The next month was a bit of a blur.
According to the institute studies of fluffy mares, while at 25-30 days a mare is potentially viable, they were very susceptible to still births or even complications to the mare themselves should their pregnancy term run between the first and second months. The third month and beyond were deemed safe both physically and emotionally for the mares development as the rates of smarties and something “affectionately” known as ‘bitch mare syndrome’ coined by the workers on the nursery floor. It would likely take a few years to verify this data though. While resetting them had a 50/50 chance of fixing the issue for the institute, it had a chance of relapses that the institute found unacceptable and so preferred to simply avoid the issue if possible as their brains still had poor chemistry. When they couldn’t, such mares were segregated from the main population to the foal in a can breeder bays if an opening called or it.
If not they were simply put into the bio bin for immediate material recycling. Only 50 to 60% of the fluffy was suitable for recycling for gen 3 or 4 synths though. However all but 5% was deemed suitable for nutritional supplements and food filler that was naturally restricted to fluffies as the institute could not condone issuing such products to humans or gen 4 humanoid synthetics until after a long term study. This remaining 5% along with the general unsuitable ‘waste’ mass was dumped into a silo that fed into a bioreactor. After this lesser plant ran for three weeks without issue it was deemed acceptable to begin opening them across the major settlements of boston that were under institute occupation to earn additional revenue while contributing to keeping the commonwealth clean and the grid powered.
It did not take long to attach a series of relays to the reference equipment needed in hubris comics. Thankfully Johnsons project could piggyback somewhat onto advanced systems own project of securing all pre war infrastructure of interest to the institute. This allowed him to institute rotating shifts of Gen 1 synths that were tasked with security after setting up some defensive fortifications around the signal relay towers across the commonwealth. Between this and convincing the playwrights at WRVR broadcast station to work for them, they had their team for Fluffy TV and radio. Fluffy actors were assigned to them to train, and the scripts were submitted before they got off work for the day to study. Reruns of various content was played throughout the day while prime time was saved for the new episodes.
The four-leaf clover fluffy Cannery was now in operation as well. Actual breeding though occurred in the institute and then the (reversible)fixed foal shipments were teleported onto site where they were sorted for canning. Foal in a can machines with protectron heads and cap chutes with self-contained power sources were installed in every major settlements just as people were starting to wonder what the strange new programming was on their radio and that working televisions that could actually pick up this station were on sale now at various participating vendors. Not to mention conveniently paired with a series of new red bio bins on various street corners that were emptied into the bio reactors storage tanks after the contents were checked manually and scanned to ensure nothing hazardous to the reactor was inside. Just fluffies (alive or dead) and suitable waste products. Cameras monitored those who disposed of things improperly (or otherwise) in the bio bins and they were sent Armed warning to collect a fine or ensure permanent compliance if they did not have an institute collar or chip via the savings and loan program. Those that did received a ‘friendly’ notice and the first incident was not fined but subsequent incidents would be fined in increasing increments for repeat offenders.
The Saugus iron works was a priority target to get back to 100% or greater capacity. Once it was, a constant flow of scrap from around the commonwealth was on its way from work crews looking to make a living. New fresh ingots and alloys were being produced to meet the institutes ever growing whims and repairs of various sites around the commonwealth.
Various satellite stations were being refurbished and brought online to expand the institutes eyes, ears, voice and their teleporter signal.
The coverga assembly plant was being brought back online so that it could produce vehicles again. While not overly ‘necessary’ given the institute’s ability to teleport about this was in preparation for future expansion since new locations had to be properly scouted and relay sites needed to be put up to carry the teleporter signal if outside of range. The additional ground presence of self-driving Apc’s that were effectively beefier conjoined Sentry bots with skirts that can rotate along the top of the vehicle to face any direction while lightly armored interior synths fired from various ports or turrets also helped with the repression of the local population. That repression was not limited to the ground either as they had a wing dedicated to building self-flying robotic VTOL’s. It was also partially that the more mass being teleported the more energy taxing it was to deploy said forces so they had to be ready to move battalions in the old fashioned way.
The airport needed to be rebuilt after the destruction of liberty prime but it was considered paramount for future expansion. Most Vertibirds were stripped and recycled but the concept was thoroughly studied and re-engineered by the institute to produce robotic VTOL’s. They would likely not keep a large force of them for conventional transportation like the brotherhood though, at least not until later. The few they kept for transport though would be very useful for scouting and deploying teleporter relays in environments not supportive to ground vehicles though.
Wrecker teams were both a blessing and a curse to some wastelanders. Sweeps of ruins had been stepped up eliminating most raiders from establishing foothold in the heart of the city while displacing the ones smart enough to heed the warnings. Block by block, areas were locked down with patrols and building demolition rendered them to rubble. Additional manpower was needed, and so scavenger teams and porters came by the score to get paid to sift through the rubble and sort the materials into various shipping containers. Once full the attached fusion generator teleportation pads were primed to Create a field of energy around the object allowing the mass to slip through the signal as a small energy point was created on the object sites field and a corresponding point at its destination site. This ensured that such large bulk wasn’t a drain on the institute’s main reactor. Thankfully the institute was making their own fusion cores by this point so the demand was contained which kept the price of fusion cores from going through the roof.
New city plans for Boston were in consideration. For now, repaving the primary arteries of trade and transport was underway using much of the recycled building materials. However once most of the standing ‘filler’ buildings were removed from the skyline came the debate. Did the institute maintain their ‘walled garden’ stance and simply hoard any resources they didn’t feel like selling to survivors on the surface while expanding underground and allowing the surface to develop as it will? Or did they finalize a plan and begin the work proper on a new boston with proper water, sewage, gas, electric and other infrastructure put into place underground before they built atop it? Effectively cementing their authority over the people of the commonwealth while granting themselves the potential fruits such efforts could earn.
Zimmer was making Johnsons job a lot easier though in some ways. In fact they took the initiative and followed the very protocol you had laid out previously to trace the agents teleportation habits. Using this they had discovered evidence that lead them to the location of the railroads other safe houses and then reset the transporter to place anyone using the ‘cargo pickup’ trick into a cell before deploying your forces. Anyone not captured on site appeared in an individual cell before a jamming field came up to prevent them from trying to jump back to a physical pad. All but 10 of the 100 fluffies originally released were accounted for (between living, in custody and dead) and if the railroad agents knew anything about them, they could hide it from ‘enhanced interrogation’ and had erased such memories. The search was considered closed but the idea of 5 males and 5 females seemed too coincidental to Johnson.
On the ways that Zimmer was making his life harder on the other hand was in regards to the fluffies ‘in custody’. As far as Zimmer was concerned unless they were in the institute it didn’t count. Not to mention allowing prototypes to be given away as ‘pets’ to some people not even working for, let alone unallied with the institute! He’d brought it up every other week at the directors meetings this month, if only because it was written into the rules of procedure that you weren’t allowed to raise and vote on the same issue two weeks in a row. It was four to one the first time and three to two the second in your favor. Hopefully this slide won’t continue, and he wouldn’t go behind your back to have your fluffies abducted.
“Zimmer I’ll make this perfectly clear. If you want my fluffies, you’re going to have to kill me first. Because if you don’t, you and anyone who aids you will regret it.”
“I had hoped it wouldn’t come to that.” He sighed looking down at the desk. “But I understand.”
The light on the desk rotates between black and orange.
“According to pam, I don’t think you do…”
“Bah, dis robit is biased. I said I understood you whipper snapper and I agreed with your terms is that so tough to understand?” The lights stopped rotating and were simply black for a moment before stopping.
“Not at all. I appreciate and respect your honesty. It’s a breath of fresh air.” Johnson added extending his hand.
“You’re in the wrong place for fresh air kid.” Zimmer adds in a very matter of fact sense before reaching out.
“What the hell is happening?” Allie filmore added confusedly.
“Just a gentlemans agreement.” Johnson added.
“I wont involve them if you don’t.” Zimmer responded.
“Agreed. If Zimmer fails to have me killed and I can prove it, then you’re getting replaced and retiring at my most generous.”
“You call depriving a man of his work and purpose in his final years ‘generous’.” Zimmerman scoughs.
“Cant we agree to, I don’t know… Not try and kill each other?” Director Holdren added pleadingly.
“Im an immovable object on this issue.” Zimmer added firmly crossing his arms.
“And im the unstoppable force when it comes to retribution, so somethings gotta give. See you next week?”
Madison Li sighed. “Meeting adjourned.”
On the other homefront. ~TWOK~
Betsy, Raider and the five foals had been returned to Clem and Earl post fixing. One of the six foals had complications too difficult to resolve and was binned. Thankfully it was early on and the mother was busy with the delivery and had lost count. One baby was also a runt but was easily cleaned to reduce rejection chances and the minor issues were handled with the institutes state of the art facilities so the foal would not be a drain on the mothers resources after rewiring some plumbing.
Johnson delivered the group easily since their settlement radio transmitter allowed for the institute to teleport nearby. He came bearing gifts as well. Some supplements to help Betsy produce milk if she was having trouble producing enough milk for five foals. “We also have a new supplement for smarties to make them more well behaved if you’re willing to put in the training.” He added handing over a pack of ‘smarty fixer’. “Otherwise it’ll just mellow them out for a day.”
“We certainly appreciate the gesture, but Klem likes the justification.” He shrugs trying to offer it back.
“Keep it anyway. Hopefully none of the foals goes bad but it could help if that’s the case once they’re old enough. Assuming Klems not looking for multiple playmates I suppose.” Johnson and Earl shared a laugh.
There was also a newly refurbished radio and television. Earl was surprised at both gifts but especially the TV but after the explanation of a new station broadcasting out of boston and the signals being strengthened due to repairs to the associated infrastructure. While the radio had options, he had the unfortunate news that the only TV channels were currently educational, one for fluffies and a sister station for young human education.
“Well im sure the fluffies will like it at least…” Earl adds somewhat disappointed.
“I’ll say this from experience. They do a lot of their learning in the first month, especially after they start seeing and speaking. If you want them to be just huggies and love then let them be and maybe let them watch the tv. But if you put in the effort to teach them early, they can be a lot more capable then the first generation. Hell I’ve got a few helping me do actual jobs around the settlement.”
After observing johnson for a solid moment to see if he was serious, he finally responded. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks.”
“Home sweet homesies.” Betsy added a nuzzling raider on their porch pillow. The moment broken by a shadow slowly looming into place having stood up from a frog like squat from behind the rails.
“I hearz ou’s back.” Klem adds smiling ear to ear at raider.
Raiders eyes snapped open like a pane of breaking glass as the memories he had repressed came flooding back. Betsy gripped Raiders muzzle with her front hooves before he could scream. “Nu wakies babbehs… Nao go pway.” She added pushing him towards the stairwell.
“Dis no am pway speciaw fwiend~” Raider added rushing away as Clem pursued eager to get his abuse target suited up in his protective gear. A distant ‘scree’ echoed towards the shed behind the house.
“Cowts wiww be cowts.” Betsy added thinking it was just roughhousing while returning her gaze to her sleeping babies.
~THUMP~
As for the homefront.
The physical calendar was installed so the fluffies could understand how many forevers were in a year and the robots cross off days as they passed. Rule number five was altered. 5: Special huggies are fine between daddies fixed fluffies but only if all fluffies involved agree. However special huggies between two fluffies with the intent to make baby’s was still only to occur with Daddies permission. There would also be allowances to leave sanctuary for work.
Nimbo’s vox box was reprogrammed to sound like synth curie, or at least gradually reach it as she got closer to her operation date. This made her mentally comfortable with the idea that it was their own voice. Upon reaching it she was brought back to the institute to fix her wasteland surgical muting and have her vocal cords and other related components tweaked to get the voice you wanted. The operation was a success and after a week of little to no talking her voice was slowly coming back. While the accent was there Nimbo still lacked many of the small quirky words and terms that really sold the voice to you. You’d need to start introducing them to her vocabulary.
At end of week three, Peaches had her wheels swapped out for robotic limbs so she could do normal activities again as the foals were now a safe size for such hugs. It was a very interesting process for the director and he even started jotting down some notes “How to fix your fluffy amputees with robco.” Since he liked to encourage ‘right to repair’. You’d add chapters as you had examples to fix and would provide generalized adjustable schematics for limbs and the nerve ending adapter and maybe some other designs. Her fluff was also now reasonable and even, rather than short and even with covered cigarette burns.
Millies horn (that had been transplanted to star by a raider to make a fake alicorn) had started to grow out. The recovery of which seemed to quicken after they too wanted to join in with the horn shenanigans that Director was often having with Gawain, Cato and to a lesser degree star. Just as odd, the horn you assumed would fall from Star at some point had begun to grow out as if she was an actual alicorn. Johnson had begun to suspect that the horns aura had some kind of resonance effect when in contact with other fluffies, or at least the ones with horns. Almost like hard cabling your pipboy to a robco terminal, especially with what felt like occasionally seeing snippets of thought during such contact if they weren’t focused.
Despite active discipline when signs were seen it was apparent that mango was a hairs breath from falling to the smarty side. They were also refusing to attend classes and refused to work. Something would give soon.
Amaranth had shown herself to be a very sporty fluffy. She was decently studious, but you could tell her mind was always on the wind against her mane and was just waiting for that rush again. You trained her to run messages between Sanctuary and red rocket and would sometimes bring small supplies as well. She got a courier’s vest and chaps with pouches, lightly reinforced with leather but it was unlikely to stop much and was mostly an impact cushion for falls and grazes. She was given an eyebot escort just in case her work sent her to Drumlin diner or the Abernathy farm but they were programmed to send out a tracing signal whenever outside of a settlement. Up to four additional eyebots could be launched from their patrol carriers to go and investigate the last signal if the appropriate sign was not delivered or an emergency was pinged. Assuming she wasn’t busy helping other fluffies Nanny would also move towards the front gate in case a heavier response was called for. Her job was the ‘pony express’. They were allowed to ignore the ‘stay in sanctuary’ rule while working.
Carmine with her slightly nubby horn possessed the instinctual wanderlust that evolved from the phenomenon known as ‘splorin babbeh’. Her antics often brought a smile to Johnsons face when he’d think back on such things. She was very interested in studying because with greater knowledge came greater understanding of ones discoveries. She had developed quite a wide (for a fluffy) knowledge of plants, wasteland creatures and general hazards of the commonwealth due to her favorites, ’the wasteland survivors guide’. Between this and her interest in the detective and spy comics Carmine quickly became ‘The Red finder’ (don’t ask me, they picked the name). You lose something? The red finder was on the case. You need something found? The red finder would find it (or at least retrieve it with the help of eyebot sweepers). Was there trouble that the turrets would often be forced to shoot down? The red finder had found it, if it didn’t find her. They were allowed to ignore the ‘stay in sanctuary’ rule while working.
Gawain true to his name developed a close bond with Director, perhaps this was fate or simply them being the first fluffy whose horn he had a reaction to. Or simply a deep appreciation for the stallion that guided him away from the bewitchment of Sundae and back into his mothers arms. Or even something else entirely who could say. Raised on the Taeles of Chivalry comics he became a courteous and compassionate toughie, fiercely loyal to Johnson as well as Director Fluffy and his family. Director sensed he would be a good friend to adventurous foals and children and Gawain had a knack for standing up for the other fluffies if someone (usually mango) was being a meanie. Unfortunately for all the good characteristics he took from johnson, he was a ‘maidens knight’ due to directors influence. It was kind of cute seeing him at work flirting with millie, star and nimbo. While slightly younger than them he was the first most appropriate target for love rather than an unhealthy admiration for an older stallion. While there was a short bit of drama when all three of the sisters realized they were each dating the same young stallion it did not weaken their friendship with Gawain or love between sisters. After a conversation Gawain and the sisters shared a promise that he would not seek to become any of their special friends until the first two had found their mates and if the third was interested in someone else he would fully support their pursuits of love before finding his own special friend from there. This did not stop them from coupling every few days if the young mares were not courting another fluffy. Thankfully Johnson had possessed the foresight to have the colts altered or he’d have some very young mothers by now.
Cato Sicarius was a handful. Almost always full of energy and ready for a fight. The foal had managed to reach Smashies highest tier the combat algorithm allowed given the limitations of his safety equipment which was definitely needed for most fluffies but especially foals. Johnson had no doubts by next month or the month after Hulk would finally lose to the fluffy in a sparring match despite his super mutant advantage. Cato was very interested in combat and showed an interest in concepts like war, tactics and especially instruments of war. They would often observe Johnson when he was maintaining weaponry and envied humanity due to his lack of opposable thumbs. Sensing this johnson decided to flip a coin. Heads (generic123). Johnson and director fluffy were keen to schedule time aside with cato to design fluffy supported equipment. Using the sensory stump adapters that Johnson had designed for Peaches to grant her the use of her limbs again Johnson started by making a version that he would mount on a fluffies back and shoulder blades with extensions. As well as a front chest plate with a similar adapter that was linked to a helmet the horn mounted into allowing for better transmission of thought directly to the implement since that area didn’t have appropriate corresponding nerves to work. The front plate possessed a universal hand/arm whose thumb digit could rotate and flip to the other side of the palm effectively allowing it to switch from left to right hand depending on the primary hand of the user. Johnson could somewhat adapt some of these discoveries to human prosthesis (except the ones that used the horn as a medium unless he could convince people to get an institute implant and a snazzy antenna on their head) and would use fluffies as test subjects to limit potential issues as much as possible to humanity.
Aside from being his test subject Cato was Directors left hand man when it came to toughies compared to Gawain being his right. Unlike Gawain though Cato showed almost no interest in sex or even courtship and would often simply relieve himself with one of the enfie toys and potentially with the artificial limbs once he was a little surer of his capabilities. Johnson sometimes took Cato out for sorties against Molerats and let him go toe to toe against the mirelurk youths while he handled the adults and even wild dogs and bloatflies. He’d feel more comfortable taking him or even other fluffies out with him on general missions once he finished the Mark 1 fluffy power armor frame. Due to the size though these could run either on a series of five fusion cells (one to each limb and one to the helmet) with about the same efficiency as a normal power armor could run a fusion core. Though if a fusion core was used, they’d get at least 20x the operation time a normal suit would get.
Millie was a gentle young mare and it turned out she had a green hoof. Most of her education went into understanding plants and livestock to a lesser degree. She had a particular affinity for Mato’s and Johnsons mato crops had never been so plump and delicious. She became Johnsons dedicated field hand. He even crafted a couple of field bots just for her use. A Mr Handy sized eyebot with extra propulsors to compensate for the extra mass was made with a square top and upturned lip to act as a flying platform for her to tend and examine higher crops. She had a safety vest with a magnetic cable that would come off the back and would latch on whenever she would use this unit and the platform could demagnetize itself when she was ready to allow the safety lanyard to recoil on its line. Johnson used his breakthroughs with Cato to grant her similar work hands. Though it was made to different specifications as it was agriculture/commercial grade rather than combat grade. This allowed her to better prune and even pick and plant crops with great efficiency especially when partnered with fetch bots that would deliver small loads gently to a treaded container that could move back and fourth down the pre designated path between the crops and then onto the repaved streets of Sanctuary, including the street up to vault 111 that had gone from a third full to half full even despite the extra mouths.
Stars beauty only continued to shine as she got older her sparkling coat was particularly glamorous. As Sundae spent more time in the house it became harder for her to get around. Star had started to be more present around Director when he wasn’t with her as she still had a needy desire for the approval of others but especially Director and Johnson himself. Johnson assumed this was because she associated his smell and touch with her rescue from the torment of the raiders so soon to but prior to opening her eyes which was a crucial point of development. Star was a very good student, though perhaps it was because she wanted to impress her teacher that she tried so hard to learn. Her strength was math and reading and while it still wasn’t at the level of most adult humans, it was probably comparable to an eight or ten year old who was being apprenticed to a merchant.
After flipping a coin to decide between implants it was, Tails (owl). You were particularly interested in the growth of stars horn since it shouldn’t have. Therefore, you would use her as a control specimen as her primary job to test an external horn interface. It took you awhile to study the schematics and understand the theoretics behind the device implanted in director that allowed for the use of telekinesis. But with some time and good old-fashioned determination you had managed to create an external apparatus. In lieu of a helmet like cato since she didn’t want to muss her mane, the horn adapter was put in position and anchored to a device that looked like a tiara whose metal points in the front that would be in contact with the horn along two points in the top and two at the bottom of both sides of the horn that touched it but had enough give to accommodate horn growth. He was inspired by his old memory of how the raider had dressed her up like a princess doll. She absolutely loved her ‘tiawa’ and you often had to keep yourself from laughing when she said the word.
Her writing capability and capacity increased dramatically compared to how she had written with her mouth or your previous attempt at a type of glove apparatus she could use while sitting. From that point on she was effectively your note taker and you encouraged it even if you could record yourself saying things on your pip boy. You also let her do simple bookkeeping for transactions that came through, but you always checked her work. Johnson was not sure if it was simply her getting older or if Gawains courtship had exasperated the issue of her infatuation and she was using him as an outlet for her urges as the one she pined for continued to rebuke her advances thanks to the dedicated discipline of Johnson in the mind of Director fluffy. Even when she was suitably aged, johnson was unsure if he could ever allow director to touch a fluffy that he had bonded with from foalhood.
Nimbostratus, or ‘nimbo’ as she was affectionately nicknamed was also growing up well like her sister Star. However it was a simpler elegance that came from the lack of accents like horns or wings and simply resembled a horse. Her coat had continued to develop and was a rich grey with lots of various light and darker grey waves and hues throughout it giving it a texture like a billowing light smoke or an early storm cloud look despite her fur not being particularly puffy. This was starkly opposed by her gem like electric yellow eyes that looked particularly piercing in the dark. She was bubbly and outgoing in personality while not being an airhead. She had a passion for smells and so you did not force her to have a job right away considering she required higher learning to gain an understanding of chemistry to become a perfumer. As she did not possess a horn she was limited to the artificial limbs you could attach to the shoulder blades. She was not given access to these all the time and only when she needed to take notes or practice drawing when she wasn’t helping as an assistant.
She also had interests in weather and architecture but these fields she studied more as a hobby. She assisted quite often when you were doing chemistry and cooking. Always watching and taking things in and asking questions of ‘why is that smell present now but not before’. She paid her dues though as your ‘smell this’ person when you weren’t certain if something seemed off. She also helped occasionally when you were doing craft work like carpentry, plumbing or even electrical work as she felt it helped her understand how things worked structurally. You were starting to get suspicious that if taught well and often from a young age the fluffy could be much more intelligent than first assumed but perhaps it was like any muscle and the institute had let the brains of the initial batch atrophy without challenging them since they weren’t a finished product to begin with.
Perhaps due to Johnson and his mothers expectations, Gentleman grew into a very proper lad. Director trained him to be able to defend himself and protect his mother if he was not around. He very much enjoyed the spy and super hero comics and wanted to learn about such things. He was occasionally classmates with other fluffies. He attended chivalry and etiquette with Gawain and learned some tactics with Cato. Penmanship and mathematics with star, reading with his mother Sundae. He attended PE with Amaranth. Studied the wasteland survivors guide with Carmine and Millie if only to better understand dangerous plants and hazards and how to handle and use them. All of these things and more combined with the pursuit he found most interesting, stealth. Johnson was unsure why the young stallion preferred to go unseen, perhaps excessive attention from his mother. Regardless, the only bit of ‘play’ time Gentleman received was during ‘games’ of hide and go seek to train his stealth because he had such a full schedule. If Cato was directors left hand and Gawain the directors right, Gentleman would be considered the Underhand.
His job was recon and intelligence for Johnson or Director primarily, but he also discussed such issues with sundae out of loyalty for his beloved mother. His other occasional job was to test prototype wing gear. So far this came in the form of a few black-colored slashing blade attachments that were light and discreet enough to go unnoticed if someone wasn’t searching for them or looking carefully. He also had a horn cap he could equip to use his horn as a proper piecing weapon as well. Once you finished more work on the Mark one fluffy armor Cato was helping you with, you may be able to finalize some powered wings. Sure they wouldn’t be able to actually fly standard, but with the right add ons to the suite they could help glide and steer if the propulsion and lift was provided elsewhere. When it came to other fluffies he fell somewhere between Cato and Gawain when it came to sexuality. While he could be romantic and didn’t mind the occasional endeavor, he was a very ‘business first’ fluffy ; with the unfortunate pressure from his mother to take one of the better looking fluffies as a mate as Sundae was kind of elitist.
Hulk was well, still hulk. Due to the supermutant influence it was hard to find a method of study that applied to him and he would sometimes drag down the rest of the class if brought into group sessions. After reaching the highest level of training with the smashy robot Johnson made a less safety focused version called ‘bashy’. This one had two modes, ‘training’ and ‘sparing’. Training worked like Smashy and it established a baseline for abilities and ramped up as the fluffy developed. Sparing though, was serious but the robot would always stop before delivering a blow and explaining how Hulk would have gotten maimed or killed in the attack. Sometimes prop weapons were used, like marker knives or paint ball guns or the like to help demonstrate the ‘where’ of the imaginary wounds. While hulk was developing and getting better, Cato was absorbing far more information from this than hulk was and would often watch hulks bouts with bashy when he was taking a break from his training. Hulks job was being directors main enforcer toughie but otherwise occasionally helped when asked by other fluffies who had need of his size and bulk when Johnson or director weren’t around. As far as johnson could tell he didn’t seem to have an interest in sex either and would act bashful if complimented by mares.
Isaac had been a model rehabilitation case. You submitted your case study to the institute and trials were underway on new smarty cases that received their components after birth and a secondary group that would not receive the component, and any smarties developed from this batch would be treated as well. The goal was a drug ‘Smarty Fixer’ that could be taken daily to blunt smarty syndrome and help potential wasteland owners rehabilitate their smarty. Admittedly though there were always the possibility of lazy people who wouldn’t put in the work and the drug would just be their fluffies ‘normal pills’ to them and that was fine since the institute would be making a profit either way. Their Hull was covered with fluff and had a tail and mane now, all to his desired colors. But he still longed to be a fluffy again. “Don’t worry Isaac… I have a body in mind but if that doesn’t work out, I’ll have something manufactured for you by next month.” Isaac practically vibrated with anticipation.
Isaac was a curious case when it came to studies. While they could learn at a normal rate like the adults, thanks to their robobrain status you could hook him up to the robot repair and modification bay and provide him with information directly. Isaac had been good at what he did in caring for the fluffies but now that everyone was independent such care was less needed. Admittedly though he had become quite efficient at general janitorial due to Nanny pulling rank on him. Due to early onset smarty syndrome he had always been a slave to his passions and it became hard to ask him about his interests. “Pursue what keeps you content I suppose.” Johnson said after a long attempt at job coaching. You set up the bay to begin uploading a series of topics one at a time whenever Isaac was docked with it. Isaac would be your generalist and handle chores that needed doing or aid Johnson in figuring out what minor things needed a robot tasked to them. He’d probably base them out of storage and have them double check stock of everything A to Z through the settlement. This would mostly be verifying a list that already existed to ensure that he hadn’t forgotten to log taking or disposing of something.
Daisy & durum along with Phanes and peaches had learned that while sex was fun the mares had started to get frustrated about not having the baby feeling after the first week or two. This had lead to quite a few arguments between the mothers and fathers. Especially when they came to Director wanting to get their “nono’s” fixed so the mares could have the baby’s they were promised. To which the director reminded them, ‘you have already had this years batch of foals.’ Indicating to the now young adult mares and stallions. This naturally lead to more arguing between the couples but Director was adamant that both parents had to agree and he would not go behind Durum and Phanes backs and get their special friends pregnant and it was taking everything in johnsons power to inhibit Director in these regards.
As for the parents studies it was apparent they were nowhere near as adaptive to learning as their youth. Johnson surmised that a majority of a fluffies learning potential likely resided in the first few weeks of their life and would set the trajectory of their adulthood. They each improved a little in various fields to the point they could follow the ABC’s and sound out written words and could do some math in the double digits but anything in the triple digits tended to overheat them or give them a headache.
Phanes had intended to return to his role as a toughie for director when it came to a job. However with the current number of combat capable fluffies and the fact that not only did he regularly lose in sparring matches to his son cato now he had recently even been beaten by Daisies son Gawain who was just at the one month mark. Johnson was unsure if he had raised some unbelievably strong colts into young stallions or if Phanes was just not all that impressive of a fighter. Johnson still had hope for phanes though as he had seen a glimmer of intellect and insight in him on a few occasions and felt it just needed to be polished. Phanes would be tasked with continued study in his free time and to give matters fluffies brough to him thorough contemplation. Effectively acting as a voice of wisdom and experience to the younger fluffies until they had more life experience and answering issues that Sundae or Director need not bother themselves with. He would also help with anything he felt like otherwise.
Durum was still a bit of an airhead. They volunteered for landscaping. A simple but honest profession that you approved of. You crafted a push mower with a protective cover wrapping two thirds of it so the side they pushed from was safe when he concluded that “Dewe am no way eben duwum can eat aww dese gwassy nummies.” The handle would be pushed by a pair of robotic shoulder blade arms that would also allow him to use clippers and other tools to do hedging and limb work if needed. Durum and Millie began to develop a rapport about plants.
Daisy and Peaches both wanted to be in ‘child care’. Currently you were only expecting one litter so you doubted you needed two. However you may need more in the future so you decided to be lenient. “I am going to assign you to assist Sundae then since she may give birth any day now and if im not around I’d like someone to be there to help her deliver.” You could tell how excited the two were by their babbling about ‘mowe babbehs’.
“Would you consider trading for more babies?”
“Wha daddy wan?” The two add in such a desperate tone that you knew they’d be willing to offer almost anything.
“You remember Bessie who came to visit a while back? Well until she had foals, she had worked out a trade for milk. Would you be willing to let daddy take the milk you make before you have your babys? Daddy promises to let you keep the milk for the final week of pregnancy just in case.”
The two looked at each other. “Do daddy wan dwink fwom mummahs?” They add before looking down at their teats.
“Not in the way you probably mean…” Johnson sighs. “Daddy made a device to help sundae since she had too much milk for just one foal even with you two lending another foal occasionally. It rests on your teat and sends the milk into a container.”
“So den daddy dwink miwkies?” They adds still confused that an adult would still partake of milk.
“Maybe some. Im more likely to use it to make some tasty food. If I don’t sell it to someone that needs milk for their own fluffies.”
The two look at each other curiously. “Can fwuffies twy miwkie nummies?”
“I’d be willing to share some sure. I don’t have any right now though except maybe cheese.”
“Ooo, peaches membahs cheese.”
“Cheese am miwky nummies!?” The two add excitedly. It was then you remembered how much of a hit the cheese rice was with gentleman and sundae and had decided to make something similar for the other fluffies a few weeks back.
“Yep, cheese is made from milk allright.” You decide not to split hairs on types of milk.
After a short aside. “Peaches and daise wan hewp daddy wif miwkies but stiww no suwe… Sound scawy. Nu wan make daddeh maddies if it am too scawy but am hab tummy babbehs. Dat am nu faiw to daddeh.”
“Well bless your heart girls.” Johnson added squatting low to tussel their manes. Johnson also wanted to test a premise about the new fluffies birthing sterile fluffies per the institute’s changes. “Ok how about this. Daddy can use some human magic to let you make milk without having baby’s for you to try being milked. If you don’t like it, daddy will get some foals without mommas to feed so you can do your job. If you don’t mind it, daddy will still get you two foals a piece because daddy appreciates you being so considerate with me in this trade.” The two mares were overjoyed. After making sure it was okay with their mates the decision was made. You’d eventually bring them over to red rocket gas station settlement as it had its own foal in a can machine and let the parents pick. After a few owies from a shot for each of them it was a simple matter of providing them supplements each day.
Sundae was~ ‘interesting’ to teach. They had an aptitude for learning, and you quickly discovered that sometimes they would pretend to know things even when they didn’t and you had to correct this sternly. You promptly decided that all lessons for her would be taught by director as what you assumed was an interest in being talked down to felt very kink like and you tended to lose time dealing with it as a human. Admittedly just as much time seemed to be lost while as director fluffy since they enjoyed the process and indulged it in a flirtatious manner. Her focus of study was on developing her reading level and expanding her lexicon so that she could independently study. You supported this because it was your intention to leave sundae in charge while you were out in a middle management sort of capacity allowing her to use her judgement to answer questions the other fluffies might have if they were seeking advice on something. So having a wide field of knowledge would be helpful.
Johnson and Director had been pretty good about keeping Sundae active, however activity slowly reduced over time and towards the final week of pregnancy she finally reached a point where she struggled to move and you would not force her. With a few games and exercises the two had figured out a regiment to help her keep her legs moving. You brought her books to read as well and despite it being fairly beneath you the three of you would gather for evening dinner and watch the new episode during prime time and then discuss it after.
Bringing in Peaches and Daisy to act as nurse mares turned out to be a good idea. Despite being somewhat aloof at times and acting superior, she was a social creature like all fluffies. The three went from loose associates to a burgeoning friendship. Though whether that continued once the pregnancy hormones were gone was to be seen.
“Sundae see ou’ finawwy gib dese two babbehs.” Sundae added assuming the signs of early onset teat swelling from the injections and supplements to be pregnancy. “Su, how was it?”
Before director could answer the two chimed in. “Weww, dewe widdwe bit of owies.” Daisie added rubbing their flank uncomfortably at the memory.
“And hab quite a few nu taste pwetties.” Peaches added in reference to the supplement.
“Diwectow du wub his mouf huggies.” Sundae chuckled.
“Nu, speciaw fwiend dat~” He was cut off.
“Mouf huggies?” peaches and daisy added confused but intrigued.
Director sighed. “Wike speciaw huggies with ou’ moufies and wickie cweanies.” He laughed as sundae commented.
After a short explanation the misunderstanding was cleared up and you had a feeling the concept was going to spread as gossip does. But right now your mind was focused on something else entirely.
“Uh-oh… Speciaw fwiend, Babbehs am hewe~ BIGGEST POOPIES!”