An Ogryn in Recovery
Lug had awoken groggily, his vision swimming as he tried to wake up. All he could remember was him fighting the wolves and… Then nothing. He definitely survived, that’s for sure. He wiggled his fingers and toes to check if they were all accounted for, and luckily enough, they were. The action seemed to elicit a giggle from a nearby pony.
Rubbing his eyes, he blinked away the last vestiges of sleep and came to the realization that he was still in the cave. Though it appeared that the interior had been transformed into a makeshift medical room. He tried to move, and the pain that lanced across his wounds demanded that he stay put. Which he most certainly did. He groaned lightly and looked to his side to find Fluttershy there, watching him with a soft smile, daffy perched atop her head.
“Good morning, Lug. I’m so glad to see you’re awake.” She said happily, giving him a few pats on the arm. Boy, was he happy to see her. Daffy clambered down the pony’s body and made her way to Lug, squeaking happily as she nuzzled his chin. He returned the nuzzle with a welcome scratch behind the ears.
Lug returned her smile with one of his own, but it was quickly chased away. A frown formed on his lips and his brow furrowed. Upon seeing this sudden change, Fluttershy’s expression grew concerned and she kept a hoof placed on his arm.
“What’s wrong, Lug? Are you okay?” she asked gently,
“I-I thought you n’ the others ated’ me.” Said the Ogryn, unable to look her in the eyes.
Fluttershy let out a small gasp, “Oh, you poor dear… That’s what you thought this whole time? Oh sweetheart, we could never hate you.” she said, her eyes wet with sympathy. She hugged the Ogryn’s arm, careful not to squeeze too hard.
Lug’s eyes went wide at this revelation. But surely they would have! He hurt applejack, after all! How could they not? Lug certainly wouldn’t forgive anyone that hurt his friends. Though maybe the ponies are simply a very forgiving people. It was hard for him to wrap his head around. Meanwhile, Daffy side-eyed the pony, wanting to monopolize Lug’s warmth. Nobody seemed to notice this as Lug continued.
“B-but I urt’ Applejack! I’m jus’ a big, dumb, stupid, stupid angry meanie beast creature.” he said, scowling once again as his self loathing made a comeback. This string of self deprecation elicited yet another gasp from Fluttershy, but it was an angry one. Even daffy gave him a stern smack on the chin, squeaking a long line of what Lug was sure to be admonishments.
“Now Lug, while what you did wasn’t okay, you are most certainly NOT all that.” she said tersely, her expression a rare one, but one of well-founded indignation. The little rabbit in front of Lug’s chin crossed her fuzzy arms and nodded, squeaking in agreement.
“I don’t know you very well, but I can tell you’re a sweet colt. You didn’t mean to hurt Applejack, did you Lug? you just lost your temper. We all know that, and it won’t happen again, will it mister?” She asked, raising an eyebrow.
Lug shook his head rapidly in response, earning him another one of Fluttershy’s motherly smiles, “I’m glad. Oh! Um, where was I… Here you go, Lug. I asked Zecora to make a soup that’ll help you recover.” Fluttershy then raised up a wooden bowl, filled with a soup that smelled of fragrant herbs. Lug didn’t like vegetables. Not one bit, but he needed to be brave, or else Fluttershy would be sad. Mama would always get sad if he didn’t eat his medicine, and he didn’t like it when his Mama got sad.
Lifting the wooden spoon to his lips, he drank the soup like he would a shot, grimacing at the bitter taste. Fluttershy seemed to notice this as she gave him an understanding look, rubbing her cheek against his arm to comfort him. “I know it tastes funny, but you’re doing such a good job! I’m very proud of you, Lug,” she said kindly, which prompted him to eat more.
The more he ate, the more he got used to the taste. The more he got used to the taste, the more he ate. Soon enough, the bowl was empty, leaving Fluttershy quite happy with the results. She took the bowl from his hands and returned it to him, once again full of soup. It seemed she had an entire cauldron. Visibly crestfallen at the daunting task ahead of him, Fluttershy cooed softly, murmuring encouraging words of encouragement so that the Ogryn could make it through the trial with at least a shred of grace. Daffy did her best to help by sneaking quiet slurps of the soup while she could, though she wasn’t exactly a fan of it either.
30 minutes later and the cauldron was empty, leaving Lug feeling a tad queasy, but satisfied that he had managed to complete such a herculean task. Meanwhile, Fluttershy did another once-over of his wounds before sitting back and coming to a conclusion. He needed a better place to recover. Now that he was awake, he could be moved.
“Alright, Lug. We’re going to go to my cottage now, okay? Do you think you’ll be able to move?” She asked, earning a strong nod from the Ogryn. “Now slowly, gently, try to get up,” she then helped as best as she could, Lug wincing as the movement irritated his not even day old wounds. When he stood, he had a hand on the cave wall to support himself as he made his way to the exit, Daffy on his shoulder and Fluttershy slowly walking alongside him for emotional support.
Fluttershy originally wanted to fly Lug out on a stretcher, but considering the fact that she and rainbow dash only had so much strength, she had to simply settle for her cottage. Not that she minded of course. Luckily enough though, she had friends that could help!
As Lug made his way out, he was shocked to see a massive cat-like beast, it’s massive red mane like that of a lion’s. It gave him a level stare, its scorpion tail twitching as it laid eyes on him. Daffy was seemingly undaunted by the large creature, giving it the stink eye. The beast made no move to attack him or fluttershy, and its predatory glare softened once it saw the little yellow pony.
“I really can’t thank you enough, nigel. Just know that I very much appreciate you standing guard for us.”
Nigel purred as he smiled down at her, looking as if he were just happy to be there. Nigel and Lug then locked eyes again, and to Fluttershy’s surprise, they shared a respectful, almost knowing, nod. The two of them knew strength, as they were both apex predators in their own right, and both shared a desire to protect Fluttershy. With all seriousness, they shook on it, hand in paw. This little show of respect seemed to elicit a cute giggle from the yellow pegasus, making the two goliaths melt at the sound.
“Nigel, do you think you could give Lug a ride to my cottage? As you can see, he’s very hurt, and I'd be very pleased if you could lend me a paw!” she asked kindly, getting a slow nod from the beast in response. He lowered himself to the ground to allow the Ogryn to mount it, which he promptly did. Nigel rose, a purr rumbling from his chest as Lug ran his hands through Nigel’s mane, marveling at how soft it was. Lug quite liked the big kitty. Meanwhile, Daffy fumed with jealousy. She couldn’t believe that Lug was petting the oversized feline rather than her! She squeaked her protests, though was quickly silenced as Lug paused to scratch her behind the ears.
Fluttershy then flew up and landed on Lug’s lap, getting herself comfortable for the ride ahead as she used his thigh as a pillow. A tough, meaty pillow, but a pillow all the same. Lug scratched Fluttershy behind the ears like he did for daffy, the pony humming happily in response as Nigel started making his way through the forest. His confident stride gave Lug the inclination that the big cat was a sort of ‘king of the jungle’, that no other beast dared to approach. It was certainly reassuring to know he wouldn’t have to fight his way out.
Lug and Fluttershy simply enjoyed each other’s presence as they watched the scenery go by. The comfortable silence they maintained went undisturbed for a good hour, before the yellow pegasus perked up as she recognized the area they were in. They were almost to her cottage.
As she guided Nigel the rest of the way, Lug simply watched the little pony peacefully, committing her every feature to memory. Whilst lug was quite forgetful, he never forgot a face. The people in his life were often important to him, after all, and considering how much this pony reminded him of his mother he got attached rather quickly. How could he not? He wasn’t used to being showered with such kindness and frankly, it spoiled him.
As the quaint little cottage came into view, Fluttershy softly flew from Nigel’s back and gracefully landed on the ground. The giant cat lowered himself to the earth so that all Lug needed to do was swing his legs to the side to simply slide off, though the action still made his wounds prick with pain. Fluttershy waved Nigel goodbye as he trudged back into the Everfree, giving the Ogryn and the pony one last look before venturing onwards back to his forest home.
“Let’s get you inside, Lug. You’ve got a lot of resting to do.” Said Fluttershy, leading a limping Lug around the backside of the cottage. As they got to the door, Lug noted the rustic aesthetic of the cottage and found himself enjoying how humble it was. He grew up around giant stone cathedrals and hive cities, grand and dark. Lug never liked the dreariness of it, so the architecture of the ponies was a welcome change of pace. The way they built their homes seemed a lot happier than how the imperium did it. The buildings back home always felt sad.
She opened the door for him and he only needed to duck down by a little bit as he entered. It seemed her cottage had been built to accommodate creatures of varying sizes, and it made sense considering her occupation as a caretaker and vet. Lug was happy to see that the inside was just as quaint as the outside, the warm and welcoming atmosphere of the cottage making him feel right at home despite how unfamiliar it was.
“Is nice in ere’, innit?” rumbled Lug, the smell of flowers easily masking the underlying odor that animals generally carried. Daffy squeaked in agreement from his shoulder as she surveyed the house, her eyes locking unto another rabbit that appeared to be white as snow. They immediately glared at each other, Daffy curling a paw into a fist as she repeatedly hit her open paw.
“Why, thank you, Lug!” Fluttershy replied, patting the couch with her hoof. It took Lug a moment to decipher the gesture and when it finally clicked, he slowly walked over and gingerly set himself down. When he did, Fluttershy had him lie down further, placing a pillow under his head before it could reach the couch cushion. Out from under the couch, she pulled out a large quilt blanket that she soon draped over Lug, getting him nice and comfortable.
While the others were ignoring them, Daffy and the white rabbit were having a glaring contest.
“You just let me take care of you, okay?” The yellow pegasus cooed, smiling down at lug with one of her patented motherly smiles as she stroked his head with a soft wing. She was in full swing now. Daffy looked like she wanted to shoo Fluttershy away so she could have Lug to herself, but she held back, not wanting to ruin the silly smile that the Ogryn had on his face.
Lug nodded in reply to her, unable to find the words. Luckily enough, he didn’t need to, as she promptly continued on. “You’ll probably be here for a few days until Twilight can get a Doctor that knows a healing spell, so make yourself comfortable!”
Lug wondered if the spell was something similar to the strange needles that the scary doctor people in the Medicae stations would often jam into the Ogryn when he got hurt. They always told him that it’d make him feel better, and it did, but he still didn’t like the sensation of being stabbed with a needle. Lug didn’t like needles. No sir. Wasn’t natural.
“D-do it got needles?” He said somewhat fearfully, his mind conjuring images of a pony doctor with a comically large syringe and a wicked expression. Fluttershy washed away any fear he might’ve had with the giggle that followed, continuing to run her wing across Lug’s head.
“No dear, it’s just a spell. All you’ll feel is a slight tingle, I promise.” She explained, her voice laced with amusement, allaying the Ogryn’s fears significantly. They sat there in silence for a time, before Fluttershy asked if he’d like it if she were to read to him. Of course, he was very enthusiastic about it. The last time he remembered someone reading to him was his Big sister when they were in training together.
Fluttershy brought out a book about animals. Some might’ve been disappointed, expecting an adventure story or a fairy tale… But Lug was simply happy to have somebody read to him. The only other people who ever read to him were Don and the rest of the squad, and it was so he could understand the bigger words in the communications the squad would receive. Don always said that Lug and the squad were special, so they got special orders that only they could be trusted with. It made the Ogryn feel important, and that made him happy.
As Fluttershy began reading, Lug found himself dozing off. Not because of the subject of the book itself, no, but rather the soft voice that read to him. It was terribly comforting, and if he closed his eyes, he could easily imagine that it was his Mama. The thought played on Lug’s heartstrings, now taking greater comfort in the soft strokes of Fluttershy’s wing.
Lug missed his Mama.
That train of thought was quickly shut down, for a series of sharp knocks rattled the door of the cottage, making Fluttershy ‘eep’ in surprise as she nearly jumped from her seat on the couch. The yellow pegasus quickly collected herself and went to see who was knocking. It appeared to be a saddlebag ladened Twilight!
“Hey, Fluttershy. I got your message! I’m here to fill him in on the results of last night’s tests. Is Lug awake?” She asked, leaning to the side to peer within the cottage, smiling when she saw the Ogryn very much conscious and holding up a hand in greeting. Fluttershy stepped aside and held the door open for the lavender pony, giving a quiet welcome as she did so.
Lug couldn’t help but take note of the strong scent of parchment and ink that Twilight seemed to give off as she walked in. He always liked the smell of parchment. Even though he couldn’t read or write, the smell was always pleasant to him anytime he was within sniffing distance of it.
“Gud mornin’, Ms. sparkle.” Lug said in a welcoming manner, shifting on the couch to better face her.
“Good morning to you too, Big guy.” Twilight replied, taking a seat on the floor next to the couch. She let her saddlebags slip to the ground and began removing a variety of scrolls from them. He could only guess at the contents. Lug wondered if she was finally going to ask those questions she wanted to know, the ones she wanted to ask the day they had met. He’d answer them as best as he could if that were the case.
“While you were unconscious last night after your big fight with the timberwolves—” So that’s what those weird wooden wolves were called, Lug realized, “I ran a series of diagnostic tests to better understand your physiology and what makes you, you. So, believe it or not, I only have one question that still needs answering.” She said, the tone of her voice opening an ominous pit in Lug’s stomach. Of course, this wasn’t the only question she wanted to ask, but it was the one she needed to ask. The other queries could wait. This could not. Unbeknownst to the Ogryn, the next words out of Twilight’s mouth would change the course of his life permanently. for better, or for worse.
“Have you always been able to use magic?”
It left him a little stunned, if not confused.
“Wot?” was the only thing that the Ogryn could say. He was at a loss for words. What did she mean by this? He didn’t have to wait long, of course, as she seemed to pick up on his lack of understanding rather quickly.
“Unicorns have a natural 6th sense that helps us detect magic in our environment, and in nearby creatures,” she explained, reminding Lug of the many lectures he’d receive from his old commissar about the history of a location or statue. He always found himself zoning out when his old commissar did that.
“When we first met, your magical signature was so faint I couldn’t pick up on it! But now, after the whole Everfree debacle, I can very clearly sense it. After examining the location where you fought the timberwolves, There seemed to be trace magical remnants left over.”
Lug had to be honest, “Still lost, Ms. Sparkle.” he said dumbly, giving her a vacant look. He could see her right eye twitch before she put a hoof up to her head, heaving a weary sigh.
“You did something that night. That much is obvious. When you were fighting the timberwolves, did you do something you couldn’t explain? Something you could never do before?” She asked, leaning in with anticipation of his answer.
When Lug thought of it, he realized that yes, he did. It was like he had been one of the Psykers he heard so much about and even got to personally witness on the front lines. Though he also heard those Psykers received extensive training to control the erratic powers of the warp. It was confusing for the poor Ogryn. When he was a young boy, he’d hear a whisper from someplace he couldn’t find, no matter how hard he looked. But as he got older, the whispers stopped.
“Yea, when I was fightin’ them thingies, I wuz really upset cuz, cuz—” he began explaining, Twilight writing down each word he spoke. “If I lost, I wouldn’t be able t’see you ponies evah again, an’ that made me sad.” His brow furrowed as he recalled the desperate fight for life and survival. He swore he could hear the gnashing of wooden teeth and snarling of timberwolves as the memories came back to him. He opened his mouth to continue, his eyes hardening.
“If I lost, dem nasty tim- tilm- tib- uhmm.. Dem thingies were gonna urt’ lit’l applebloom and er’ friends… I couldn’t let dat appen’. No sir.” he said angrily, his eyes becoming unfocused as if he were back in that clearing in front of the cave, fighting for his life and the life of the fillies behind him.
“As mah big sistah always said, ‘If the lit’l un’s are in trouble, it’s an Ogryn’s job to make the trouble go away!’ and mah big sistah is nevah wrong.” He recited with conviction, raising a bandaged fist as he did so to emphasize the point. The scratching of a quill on parchment brought Lug back to focus, and he looked in Twilight’s eyes, staring deep into her amethyst depths.
“I wanted t’win a whole lot, cuz I knew wot I’d lose if I didn’t. Next fing’ I knew, mah fists were on fire, but it didn’t hurt none. Made mah punches more punchier, too.” he finished with an amused chuckle, remembering how the heads and spines of the wolves were brutalized with every swing. Meanwhile, Twilight was scribbling furiously at this point, her mind racing a million miles a second.
She knew what had happened, as this particular phenomenon had been documented thoroughly. It was called ‘Extreme Magic Response’ or EMR for short. It was a rare bodily response to a life-threatening situation that allowed an individual to tap into their deepest magic reserves, enabling them to perform beyond their limits for a time.
Examples included a unicorn that redirected a flood, An earth pony that took on an Ursa major on equal ground, and a pegasus who wrangled a tornado. But these happenings were very rare… And only ever documented in ponies.
While the other races in Equestria had their own special magics, a case of EMR was never documented. This is what made Twilight so fascinated with Lug’s particular case, wondering if it had anything to do with the other energy that resided within him.
“That somewhat answers that! So Lug, when I did a scan of your body after the fight, I found two energies,” She said, snapping a misty-eyed Lug back to attention.
“One was Equestrian magic, the one we all share, but the other… It was wild and chaotic, not unlike discord’s magic. Do you have any clue as to what it could be?” She asked hopefully, a glint in her eyes.
Lug indeed knew. His short waltz into the warp did something to him, and he could feel it. Although he was very hesitant to tell Twilight, because she seemed to be the ‘scholarly’ type that would go poking around where she shouldn’t.
He heard from Don that a group of Psyker heretics once tried to mess around with the warp and study it further, only for something catastrophic to happen. Lug didn’t know what exactly went wrong, but the ensuing accident had completely obliterated the heretic compound from existence, leaving nothing but a giant, smoking, crackling crater where it once stood. He didn’t want Twilight or any of the other ponies to suffer the same fate.
“Yeh, but it’s nuffin’ to be messed wif, Ms. Sparkle. It’s nasty, icky business, so I ain’t tellin’ ya.” He said sternly, shaking his head. Twilight visibly deflated at this news, and proceeded to go through all seven stages of grief as she tried to coax the information out of the stubborn Ogryn, leaving her a sobbing mess by the end of it. She had been acting like he denied her the sanctity of life itself, and it thoroughly pained him.
While the sight of the pony ugly-crying into the floorboards hurt the Ogryn’s heart, he couldn’t bring himself to explain what the warp was. He didn’t even know much himself, other than that’s where all the mean horned people came from and where Psykers get their powers, but he knew that Twilight would most certainly go looking. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if something happened to her.
Lug winced as he swung his legs over the edge of the couch, Fluttershy’s eyes hardening as he did so. She moved to stop him, but, once she saw the Ogryn cradling a still crying Twilight, did she stay her hoof. Lug laid back down on the couch with Twilight on his chest, petting her tiny head with his huge hand. After that and some ear scritches, she finally calmed down enough to be coherent.
“If it’s really that dangerous, I won’t ask any further… But, can I ask why it’s so dangerous?” She pleaded, her already large eyes widening considerably as she used her puppy dog eyes. She only ever used this on her parents and her brother when she was a filly, so she was a tad rusty. Luckily enough, it worked, as Lug’s face softened.
“Awlright. Bit scary though.” He said with finality, which prompted twilight jump off his chest and onto the floor, taking out a scroll of parchment and a quill, her face showing no evidence of a previous breakdown. Lug then dove into a rant about the many horrors of the warp, and the monsters he had fought. He spoke of the 4 chaos gods that ruled the chaotic plane of existence, and their great hordes of demons.
By the end of it, the two ponies in the room had been wide-eyed with terror, huddled together in front of the couch where Lug told his gruesome tales. When he finally finished, Twilight no longer looked very interested in the other energy that Lug held. Rather, she looked like she wanted nothing to do with it.
“Okay, I definitely see what you mean now. I’m gonna have nightmares for WEEKS.” She said fearfully. Fluttershy merely nodded rapidly in agreement, her eyes glued to the floor. The poor mare looked like she was about to faint. Before Twilight could make an attempt at comforting her, Lug already had her scooped up and held to his chest. The Ogryn draped the quilt blanket over the two of them, trying his best to make her comfortable.
“M’sorry, Fluttershy. The warp is real scary, innit? I don’t like it. No sir, nasty business it is. Tried to tell ya.” He said softly, petting the yellow pegasus as she shivered under the covers. He found it funny how the roles had reversed, and now he was the one doing the comforting. “But don’t you worry none. Dem daemon beasties ain’t a match for a full-grown Ogryn like me!” He said proudly, which seemed to somewhat quash Fluttershy’s fears, but she likely wasn’t going to forget anytime soon.
Getting up, Twilight gave herself a thorough shake as if she were shaking off the nerves. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath so that she may heave a sigh, and began packing up her saddlebags. While she didn’t learn what she wanted to know, she learned what she had to. She supposed that was better than nothing at all.
“Alright everypony, I’m gonna head home. I’ve got quite the letter to write to Princess Celestia. Thank you for answering my questions, Lug! I’ll see about sending a doctor over. Be seeing you!” Said twilight as she opened the front door with her magic, giving one last wave goodbye to fluttershy before quickly closing the door behind her. Almost too quickly, as if she were eager to leave the area.
After a good 20 minutes of gathering herself, Fluttershy vacated the warm covers and fluttered her wings. She gave Lug a grateful smile. “I’ve got some chores to do and some errands to run. Will you be okay here alone for a while?” She asked, receiving a nod in response.
“Okay then, Lug. Try to get some rest, okay? I’ll see if I can cook you up a fish tonight.” she said, suppressing a shudder at the thought of it. As Fluttershy then went about her business, Lug got comfortable with Daffy dozing against his sideburns. It had been a long couple of days, and healing took a lot of energy.
He had yet to see Applebloom and Applejack after the incident, and he was eager to make up for his mistakes. He never got to apologize, and he wagered he was still in for one helluva lecture when he got back to Sweet apple acres.
As Lug slowly closed his eyelids, he sighed in relief, glad to know that things worked out in the end. At least, as well as they could have.
Running his hand across Daffy’s sleeping form, his eyes shut, awaiting the dreams to come. Soon, his breathing slipped into the rhythmic rumble that signified sleep, marking the end of a rather pleasant day.
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Nicely done, great job!
Hope you will have a merry christmas
Ohh dear. Twilight getting nighmares about the warp deamns will give the demonic warp a target to head for in the location of Equestria magic acting similar to WAAAAAUGH?
As for a Manticore carrying a full sized Ogryn without much difficulty, makes me want to see if Pinkie can find a commemerative picture of Big Blue for Lug to have.
Everyone raise your hoof/claw/hand if you want to see romance (and a romance tag) with Lug and Fluttershy bloom because lets get honest here i can see it happening ....
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Naw he clearly sees her as a mother figure and I don't think Flutters sees his as anything other than a big child. I could maybe see him and AJ but that would be very far off to feel organic.
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I mean not if Discord, Luna, and Harmony it's have anything to say about it!
Love the chapter! Kinda want to see how Tia and Lulu react to this development, after all it will certainty drive home that Luna was wrong about Lug.
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I've been certainly thinking about giving Lug some kind of romance, but I'm unsure as to whom would be the object of his affections. He's starting to see AJ as Family, Fluttershy is absolutely a mother figure, And the others of the main six? Eh. You guys could totally pitch some ideas!
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I'd give it a while honestly hes been there less than a week and is warrior with the mental capacity of a ~5 year old. It just seems like he wouldn't really understand what romance is at this stage.
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Oh of course! I'm talking about the future, when he finally gets settled in.
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Yet hes not a fool , even now he´s growning bit by bit ( because magic *snort snort*) and along the way is getting himself fancy with one of the pony rather closely and bloom into an everlasting love ...... besides.... his mother and big sister would be proud he did something like that by himself ..... well.... he HAVE one point if he want to start a family like his mama did.
Gods just.. I LOVE lug. I love this story, I love his attitude and I love Ogryns. I can't help but just get a freaking wide smile reading this and laughing at it. Good job and I cannot WAIT for the next chapter. Ya got a good thing going with this story. 👍
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Thank you so much!!! Your praise is greatly appreciated.
heh, I was wondering when this will happen. I will read it later ^^