So yeah, this series is a lore dump for future narratives. I had a lot of fun writing this, I’m just really enamoured by Twist3e’s work and wish there were more spinoffs from his worldbuilding.
The first conflicts between the micro-fluffy supercolony and human exterminators quickly escalated into a full-blown war. Both sides were facing a new foe that they had no combat experience against.
The arsenal and tactics of the micro-fluffies, although effective against aggressive insects and small mammals, were insufficient against the far larger and smarter humans.
On the other hand, the human Fluffy Control organization was well-versed in the extermination of invasive baseline fluffies but unfamiliar with how to eradicate a species that was far more cunning and minuscule.
The deep underground bunker cities of the supercolony were unlike anything the Fluffy Control exterminators had ever seen. Huge construction vehicles, although expensive and time-consuming, were often required to wipe out the presence of the sophisticated denizens thoroughly.
Luckily for the besieged micro-fluffies, the small creatures would usually be alerted by their fly-sized surveillance drones and escape through the highly advanced bioengineered train systems connecting their sub-colonies.
The micro-fluffies vastly outnumbered the humans and were able to replenish their populations at breakneck speeds. For every fluffy citizen that perishes, two more would rise to take its place.
If humanity had begun exterminating the micro-fluffies before the supercolony had developed its widespread transportation and communication technology, they would have been able to eradicate the fledgling empire with much less difficulty.
Nonetheless, the supercolony was still losing its territory, as well as the lives of its citizens. In a colony, a micro-fluffy is a valued member of society, loved by their friends and family. To see humans treat fluffies as nothing more than vermin was reprehensible to the miniature civilization that cherished harmony and unified prosperity.
The alicorn high command knew that if they were to succeed in negotiations with humanity, they could not simply evade attacks forever. The supercolony had to show the humans that they were not a stubborn pest, but instead a cultured society capable of defending itself.
Before resorting to violence, the alicorns commanded their secret intelligence network of spies and technicians to engage in cyberwarfare and soft powers to garner support amongst sympathetic humans.
Social media platforms and news outlets were flooded with micro-fluffy propaganda, detailing their plight and benignness. Fluffy Control and other anti-fluffy organizations were discredited and portrayed as sadistic bullies that preyed on innocent citizens of the supercolony.
Despite the scale of these “influence operations”, a majority of humans were still apathetic or hostile towards the emergent micro-fluffies, not easily forgetting the devastation wrought out by the larger baseline fluffies of the olden days. The pro-fluffy cults and their ZoanFluffs also made it difficult to establish some sort of diplomacy.
The alicorn high command refused to ally themselves with The Friends of The Fluffies, not wanting to associate the supercolony with a cult that despised humanity. Allying with terrorists would serve to further antagonize relations between micros and humans.
Even though the US government proceeded to blacklist and censor any form of pro-fluffy media, a small portion of the country, not blinded by misanthropy, chose to sympathize with the micro-fluffies, even when such alignment was frowned upon in current human society.
The supercolony established secure communications with their human allies, who were all too eager to provide the empire with valuable information and resources. After much discussion between one another, the renegade humans and the alicorn high command agreed that Fluffy Control needed to be taught a lesson.
As exterminators and Modifluffs sluggishly chipped away distant borders of micro-fluffy territory, the supercolony’s brightest smarty scientists and engineers worked day and night to develop new countermeasures. To buy them time, the empire unveiled anti-human weaponry, which had been invented long ago as a necessary precaution.
The first line of defense was the colony’s experimental poisonous needle cannons. These contraptions, no bigger than bricks, would be piloted by trained toughie soldiers, and shoot sharp toxic splinters at would-be exterminators or their ModiFluffs.
In addition, the micro-fluffies revealed prototype remote-controlled bug drones in the form of monstrous hornets that harassed their targets with venomous stingers and scalpel-like mandibles.
The cannons and bug drones succeeded in deterring the Fluffy Control operatives. The organization was all too vexed when the work hazards were too much for its employees.
The supercolony was quick to retaliate against the humans, sending swarms of bug drones and fluffy engineers to sabotage water systems and poison food crops, giving humanity two choices; stop attacking the micro-fluffies or suffer another societal collapse.
Again, the alicorn leader Sovereign alongside his diplomats reached out to President Shepherd and other government officials, hoping to compromise with the humans and end the bloodshed.
Refusing to submit to the fluffy’s terms and conditions, the president snubbed Sovereign’s message. Conceding to fluffies is too much of a disgrace, President Shepard cannot fathom the idea of the United States yielding to artificial vermin of all things. Despite fighting an uphill battle right now, she was determined to see micro-fluffies utter surrender or annihilation, as was most of humanity.
Not long after, the Cleansers, an anti-fluffy group of fanatical exterminators, arrived from New Cleveland to revitalize the attack against the supercolony. A Cleanser would rather die than see the day that humanity loses its dominion to candy-colored abominations.
Wearing their black protective armor, the knights of the Cleansers weathered against the splintering shots of the micro-fluffy machines and crushed them beneath medieval weaponry. Toughies desperately opposed the stalwart exterminators, just to buy precious time for their colonies to evacuate.
Swarms of fluffy-controlled hornets were torched away by the signature flamethrowers of the Cleansers, who were unwilling to let any wicked fluffy technology stop their holy mission. The humans became better at rooting out sub-colonies, dismantling the underground factories, and denying the fluffies the ability to defend themselves.
The immediate production of puncture-proof suits allowed operatives from Fluffy Control to safely continue the process of extermination, taking back land from the micro-fluffies. Farmlands and water plants fell under tight protection, becoming impregnable fortresses.
Side by side, the Fluffy Control and Cleansers worked in unison to wipe out the remnants of the supercolony’s outskirts. Day after day, construction workers demolished miniature cities and were guarded well by the dutiful fluffy exterminators and their ModiFluffs.
Over time, the slow grind of purging began to take a toll on the supercolony. Losing territories and being unable to capture new ones, the empire’s resources were dwindling and unable to sustain its increasingly overpopulated safeholds. Sovereign, with great disappointment, deemed more extreme measures of warfare to be necessary.
Too long, has the supercolony been patient with the current state of things, losing too many fluffy lives to non-stop attacks. It was clear that most of humanity did not see the micro-fluffies as sapient beings who deserved the right to live and prosper.
The humans that did side with the supercolony were too few in number and ostracized by their kind. If the supercolony was to reach its goals, it could not rely on outside help to do so. It was time for the Greater Herd to stand up for itself.
In the heart of the supercolony, Sovereign assembled the most talented experts that the empire has to offer; thus, the very first iteration of “Smarty Councils” was born. In the empire’s darkest hour, it was decreed that every sub-colony would have a ruling body composed of four local representatives from a distinct area of expertise.
At the top of such a hierarchy, was a member of the golden-horned alicorns to fill the role of “Diplomacy”. The other three roles would be “Economy”, “Technology”, and “Military”, with each area of expertise filled by its most distinguished expert fluffy. While each member of a Smarty Council may say their part, the ultimate word for council decisions goes to Diplomacy, for they are the ordained mediator and motivator.
Sovereign is wise enough to admit that the alicorn leaders alone cannot be accomplished in every dominion of society. If the empire is to survive, only the unification of the most skilled and experienced individuals from distinct areas of expertise will suffice.
Grizzled generals conversed with eloquent diplomats, and promising savants debated with venerable historians. Ever since the micro-fluffy empire was conceived, there has always been an accumulation of knowledge grasping the world above it. If there was one thing that the micro-fluffies could depend on right now, it was the Greater Herd.
The micro-fluffies knew that they could not hold their ground and endure the heavy grind of humanity’s might. There is no blockade that will stop the humans, to fight a defensive war is to suffer a slow defeat. Only decisive blows and the destruction of enemies will win the war, the fluffies have to be on the offensive, for they have to be scrappy.
Secondly, the humans had weaponry capable of destruction incomprehensible to a fluffy. It was clear that fluffies could not hope to compete with the military flair and sheer firepower that humans had spent a lifetime perfecting. But micro-fluffies were small and nimble, they did not need to fight with heavy tanks and air strikes in pitched battles, they only had to fight at the right place and time. The fluffies have to strike where it hurts most, for they have to be speedy.
Lastly, any legitimate military knows that it is foolish to fight a fair battle, they have to seize any advantage they can muster. The fluffies have always been watching humanity from the shadows, understanding the importance of stealth and espionage. In order to win, the fluffies will have to embrace subterfuge and deception, for they have to be sneaky.
In only one month, the supercolony has dramatically restructured its economy, technology, and military for only one goal in mind; ensuring that the micro-fluffy empire survives.
However, one question remains, in what possible way could fluffies fight and win battles against a species so well-versed in violence? It was obvious that science and strategy alone could not excel without any form of physical hard power.
And so, to answer that question, the supercolony released its most revolutionary military asset yet, the Bipedal Combat Platform, also known as the BCP.
An individual BCP is a satyr-like exoskeleton suit meant to be piloted by a single micro-fluffy. Half the size of an average man with a slender nimble frame, it is constructed from lightweight organic materials such as finely concocted chitin, keratin, muscle fibers, and bone.
A toughie pilot would neural-link with the suit, and be able to operate it in a bipedal manner, walking and running upright. Given enough time and training, controlling the suit will feel second nature to the pilot, but only if they get over their own exhilaration from wearing such an awesome apparatus.
For warfare, BCPs carry proportionally sized firearms, which are larger and more complex innovations of the original fun-gun, in the form of biotech weapons that fire sharp bony bullets propelled via chemical combustion, pummeling enemies with a strength comparable to man-made guns.
The standard BCP variant, designated as the ‘Earthie’, was the first to be released into battle against the supercolony’s foes. It is easy to mass-produce, mobile, and modular, meant to be the primary infantry unit of the supercolony’s armed forces, capable of fighting in any environment and combat situation.
Although all BCPs are able to equip any variation of fun-gun, the standard issue amongst Earthies is an automatic assault rifle. Striking a perfect balance in range, accuracy, and damage output, it is a dependable weapon for the backbone of micro-fluffy armed forces.
The standard handheld grenade utilized by an Earthie is an offensive high-explosive concussive bomb, designed to clear rooms, assault entrenched positions, or scrap soft-skinned vehicles.
An Earthie’s main tenant of war is to be ‘Scrappy’, favoring raid tactics and close-quarters firefights. Uniquely built within Earthies are whipcord fiber bundles integrated into the hind legs for quick bursts of agility, essential in evasive maneuvers, scaling across obstacle-ridden terrain, and leaping into the midst of battle to demolish enemy flanks and defenses.
The next BCP variant, designated as ‘Wingie’, serves as the light reconnaissance unit, operating well ahead of allied forces in moderate-sized scouting teams. Befitting their name, Wingies are of lighter construction and are equipped with back-laden wings composed of tough polymers that grant them the ability to fly.
Wingies typically carry long-barreled fun-guns equipped with telescopic sights, trading rate of fire for precise killing power, complementing their flight ability and hit-and-run tactics. Few things are scarier than a fast airborne sniper rifle prowling the battlefield.
When confronting a heavy counterattack from exterminators or ModiFluffs, Wingies will disengage with flying maneuvers and toss defensive fragmentation grenades at their charging foes, repositioning to harass them repeatedly.
The main tenant of war for Wingies is to be ‘Speedy’. It is not the job of the flying suits to engage in open warfare but to instead use their superior mobility to obtain enemy information, snipe key targets, and engage in small skirmishes. Wingies are the eyes and ears of their larger company, reporting enemy movement and activities in a way that no bug drone can yet emulate.
A more elusive variant of the BCP would be the ‘Pointie’ designation. These units are essentially the special forces of the supercolony’s military. They are fielded as small elite squads that specialize in covert operations such as infiltration and sabotage. These suits, although costly and slow to produce, are durable and robust, standing a little bigger than an Earthie and able to grapple with even a trained human combatant.
Pointies are normally equipped with silenced select-fire carbines. A combination of stealth and portability makes for a stellar weapon in the hooves of the supercolony’s most cunning commandos.
Deployed deep behind enemy lines, Pointies make use of thermite-like grenades, melting apart human infrastructure or vehicle engines, rendering such assets useless to their foes.
The last tenant of war, being ‘Sneaky’, is best exemplified by the Pointies, who act as a force multiplier when ambushing unsuspecting patrols and disrupting supply lines, sowing havoc and confusion, and vanishing before anyone could even discern their presence. The signature tool of Pointies are wrist-mounted grappling hook launchers, used to scale great heights, and attack from unexpected quarters, the better to shock and disorient.
The last and most fearsome BCP variant is the “Munstah” designation. These suits combine all three tenants of Scrappy, Speedy, and Sneaky, acting as heavy fire support for their less armored comrades. They stand nearly as tall as a human and are tough enough to tank small arms fire while remaining light enough to adorn large powerful back wings that allow them to leap in far high bounds.
The Munstah utilizes an impressive armament of bioengineered weaponry, such as rapid-fire machine guns to suppress an enemy’s advance and shoulder-mounted rocket launchers to blow apart lightly armored vehicles.
Due to being a bigger target than other BCPs, the Munstah can deploy a smokescreen to conceal its supple form. This dark, dense smoke also blocks infrared scanners and scrambles electrospectrum signals.
Operating in strike teams of three or more, Munstah suits drop into the fray of battle to unleash their heavy arsenal, overwhelming foes with sudden firepower before using their wings to quickly reposition themselves. Only the most experienced and skilled toughie soldiers have the honor of wielding such power.
Every BCP suit is environmentally sealed and has an inbuilt communication hub. Other support systems include targeting arrays, night vision, and automated sensors. Inside a BCP, the toughie views the world through a multi-layered interface complete with positional relays and status displays.
The true strength behind the BCPs is not their offensive capabilities nor is it their frightening mobility. Rather, it is a suit’s ability to be folded up and relocated to a different field of battle. Yes, the most significant attribute of these war machines is their incredible logistical convenience.
In a few short hours, a dedicated team of smarty engineers can disassemble a BCP, ship its contents across the country using high-speed underground railroad systems, and reassemble the parts into a functioning combat-ready asset.
Never before, has there been a war quite like the one happening between humans and micro-fluffies. Asymmetric warfare will be the norm, prevalent with guerilla tactics and irregular combat.
Humanity’s best weapons in the form of artillery and airstrikes are rendered moot when facing the underground nature and diminutive size of the micro-fluffies. However, even without tanks and bombs, the humans are still an organized power with fearsome handheld weaponry and loyal ModiFluffs.
Who will come out on top? Only time will tell.
