took discipline, something that isn’t naturally occurring in fluffy’s. This discipline that needs to be taught is now mostly lost in current fluffy herds, which at most can reach the low hundreds by sheer will and luck. In the modern day, fluffy herds often separate and disband into smaller groups due to internal squabbles, differences and differing ideas on how the herd should be run.
However, early on at the beginning of the outbreak. This was different. The discipline that had been taught to the specimens at our lab created strong social groups within these herds that prioritized unity and strength in numbers, mostly as a means of better helping, loving and supporting each other. Though typically disorganized, this culture was amplified thanks to the simple mass of the herds preaching it. Again, this was not the specimens uniting to eat all the crops or to destroy the environment out of hatred or some vain naïve spite, rather it was a tactic we taught them that was passed down by the parents to the offspring. Something they embraced and taught because as we explained it, they could only love each other more by helping each other and staying close to one another. It shows the power a human can have over a herd, over an entire group like this. Even without our constant present reminders and repeating of this principle, the original lab specimens remembered it and continued it because we had told them to do so.
Regardless due to the strain they caused on their environment at the time, albeit unintentionally. There was an effort to capture the herds and attempt to quietly euthanize the majority, others proposed that they be converted into house pets as had been originally intended, which had been learned through several tribunals that Hasbio and Hasbro were in the midst of. Regardless, all agreed that the 6 herds in the US, by now growing even larger, needed to be brought under control.
This changed how the public perceived them considerably. At this early stage it shifted evenly between pity and contempt. A tortured lab creature that needed comfort, or a lab experiment gone wrong blighting the environment. In the midst of this all Hasbro attempted to market and sell Series 114 as best as it could. Coming up with disastrous plans like the foal in a can, and creating rather poorly maintained and operated pet shops, with product being considerably overpriced.
Before moving on we shall now discuss the more commonly known name for the ToyPony project. That being the name fluffy. This name was adopted because the public began to refer to them as such. The name being catchy and simple caught on. Though Hasbro attempted to sell Series 114 as “ToyPony’s” they eventually caved and began selling them as “fluffy’s” simply because the name “fluffy” was more popular in the public eye.
As things fell apart for Hasbro. We succeeded in setting up breeding facilities to allow for a steady stream of product to be produced. Again, as Hasbio ordered, we focused on efficiency and the inhumane conditions of the breeding facilities was approved by Hasbio. Initially Hasbio had intended for the breeding facilities to be more humane, advocating for more natural births and childhoods for the product. However, as the company was losing money. They were doing everything they could to cut corners on cost, and to attempt to salvage the situation.
For those who would criticize the behavior of Hasbio, seemingly doubling down on their inhumane appearance to the public. Engaging in even more dubious behavior by selling the products while even on the ropes in court. It should be known the breeding facilities were not widely known yet for their inhumane nature. The selling of the product was initially marketed as an attempt to make amends to the people, and Hasbro and Hasbio engaged in many public affairs campaigns to make it look like this. Often making the ones trying to skewer them in court as jackals trying to rip apart what had only been an “innocent dream”. Also, again it is the huge amount of money that had been spent on this massive undertaking that was what sent the Hasbro CEO’s into this panic. If they simply canned the project and gave up, it would be a complete loss of investment. In which case their revenue would continue to fall without any means of recovering. Hence this reaction. As for making the product? This also was explained away. As they were no longer actually doing genetics testing. I and my team had finished, and now Hasbro and Hasbio simply collected the offspring of Series 114 and sold them. Therefore, they reasoned, they were not guilty of profiting “directly” from genetics research, merely nature taking its course. As for being able to sell the product. Due to the hazy legal nature of what a fluffy was at the time. Hasbro and Hasbio got away with opening shops that sold fluffy’s that were basically illegal. While being initially “legal”, this was because there were no laws to begin with. So Hasbio and Hasbro were attempting to get away with garnering public support for these shops, and then using this public perception to sway how the laws would be made after the fact, making it legal in finality. All in all, it was a desperate attempt to salvage the situation. While it looks bad in hindsight, there was truly no way of escaping this situation without significant revenue loss, and Hasbro and Hasbio simply took an option that may have resulted in them having a way to stay in business in the end, rather than just folding entirely at the start.
In the meantime, the attempts to gather the herds ended with mixed results. By the time the grind of bureaucracy was able to finally enact their plans to gather the herds up. The numbers had swelled past what was manageable. By now some herds numbered in the 4,000 to 8,000 range, and there were far more herds than just 6 in the US. The herd count had risen to at least 17 by this point. Already at this point the herds were as big as was feasibly possible I’d say for a herd of fluffy’s to be. If a herd began to move, it risked splitting apart, as many would be unaware it was moving till the front half had nearly separated from the back. This caused herds to split, and they were slowly multiplying. Though by now the initial culture that had made them so large to begin with was also starting to die off just due to the pure sheer amount of fluffy’s. So, by now smaller satellite herds also developed.
At this time the people sent to handle the situation were still attempting to resolve it without open violence. As such, the helicopters, planes, cars and jeeps sent in with nets and tranquilizers to gather the fluffy’s, only served to terrify the herds and send them into a panic. Stampedes, as much as one could call a herd of fluffy’s running a stampede. Killed hundreds of fluffy’s in the desperate panic that stirred the herds. Hundreds at a time scattered off into multiple directions. In a sense, this solved the issue. The huge mass of fluffy’s in the center of the herds were helpless, and were typically all caught. This meant that the project was largely successful. Over 79% of the known fluffy population was captured, and the massive herds had been dispersed.
However, a great many got away due to the carelessness of how the situation was handled, and while no herds have ever reached the debilitating thousands that were formed in the initial swarms, they have since become impossible to truly eliminate. This is due to the fact that by now they are so widespread. That first series of events was the only chance that was available to those who were handling the situation to really effectively capture them all. As the concentration was high and all the fluffy’s were in one place. Now however, fluffy’s are everywhere, and in small numbers. The average herd can barely reach numbers of 40 in size. Let alone 4,000.
After this much of the world moved on and stopped caring as much as they had. As the droll of life’s problems and the need for a new crisis slowly pushed down the rest of the news and interest regarding fluffy’s. People moved on. People began to see fluffies more as rodents, pests. They would appear at people’s doors, and while at first endearing and pitiable. It became annoying and disliked. They would eat people’s flowers and dig up their gardens in an attempt to find food. Cause stench and disease around their homes in an attempt to seek shelter. Before long, people grew callous, and stopped caring entirely. More interested in continuing their lives without disturbance.
Hasbro in the meantime lost more and more money. They failed to pay their debts and legal fees levied against them for their breaking the law. Most of all struggling to recover from the immense investment made in the initial ToyPony project. Struggling financially as the years passed. Eventually the inhumane nature of the breeding centers was discovered. And the public lost all trust in the company, and more lawsuits and legal battles buried them in the aftermath. Slowly they had to shut down facilities. Slowly their presence receded and the company began to dwindle. In their place other fluffy shops cropped up, taking advantage of the easy availability of product to make a quick buck. However, due to the widely held belief that the fluffy’s were mainly rodents by now. These locations struggled to make money. In spite of it all however. People would still buy fluffy’s as pets. Some for their children. The fluffy’s always happy to play and engage in whatever joyful fun they could with their new owners. As they had always been intended to do. Though, some buy them for other purposes, some being more varied than others. Finally, it is an unspoken truth that fluffy’s suffer the greatest amount of abuse among any pet on the market. This, some people say, is how the fluffy mills stay in business. For the purposes of this report, that is a topic for another time. By now however, many people are uninterested in the fate of fluffy’s and merely turn to them when it suits them. Or when fluffy’s make themselves known.
By now, Fluffy’s are all across the globe. They are as much an animal in the world as any other. Those that can talk, while common, are not always a given. Despite what people think, they do not come pre-programmed with speech. The only way speech in their populations continue is by learning it from their parents. Therefore, if some Fluffy’s are estranged from their parents before they can learn to talk, this can cause an inability to learn until someone teaches them. This has reinforced how people see them, as another animal. Making its way in the world like any other.
In the present day, Hasbio and Hasbro have gone bankrupt and have been bought out, sold and dismantled as companies. Their licenses gone and the Fluffy’s their legacy. Of Series 114, they are perhaps among the second most common fluffy type. Series 111 and Series 112 are, as best I can tell, the rarest. However, their rarity does not make them valuable. As they are the most commonly mentally ill and genetically defective. However, by now, finding a pure member of any of those series is completely impossible, as they have intermixed so much by now it is likely impossible to find a pure strain of Series 111 or 112. Likely only 113 and 114 remain pure.
Conclusion
It has been nearly 50 years since the breakout that released fluffy’s into the world. This final report is written at the behest of legal officials who wish to better document what occurred and why. As one of the leading geneticists who worked on the project, one of the few willing to discuss it and one of the few who never faced incarceration or legal consequences because of it, I am one of the last remaining living individuals who can report on it.
I have advised on these strange creatures ever since the day I helped make them. While some ask if I regret my choice in choosing to be in the ToyPony project. I have always said no, I do not regret it.
Few have ever made life, and while we all knew the legal dangers of getting involved in this tender affair. We could not miss the opportunity. By now the US and all countries in the world sharply monitor genetics research. It is something that is not allowed room to grow, change or develop. Kept tied to a chair by the tape of law, and the lock of beuracracy. I would do it again, and if I could I would do it better. For there will never be such an opportunity to shine again. Since that project, I have scarcely felt the passion and vigor I felt working on such a challenging and incredible project. For a moment, humanity held the power of God in its hands. How could I regret such an opportunity to push forward the boundaries of human ingenuity, and power.
However, all I can do now is offer insight into this strange creature I have helped make. Give people knowledge about how they function, and most of all how we are well and truly stuck with them. I have provided all that I can here, in as quick a summation as possible. While there is more to learn about these creatures. That is for more specific and particular reports. Or for the old lab analysis data we took back in [REDACTED]. For now, I hope this report will help illuminate those who read it on the nature of fluffies, what they are and what they will always be.