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// I dub thee, Ogryn! Crusader Cutie! 
// Story: An Ogryn in a Pony's world 
// by An Odd Hermit 
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Today, Lug was hard at work in the fields of Sweet Apple Acres, punching trees and hauling big carts of their famed fruit across the farm. The night before, Lug had gotten quite the stern talking-to after he finished his story, but they ended on a good note so Lug wouldn’t go to bed sad. Applejack, Applebloom, and Lug stood there in front of Sweet Apple Acres in a hug that lasted 10 minutes, and the Ogryn loved every second of it. Especially how soft a pony’s fur was. Lug liked that the most. He liked petting the ponies. 

After that night, Lug made sure to work hard, and soon enough, four weeks had passed during his stay at Sweet Apple Acres. 

Sometimes, Fluttershy would come and visit, bringing him freshly baked goods from Sugarcube corner, which was apparently the place Pinkie pie worked at. The Ogryn always loved it when Fluttershy visited. She was so nice to Lug, and he couldn’t help but wish she would stay a little longer each time. Twilight would also show up every now and again as well, toting her usual quill and parchment, scribbling down notes as she watched.

Lug figured that she just liked watching him punch trees. Twilight was silly like that.

The Ogryn’s train of thought wandered to his slightly sore knuckles. At first, when Applejack had him start punching the trees, it always made his knuckles hurt a little bit at the end of the day. But as the weeks progressed, it ached a lot less, and he found that he didn’t need to put so much effort into it. 

Overall, Lug had carved out a nice little life for himself. On fridays he’d go stay at Fluttershy’s house for the weekend and help her take care of the animals, and come monday he’d resume his work at Sweet Apple Acres. 

The trek between the two locations wasn’t terribly long, though Rarity insisted she make him a pair of working boots to protect his feet, even though he already had boots. Those have served him very well so far, and proved to be quite durable during his chores and subsequent errands around Ponyville. He also noted that the ponies around town finally stopped giving him weird looks whenever he would walk alone, and actually started to approach him when they needed help with any heavy-duty lifting. Only the ones with horns and wings, though.

Some days Applejack would have Lug attend the local school with Applebloom and her friends, but he was too big to fit inside, so he had to watch from outside through a window. The teacher, Miss Cheerilee, was very kind. She didn’t look at Lug funny when they had first met, and even gave him an apple! 

Lug liked Miss Cheerilee. 

During class hours, Diamond tiara didn’t bother him either despite his quiet concerns, but she did have a nasty habit of being mean to Applebloom and her friends, alongside this other gray filly. Lug didn’t like that, not one bit. So, naturally, Lug yelled at them to go away. And go away they did, but the two fillies did so crying. That night, Lug received a letter from a pony by the name of ‘spoiled rich’, but he was still fatally illiterate, so he had Applebloom read it. She quickly advised him to chuck it in the trash. 

He did so without a second thought. 

Lug felt a little bad about yelling at Diamond tiara, though. But Applebloom thanked him for sticking up for her and her friends, so it was alright. There were a lot of mean people out there, and as an Ogryn, it was his job to stand up to them. He actually heard that line from one of his Bone ead’ friends back in the imperium. His mama was really wise, just like Lug’s big sister. 

As Lug sifted through his memories of the past few weeks, he soon found himself wrapping up today’s work, loading big buckets of apples into a cart. The apple family was pleased to know that he was settling into his new chores rather well, and could do them all on his lonesome. The wooden bed of the cart creaked slightly under the weight of the apples, but it held despite its old age.

Applejack always liked to talk about Lug when they were in town as well, mostly about how much work Lug got done. Which always made Lug happy. He liked it when she said nice things about him. It’s one of the reasons why he worked so hard every day, even if he did have splinters in his knuckles by the end of it. 

Applejack also gave Lug a little star sticker on his very own star chart after a week of good work, and the Ogryn was always overjoyed each time he got one. It was like getting his very own medal! Applebloom had a lot more stars than him, though. But that didn’t bother him. He felt that Applebloom earned those stars. 

Whenever he went over to Fluttershy’s for the weekend, he’d be so excited to show her all his shiny star stickers on his star chart. The yellow pegasus always congratulated Lug with a big hug and a trip to Sugarcube Corner to see the funny pink pony and get some sweets! Sometimes they'd meet the speedy blue one on the walk home, which gave Daffy and Angel bunny enough time to socialize with each other.

But when it came to the money, the big sack of bits that was given to him by Diamond Tiara's father, Lug had made sure to give half to Applejack, and the other half to Fluttershy. It took a little bit to convince Fluttershy to take the money, but it took nearly 2 hours of straight arguing for Applejack to accept it, and she finally caved when Lug insisted it was a present to show how grateful he was. That sure was tiring.

Later, Applebloom had told him that her big sister didn’t like receiving charity. Lug didn’t quite know what charity was, but it seemed like a good thing, and that made it all the more confusing for Lug. Why wouldn’t Applejack like charity? Lug always loved receiving gifts! That, and he wasn’t allowed to handle money. 

He wasn’t smart enough, after all. His best friend Haveloch always said so.

He shook his head ruefully as he remembered the silly fight, loading the last bucket of apples onto the cart. He went around to the front and grasped the two handles, and began to pull it forward, enjoying the sensation of pulling something heavy around. The squeaking of the wheels filled the air as he trundled forward. He took a deep breath in, and a deep breath out, feeling satisfied with today’s work.

That, and he always liked pulling the cart. He didn’t quite know why, but it was fun, and it made him feel like he was doing something important. The Ogryn watched the landscape slowly roll past as he went along his way, stopping once or twice to let a colorful butterfly flutter across the path. 

But then suddenly, without warning, a small body accosted his neck and hung there. Almost instantly he could tell just who it was. There was only one pony he knew who liked to greet him like this whenever they crossed paths. “Howdy-do there, Lug!” It was Applebloom! And she seemed to be as energetic as usual.

“Ello’ Ack- Apa- Applebloom!” Lug replied, the tongue twister getting to him a bit. “Hope yer not muckin’ about too much, lit’l bloom, or else Ay-jay will get angry.” He said, his features growing serious. Lug didn’t want poor little Applebloom to get in trouble, after all. Back in the Imperium, whenever a guardsman shirked his duties, the commissar would do some real mean things to him. Usually Lug and the others had to watch it happen, too. He didn’t think Applejack would do something like that though, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

“Don’t chu worry, Lug. ah already went n’ finished all mah chores!” The little yellow pony announced chipperly, earning her a wide smile from the Ogryn, alleviating his concerns. 

“D’aww, glad tah hear it, Lit’l bloom.” He replied in kind, resuming his trundling gait along the orchard path. Applebloom absentmindedly fiddled with Lug’s beard hair, still unable to get over why he had hair on his face and not his head. It tickled quite a bit, eliciting a dumb chuckle from the Ogryn’s belly.

“So, got any plans fer after yer done?” Applebloom inquired suddenly. She was content to rest on Lug’s shoulder like a sack of flour as he formulated an answer. 

“Not really. Prolla-by gonna go take a nap or sum’fing.” Lug answered, readjusting his grip as the cart was suddenly wracked with the impact of a wheel going over a rock. He quite liked the naps he took in the afternoon when his morning chores were finished, which consisted of punching ripe apple trees, helping Big Mac water the fields, and digging up weeds with Applejack. 

Applebloom rested her cheeks on her hooves, her elbows together to form a ‘v’ shape, humming as he pondered Lug’s answer. And as if a light bulb lit atop her head, her eyebrows shot up and she looked to Lug, an excited look on her face. “Yew could help me an’ th’girls try an’ earn our cutie-marks!” She exclaimed.

There was only one problem though. 

“...Wot’s a cutie-mark?” Asked the Ogryn as he stopped in his tracks. He had heard the term in passing whenever he was in town, mostly when gossiping mothers were talking about how so-and-so’s filly or colt finally got their ‘cutie-mark’ or some such. 

“Eeevery filly and colt gets their cutie-marks when they find their special talent! It’s ah neat mark that appears on our flanks. Me an’ the girls haven’t had any luck though. That’s why we formed-”

She paused, leaping off Lug’s shoulder and onto the ground, The Ogryn failing to catch her this time around. But she seemed just fine. Applebloom looked up at Lug and stuck a hoof in the air.

“The Cutie-mark Crusaders!” she announced, before rearing up on her back hooves and letting loose a little whinny of excitement. 

Lug chuckled at her boisterous display, “I guess I can help ah smidge.” The Ogryn replied, resuming his long-stride gait across the farmland trail. The little yellow pony moved out of the way and fell in beside him, walking at a comfortable trot. 

“Ah’m glad t’hear it, Lug! Even though yer not a pony, I’m sure th’ girls won't mind if we make yew a Crusader too!” The filly said, the prospect of having a new member, especially one as big and strong as Lug, added onto her already palpable excitement. "first thing’s first! After yer done puttin’ them buckets away, ah’ll show ya to the treehouse we use as our clubhouse!”

A tree house… What a novel concept! Maybe it was like Twilight’s house. HER house was a tree, after all. Lug smiled, looking forward to seeing this ‘treehouse’ of Applebloom’s. 10 minutes later, The Ogryn was putting away buckets of apples in the barn, stacking them side-by-side to be later sorted by the wise Granny Smith. 

Lug liked Granny Smith. She’d always feed him apple pastries when nobody was looking, saying that he needed to “Grow up big an’ strong” or something to that effect. Lug didn’t quite understand, because he was already big and strong, but he was getting yummy food out of it, so he just went with it. 

Lug stepped out of the dim shade of the barn and into the light of the midday sun, and was immediately greeted with an excited looking Applebloom. “Awlrighty then, Lug! I’ll show yew th’way! Just follow th'leader.” She said, thumping her chest with a hoof before turning around and breaking out into a sprint.

Lug was good at following the leader! He and Haveloch used to play that game all the time during missions that had them in super big and confusing buildings! The Ogryn followed the little yellow pony at a leisurely jog, making sure to stay right behind her. They ran through the orchards, weaving through the many trees, his heavy footfalls making some ripe apples fall from their branches. 

One even went ‘klunk!’ on his head as he went by. Not that he noticed, of course. 

Soon enough, they made it to a very particular tree with a large ramp going up its trunk from the ground, leading to a tiny house that was held in its boughs. Applebloom quickly scrambled up the ramp's hoof-holds, but paused halfway through her ascent, looking back at Lug with a somewhat disappointed expression. “...Ah just realized, Lug, yew aren’t gonna be able t’fit up here…” 

The little filly said morosely, expecting Lug to be disappointed as well. But The Ogryn merely quirked an eyebrow and looked down at the grass, his index finger and thumb holding his chin as he pondered what to do! Yes, that’s right folks, Lug was PONDERING! Intentionally this time! Using all his newfound brain power, he realized that if he just stacked a few layers of crates together, his face would fit perfectly in the treehouse window. 

“I-Idea! I-I’ve got an idea!” Lug said in shock as all the little dots connected in his head. Even Applebloom’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. In the weeks she’s known Lug, never once has he presented an idea before, or even hinted at it. The big man normally just followed whatever orders he was given or tried to copy what Applebloom’s siblings did. 

Glancing around wildly for crates, Lug let out a quick huff before turning on his heel and sprinting back to the farmhouse, leaving Applebloom still half-way up the ramp of the tree, calling out to him. Her words died on the wind as he stomped through the orchard, making even more apples fall from the trees. Lug was probably gonna get scolded for that, but this was no time to dwell on it! He had an idea, and he was determined to bring it to fruition. 

He reached the barn in record time and practically tore open the entrance as he rushed inside to begin his search for crates. Lug barely had time to register Granny Smith’s presence as he rummaged around the barn for the large wooden boxes he required. The old pale green mare squinted at The Ogryn as he busied about, opening her mouth to speak.

“Big mac, Is that yew? What’re yew doin’ over there?” Granny smith asked, leaning forward to get a better look. Sometimes, the aged pony would mistake Lug for Big Macintosh, and would often mistake Big Mac for Lug. Applebloom always got a kick out of that. Lug quickly turned around to respond. “Jus’ me, Granny. Ah’m lookin’ for sum-”

“Crates? Yer lookin’ in th’wrong place, big colt. They’re over yonder in th’other side of th’barn, sugar.” Granny smith said, interrupting Lug mid sentence, pointing at a darker part of the barn with a creaky hoof. She then returned to sorting apples as the Ogryn made his way to the mentioned location. Low and behold, there they were! A bunch of crates containing who-knows-what, and they were perfect for what Lug had in mind.

The Ogryn loaded as many as he could onto the cart within the barn and began wheeling them out, picking up speed as he rushed back to the treehouse. The wheels of the cart were practically screaming at him as he plowed through the Orchard for the third time that afternoon, rushing past Applebloom, who apparently tried to meet Lug at the barn. 

She groaned loudly as Lug sped past her and towards the Treehouse, which was now in sight of the Ogryn. Applebloom quickly tried to follow him as best as she could, but Lug outpaced her significantly. By the time she caught up, the behemoth of a man was unloading crates and stacking them side by side beside the treehouse. 

“Lug, what in the hay are yew doin’?” Applebloom asked, a little irate at being left so out of the loop, and also left behind. Lug didn’t stop to look at her as he stacked crates, now reaching the second layer. 

“I’m stackin’ these ‘ere crates so I can stick mah face in th’window!” The Ogryn stated excitedly, hoping that his idea was going to work out. He was positive that it would. After all, the crates were all he needed to be eye-level with the window of the treehouse. Before Applebloom could formulate a response, two very familiar voices spoke up behind her.

“Applebloom?” Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo said in unison, the yellow pony in question turning around to see her two best friends standing right behind her. It seemed that in the excitement of Lug putting to motion a plan, she didn’t notice their arrival!

“Uhm… What’s Lug doing, exactly?” Sweetie Belle asked, rubbing her chin with a hoof as she watched Lug stack crates. It looked like he was nearly done, too. But once again, before Applebloom could even respond, she was interrupted.

“Stacking crates, duh! What’s it look like?” Scootaloo said, poking Sweetie Belle in the chest before gesturing at Lug, who was now admiring his work. It was only 2 and a half stacks of crates slapped on top of each other as a sort of standing stool. 

“Obviously, genius! What I’m wondering is why.” Sweetie Belle retorted, getting an understanding ‘oh.’ from the orange pegasus filly at her side. Applebloom cleared her throat to get their attention, holding a hoof up to her mouth before speaking.

“Girls, before ah explain what our big mutual friend is doin’ here, ah got summin' t'say.” the yellow filly said. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo shared a glance before turning their attention back on Applebloom, awaiting her question. “Ah think we should make Lug a Cutie Mark Crusader. An’ before y’all make a fuss, jus’ think about how much he could help us! He’s big, he’s strong, an’ older ponies listen tah him!”

Applebloom quickly stated her case, her friends both giving her different looks. Scootaloo looked excited at the prospect, but Sweetie Belle seemed hesitant. “I mean, I’d be fine with that, but… I don’t think he can fit in the clubhouse, Applebloom.” The white filly said skeptically. Scootaloo’s expression fell a little with that revelation, but Applebloom simply shook her head.

“Lug’s got that handled. Y’see, he’s stackin’ them crates so he can stick his head inside th’window! He can attend meetings like that n’ everything!” She announced, gesturing to Lug as he was now tentatively testing his weight on the crates. Appearing satisfied, he stood up on the short standing stool he made, a big smile breaking out on his face as it held his weight, and he could fit his head inside the clubhouse window. 

“Awh, sick!” Scootaloo said, fluttering her tiny wings with blinding speed and she raced towards the clubhouse. Applebloom giggled and chased after her friend, Sweetie Belle giving a little sigh that gave way to a wry smile before following. 

When they were all in the Clubhouse, they met Lug at the window, their Cutie Mark Crusader capes donned. Applebloom sat right in front of The Ogryn, with Sweetie Belle to her right and Scootaloo to her left. The unicorn filly took out a lengthy scroll, cleared her throat, and began to read from it.

“We, The Cutie Mark Crusaders, elect Lug the Ogryn to join us as a sis- brother, friend, con-fee-dante, ally, bosom buddy, gal- uh, pal, compadre, chum of chums…” She said, botching the pronunciation of ‘confidante’ and looked between the script and Lug as she reached ‘gal pal’, realizing that the ‘gal’ part didn’t really apply to him before continuing her reading. 

Impatiently, Scootaloo cleared her throat and gave Sweetie Belle a look that said, ‘hurry it up!’. Sweetie Belle scrunched up her features in a cute show of indignation as she returned Scootaloo’s gaze. Lug chuckled quietly as he watched.

“Well, you wrote this!” she responded, which seemed to make a faint blush come to Scootaloo’s cheeks as she laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head with a hoof. “Oh, hehe, uh… Right.” The orange filly said, embarrassed. Clearing her throat once more, Sweetie belle started right back up again.

“Homegir- boy... Amigo... blah blah blah blah... Oh, yes, here! ...and fellow Cutie Mark Crusader! You are solemnly sworn in, here this day, in witness of your fellow sisters, friends, confidantes... bosom buddies... compadres…” Sweetie Belle read off, before being interrupted by Scootaloo once again.

“Congratulations!” She exclaimed, saving them all the trouble of having to sit and listen to Sweetie Belle read off the orange filly’s obviously flawed initiation rites. Scootaloo muttered under her breath soon thereafter, something about ‘revising that’. Lug was smiling that same goofy smile of his, his eyes alight with childlike joy.

“Wait! Ah got somethin’ for yew, Lug!” Applebloom said suddenly, standing up and rushing to one part of the clubhouse. She quickly came back with a big cylinder of red fabric, and let it roll out onto the clubhouse floor. It seemed to be a much bigger design of the cape all three fillies shared. “Ah figured Rarity wouldn’t mind makin’ yew a cape too, so… I went ahead an’ asked.”

Without waiting for a prompt, Sweetie Belle took the cape in her magic and tied the loose fabric around Lug’s neck in a neat bow. The cape hung down Lug’s shoulders and back perfectly, and the Ogryn let out a small gasp as he gave it an experimental touch. “A cape…!” he breathed reverently, his very own cape! Lug had always wanted a cape!

“Thank ye, lit’l friends! Thank ye so, so much!” The Ogryn said giddily, turning around on his standing stool and stepping down so he could try and get a better look at it. He struck various poses with the cape, trying to look like the Martyrs and Heroes of Imperium legend. 

Finally, he simply let his fists rest on his waist as he looked off into a horizon only he could see, the wind billowing dramatically through his cape as he stood there, as if some higher power decided to humor him at that moment. The three fillies giggled at the sight of the overexcited Ogryn from behind the rails of the outer clubhouse. 

At this moment, Lug felt special, and he made a silent vow to never take his cape off. He was going to dedicate himself to being the best Cutie Mark Crusader he could be.

And as his fellow crusaders gathered around him to throw up a cheer into the air, Lug was already looking forward to all the fun he was going to have.