Puffy Griffins, also called Puffins, are winged, sapient creatures with traits similar to those of a mythological griffin, while also bearing the traits of Fluffy Ponies. Just like their Hasbio-made counterparts, they possess speech and flight.
Headcanon Origins[]
Main Origin[]
There are two main origin headcanons that tell where Puffy Griffons came from. While many writers use Hasbio as their creators, there is also an accepted headcanon that they were made by Mattel Bio Industries, Hasbio's competitor.
Hasbio Headcanon:
The creation of Fluffy Ponies was not a windfall for Hasbio, but a nightmare. With countless ferals wandering the world and various other shelters selling fluffies without royalties to Hasbio, the company sought to create a new, controlled species that would have all the benefits of a fluffy without any of the weaknesses. Their solution was the Puffy Griffin: a smarter, stronger, and easily controlled biotoy that would be a new beginning for the company.
With the Puffies, Hasbio began its strategy of creating new and exotic biotoys for anyone who ever tired of the original fluffy. While the Puffies never reached the popularity of fluffies, the griffins are nonetheless a popular alternative pet. They are also notably one of the very few alternative biotoys to be well-accepted in the general fluffculture, and are a part of several headcanons.
Mattel Bio Industries Headcanon:
After seeing how much of a disaster feral fluffy herds were to the morality and cleanliness of the public, Mattel jumped into the biopet industry to try to succeed where Hasbio failed. In an effort to avoid copyright cases, Mattel chose another creature from MLP:FIM to fluffify. The pieces were all in place for modification in existing fluffy pony samples; feline, avian, and the speech centers. Through great effort and many failures the samples were completed. They were designed to "compete" with the fluffy pony market directly and cut into the market however they could. And, to this end many changes were made to improve Mettel's biotoy sales over ponies.
Initial sales were extremely strong at nearly $100 a griffon and remained strong for nearly a whole quarter. But, soon the fluffy owners grew bored of these new companions and returned to ponies. With a breeding population in public hands the price dropped to a rough average of $50. The project was barely able to recoup 70% of it's investment over the years, but compared to Hasbio's miserable returns the project was considered a success by Mattel execs. That being said several Puffies went feral, either by being abandoned or simply flying away from out of their back yards. While the presence of puffy griffons is a good natural fluffy deterrent, they have been known to prey on small household pets such as small cats and dogs.
Another Alternative Origin[]
Another telling of the Puffy Griffin origin suggests that a company within Germany sought to create a product to rival that of the Fluffy. Using research fed from secret sources in Hasbio and the dissection of Fluffies, the Germans were able to create large, Saint-Bernard sized griffins. While easily trained, the large size made them a potential legal threat, and future Puffies were scaled-down.
Physiology:[]
A small creature roughly the size of a domestic housecat, the Puffy Griffin has several physical improvements over its equine predecessors. Whilst fluffies are incredibly fragile even for their size, Griffins have muscle and bone strength similar to natural avians and felines. Visibly, they have the front end of a predatory bird with the hind legs and tail of a cat. The front of a Puffy is covered in soft, downy feathers, and the hind is covered in soft fur similar to the coat of a housecat; both feathers and fur come in multicolored hues similar to that of a fluffy. Depictions of Puffy Griffins vary in their ferocity; some look like the mixture of a songbird and a domestic cat, whilst others appear as a cross between fearsome raptors and lions.
Unlike Fluffy Pegasi, the wings of a griffin are actually large enough and strong enough to enable the Puffy to fly. However, the lack of tail feathers drastically lowers their agility, and it is more common to see a griffin walking than actually flying.
Also unlike the herbivorous fluffy pony, a puffy griffin is a pure carnivore. They are able to eat a wide variety of meats, though they are particularly drawn to fluffy pony meat. Due to their relatively hardy nature, puffies can and will hunt for food of their own, usually with success. While fluffies are prone to diarrhea and pooping (to the degree that they are pejoratively known as "shitrats"), puffy griffins possess a more normal digestive system, and tend to have drier, more pellet-like droppings. Some feral Griffons have been seen to hunt in packs to catch prey easier.
Intelligence and Instincts:[]
Like the fluffy pony, griffins are pre-programmed with certain instincts and phrases, including a love of humans, the enjoyment of hugs and playing, and the desire to both love and be loved. Griffins are smarter than fluffies however, and possess human-like memory; indeed, possibly only alicorns match puffy griffins for intellect. They possess a love of yarn balls, regular balls, and various cat toys, and in many respects have mannerisms that are a cross between domestic birds and cats. While a puffy griffin can and will hunt fluffy ponies for food, they can be trained to not only interact safely with fluffies, but actually form friendships with their fellow biotoys.
The speech patterns of a puffy vary across headcanons, but it is generally accepted that puffy griffins do not possess the normal speech impediment of a fluffy; instead, they are prone to speak in broken English or a noticeable German accent. This is not universal in the headcanon, but is quite common. Another benefit Puffies tend to have over fluffy speech patterns, is the ability to learn how to speak in other languages. Raising the chick from it's youth makes it more capable of picking up the spoken tongue of it's master and over time older puffies can learn other languages with proper training. This trait has made puffy griffons popular exotic pets in several non-English speaking countries, primarily Europe.
The personality of a Puffy Griffin can vary from individuals, but in general the creatures are somewhat arrogant and uptight. Often looking dismissively upon fluffies, the Puffy Griffin nonetheless tends to hold humans in high regard. Despite their general pride, puffies are often quite loving and are extremely loyal to their human owners. As such, they go to great lengths to please their owners and prove their own high worth.
Reproduction and Family:[]
Mattel Bio-Industries saw the problem caused by the rapid birth rate and number of foals produced from a single pregnancy. Because of this, Mattel made sure their product had a reasonable birth rate. On average, Puffy Griffin pregnancy last about as long as a house cat's and the mother lays one or two eggs which the mother and father take turns guarding as the other hunts until the egg(s) finally hatch two weeks later. Depending on the father's temperment, once the eggs are hatched he may continue to stay with his mate and offspring or leave to find another mate instead.
Griffins care for their chicks well, and form a strong parental bond with their young. Once hatched, the chicks are born with short fur on their feline extremities while their avain heads and wings do not grow feathers for several months similar to baby birds. Mothers feed their hatchlings similarly to how birds of prey feed their young by first devouring their prey and regurgitating it later into their young's open beaks. Due to the chicks inability to fly, at the first sign of danger, the mother griffin will collect her young in her talons and attempt fly away to safety. Puffy griffin chicks take around eight to nine months to reach maturity and learn to fly with their mother at about half that time. Depending on the temperment of the parent(s), the chicks may be abandoned or forced out of the parent(s) territory to fend for themselves or continue to stay with their family continuing to hunt together with a heirarchy similar to a miniature pride of lions.
Though a different species, it is rare but not unknown for Puffy Griffins to adopt fluffy foals as their own. While these griffins may continue to hunt and kill fluffies, the adopted foal(s) are cared for as the griffins own, and are both highly protected and loved if treated with respect. However if a foal starts being abrasive or showing signs of smarty behavior towards it's adopted mother, the griffin will be more than happy to jump back into it's predatory insticts; although the same could be said if food begins to run short as well.
Somewhat strangely, certain depictions of Puffies show the ability to interbreed with fluffies. Most offspring of this coupling are mutated and stillborn, but the pairing can, on rare occasions, result in the birth of a hippogriff (half horse half eagle creature). Hippogriffs tend to have the arrogance and ability to fly like a puffy griffin but they are not as durable as griffins but slightly more durable compared to fluffy ponies. Over all they tend to look like fluffy ponies with bird like talons for their front legs and functional wings on their backs, while the tail can be either that of a horse or house cat.
Treatment by Humans[]
As they do not possess many of the traits that cause aggravation in fluffies, Puffy Griffins actually tend to be treated rather well by humans. Most stories depict them as loyal companions of humans, with only the very rare instance of abuse. Indeed, when involved in abuse stories puffies are more often the instrument of abuse than the object of it. However, their general arrogance can still get on the nerves of some humans, and their relative rarity, mental clarity, and physical durability can make them a target of some of the more discerning abusers. Unlike when Abusers prey on fluffies with absolutely no risk for danger, Puffies are capable of leaving behind deep cuts, bites and peck marks when trying to defend themselves, much like their natural avian and feline counter parts.