The Secret Recordings Of The Free Crusaders

by Good Fedora Pony

Rating: teen
Tags: Slice of Life, Crossover, Death, Apple Bloom, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Alternate Universe, Dinky Hooves, Original Character, Twist, Tragedy
Length: 4019

Apple Bloom decides to make an audio diary to heal her heart. And she's not the only one.

Apple Bloom needs to talk... But she can't talk to anyone she knows because of tragedy, suffering, and secrets that only makes things more complicated.

So what do you do when you can't speak what's on your mind to anyone.

She found the answer to be simple. Make a recorded diary. And she's not the only one who needs to liberate their hearts and minds.

in a world of tragedy and shadows of the past, this was like a beacon in the dark.

what will you learn, I wonder...

Published 2019-11-02 15:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2020-07-24 08:05:03 UTC

Apple Bloom take1

Um... Howdy future me. This is Apple Bloom, and this here is my very first audio-recorded diary. Like ever.

AJ probably won't approve of it, but I figured it was a good exercise anyway for my sanity. I never thought my sanity would be in question until I realize I've been talking to myself more than ever nowadays.
Easy to do, I guess when you're by yourself...

Well, technically, I'm not by myself. But......... I do miss Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, something fierce.

Anyways, I notice that twilight was using these things all the time. She said it was good to have when you need to do research because if you forget certain details, you can listen to the recording of yourself and get a refresher.

It made sense to me, but I use it for more personal reasons... Mostly for loneliness.

Sure, Dawn, Dinky, and Twist are great company, but Celestia damn it... I miss my friends too much...

Of course, it's not right for me to be selfish about this, because I'm not the only one who misses them something terrible.

Ever since Rarity got ran out of town, things have been getting difficult here.

It used to be her boutique that Dawn and I found comfort in, mostly for good memories.

I still don't know why twilight did what she did to Rarity and my big sister, but I can't get angry at her either.

Twilight doesn't seem like she's terrible, but what she did to big sis was horrible.
I can understand twilight feeling grief, I often felt like striking at anyone close to me for no real good reason, but I never do.

Twilight just made a mistake...

Anyways let's change things back to what we started. The reason for this recording!

I figured it was a good idea to record a secret diary. Not just for me but for all my fellow crusaders ( or at least the ones that are still around anyways )

I figured it would help us all cope with all the stress and worries in our day to day lives.

twilight even gave me some recording crystals to start with!
(she apparently had no use for them these days... )

I think Dawn especially needs this since it wasn't just Scootaloo he lost.
I'm more than positive that if it weren't for the eternal darkness, he would have just run for the ever-free-forest where he came from. He usually only stays at Fluttershy's place outside of town, but recently he's been coming into town more lately. (Under disguise mind you)

He says he could feel something near the woods, something powerful, something... Evil, lurking out there and only drawing closer to him while he stayed at the house .

I knew he was kinda paranoid for a while now, but he wouldn't abandon his home for no good reason, and he wasn't helpless either.

It's scary to think about, but thankfully it only stays in the forest as far as Dawn can tell, but still. I know Rarities out there somewhere... I hope she's all right.

It doesn't seem natural to let a pony sleep in a cave, even one built for comfort.
Sure we've all been in the dark for years now, but it's not quite the same as a cave.

I've had arguments with Dinky about where he should live until the evil leaves, but in the end, Dawn chose to stay here instead of either of our homes.

Dinky was awfully insistent on him coming along to her house. I already know that she has a thing for Dawn, so it didn't surprise me. What did surprise me is how long she kept at it.

Days it went on, but Dawn wouldn't budge one bit.

Dawn was usually snappy these days when someone tried doing something like what Dinky was. But for some reason, he let her get away with it.

Maybe it's because he respects her mom too much to try.

either way, he chose to stay here underground.

Maybe twilight is right... Maybe Dawn has become a wild pony again...and he is just to desperate to leave.

Well, I gotta go now. Applejack will not be happy if I'm late again. She would be even angrier if she found out about this place. ( or the fact that I built this place by myself)

But I am going to get Dinky to try and get Dawn in here before I go.

Maybe she can convince him to try.

It's worth a shot anyway.

Well, ummm.....goodbye then!

Dawn Lightwing take1

(Okay, now, it's recording! Here you go, it's all yours!)

......

(...You just need to speak into this right here, and it will do the rest.)

...I think I grasp the concept but thank you for clarifying.

(You're welcome!)

......Dinky?

(Yes?)

This is supposed to be a private journal, right?

(Yeah!)

...There's a lack of privacy at this current moment if you haven't noticed...

(...Oh! Right, sorry! I need to go home anyway. Let me know how it goes, okay?)

Sure.

(Great! I'll see you tomorrow, goodbye!

............[sigh]...I can't believe I'm doing this...

I'm sorry, but I'm not much for elaborative conversations when it comes to inanimate objects...(no insult intended.)

......

I...Feel, uneasy lately.

Ever since Mom... Ever since Mom...... Ever since the "absence" of Miss Fluttershy... Things have been difficult.

I knew how to care for her animals while she was away.
But after a while, they were reluctant to stay there.

Even Angel Bunny has abandoned the premises, but not without reluctance.

At first, I didn't understand why they would rather stay with applejack in her orchards then here in the home of the caretaker who made things far more tailor-made for them... But then I started sensing it.

The animals were uneasy, scared of something that they could not foresee. I assumed it was instinct, and perhaps it still was. A primal urged to evacuate because of lack of security.

I am not a coward, nor am I a helpless infant in the eyes of predators far more massive than I. But from the moment I sensed it, I have been perpetually terrified.

I don't know how the animals sensed it before I did. Perhaps I have grown a little dull in detecting these things, but something this climactic could not have been easily ignored from a mile away.

The realistic and more terrifying possibility is that whatever is out there deliberately hid itself from me,
and has only revealed itself to intimidate me.

It worked, and whatever it is that was stalking me, knew it had.

It is nothing like I have ever felt in my entire life. It was not only cold and callous to the touch, but it was also vast and dense. Like water, lots and lots of water just washing over me.

A cold, empty, vast abyss of mysterious but malicious intent towards my life.

I create tornadoes with ease, but this... Thing, whatever it is, could overwhelm me just by its presence alone.

I did not dare to face it.

I've sensed evil, and I've confronted it.
But this... I couldn't face this.

I feel ashamed, but I don't regret my decision to leave my home and hide underground. I only wish I did it sooner...

It is not some wild animal hungry for my body like any other typical animal in the ever-free; this was different. It's intelligent, it's patient, and it's far more ancient then any average pony I've met. Or any creature for that matter... Unless you count the royal princesses.

I know it's not a pony, even when I saw it that one time... It may look like us, but I knew it was something with enough hunting experience to rival any hunter in any field.

It could have gotten me... But it didn't.
It flaunted its power to me on purpose!
It knew I would run, it knew I'd be afraid, and knew that I would abandon my home... Only now did I realize how exposed I was.

Yes... I now know what it was doing. It had me dead to rights, but it didn't take me.
And I know exactly why.

It was teasing me.

It didn't care about catching me any more than a Cat cared about whether or not he would eat a mouse before playing around with it.

It amused itself by terrifying me!

Some could easily assume that it was a mistake to let me go considering what kind of damage I could inflict on it... But... I would instead consider myself lucky that all it wanted to do was intimidate me, because if it were to come to a fight...I don't think the odds would be in my favor...

...

At least not yet anyway.

I still have growing to do, and if I keep up my repetitions and training, I could possibly face it again.
But for now, I'll stay here in Apple Bloom's...Underground clubhouse.

At the very least I think it won't come into town to look for me.

It seems to prefer seclusion over the spotlight. Suits me just fine so long as it doesn't come looking for me or any of my friends.

...

You know... This has been reasonably productive.
Dinky was right... This is a helpful exercise to practice.

Hm... I would never have guessed it.

Author's Note

The character in this chapter does not belong to me!

this wonderful character is from the "Savage Skies series" written by moguera

the first of these stories is
Foal of the Forest

I have sent a message regarding permission to use his material.

however, he hasn't been here since August 25th.

I expect that he will come back one day, but for now, I just hope I do his work justice.

every single one of his stores is finished, so go enjoy them!

Thanks for your time and patience with me!:moustache:

Apple Bloom take 2

Well, my plans for being a professional gambler may have just died in a gruesome way today.

Dinky had just done what I assumed was impossible and got Dawn to make a diary here...yesterday!

She said that she told him that it would help improve his "Auditory perception."

What the hey that means is beyond me. But Dawn seems to like it, so now here we are.

I can't say for sure that it will do what Dinky is saying it will. But I'm sure that it will help him unwind a bit.

He's been so nervous since Fluttershy disappeared...

Oh, that reminds me, Grannies walking again!

I can't tell you how happy I am to see her hobbling into the kitchen again.
That cold was getting to her bad. And medicine ain't cheap these days if it came at all.

Me and AJ are doing everything we can to keep Granny from getting sick again. Thankfully Granny is on board with it. She never liked the idea of being stuck in bed, so she doesn't want to go back anytime soon.

Me and AJ have a plan to use some of the zap apples to trade for some medicine for emergency reasons. AJ ain't too hopeful about it, and I can understand why.

The zap apples ain't like they used to be thanks there being no sunlight and being cold all the time.
Their less than half of what they used to be in size, and they're almost always kind of wrinkly and squishy, but more than edible, and it produces five times as fast as it would have during the good old days.

I guess even these trees can't tell the season any more than we can. Or maybe the orchards are looking after us since all the other apple trees haven't been growing anything.

It's about the only thing keeping us from either starving or losing our home to the tax ponies.

The income I get from Pinkie pie helps a lot... But it's hard to get it by AJ without her being suspicious.

......

Okay, I know I should be feeling a tad mighty safe talking about this as it's supposed to be hard to snoop through each other's journals without a key phrase or something...I just don't feel right about saying anything else.

I'm sure that's why Dawn was hesitating before.

But is it worth doing these if we can't trust them?

You know just to be on the safe side I'm not going to talk about Pinkie pie... For now, anyway.

...... She has a lot to lose if word gets out about...

I need to talk to twilight about this... I do need to return some books and then borrow another one anyhow.

I need a manual on animals and how to care for them.
Specifically about swans now.

Ever since Fluttershy disappeared, her animals have been hanging around the farm, including her annoying rabbit.

AJ's been asking around too. Hopefully, we will know what to do with the flock, or better yet, Fluttershy will hopefully be back by then... More for Dawn's sake than ours...

I think that's all I have to say for today...besides, Dawn should be finished with his routine by now anyway.

Author's Note

This chapter and all the others are going thru some modifications.

Suggestions are welcomed!

Dinky Hooves take1

Hello! my name is Dinky, Dinky Hooves, to be exact!

This is my first time doing an audio recording.
Well least in and underground base anyways. (hehe) anyways when I heard Apple Bloom had done this Crystal bass amplifier, I just had to try it out!
I am not the slightest bit disappointed to learn that twilight sparkle has indeed given Apple Bloom a perfect model with absolutely no flaws that I have yet to see!

Now I have done recordings before but nothing like this!

Usually, I'm using old tapes and stuff for my research, but this is so much better!
For starters, the crystals themselves each contain enough space in memory to dwarf what is in my house right now!

I mean, we're talking like five boxes half my size!

Not only that, but the device itself has a large blue crystal display that allows us to access specific parts of each crystal!

I cannot tell you how many hours this alone will save me in my aid for research!

Since Apple Bloom said we can do anything we wanted with these crystals, I had decided to speak out my theories!

We got the perfect one to talk about right now!

(Oh, this is so exciting!!!)

Alright, my theory is on Nightmare Moon herself!

When Nightmare Moon rose to power again about two years ago, everyone had assumed to know what happened.

A majority of the population assumes that Luna had turned into Nightmare Moon, while others believe that my dear friend Nix was the one that turned evil again.

Both are not unfounded as it was discovered that Luna had been hiding secrets that involve monsters years after her release! If you're willing to keep secrets from your big sister even after you went through 1000 years of punishment, then chances are very likely to weigh in favor of the theory.

Nix, who was staying with the princesses at the time when it all happened, was not seen after the event took place. Everyone had suspicions that she would turn dark when we least expected it. It's easy to assume that she never changed her ways and all and that all this time, she had been merely waiting for the right opportunity to take the throne...

Both of these theories, however, I would rather discard...

Reason number one.

Nix may have made mistakes, but I can assure you that after being around her long enough in the library, you'd see how wrong everyone is about her plotting to overthrow equestrian.

Oh yes, everyone would have to assume that a pony who reads a story like, (blossoms and photosynthesis, how it's all connected) should most certainly be on the top of the suspect list!

She doesn't like sleeping alone, she can't bring herself to step on a caravan of ants, and she never does anything without asking for permission. That's not dictator material, that element of kindness material if you ask me!

I also know that she has separation anxiety when it comes to Twilight Sparkle.
There were only a couple of times that she was okay with leaving her caretaker side.

School, sugar cube corner, and the library when twilight has to leave for errands.
Sure, you'd see her at Sweet Apple Acres and Carousel Boutique, but not very often and most certainly never alone!

The only reason she was left in Canterlot in the first place was to discuss a peace treaty with a warning Griffin clan that was threatening to spill out into our land!

Reason number two.

While I don't know Luna as well as I know Nix, I do know that her history speaks for itself.
The only reason she kept secrets was so that she could try and fix them herself.
Enough articles and interviews can tell you everything you need to know about her.

I remember every year she would visit us at least once before or during Nightmare Night to scare us and to play!

I even got hang out with her for a full 2 minutes and 32 seconds!
Even though it was because my mom accidentally knocked over the punch bowl on top of her...

Considering that she wasn't angry or bitter about it, I would say that Luna losing herself to anger was not a very viable case for me.

Reason number three.

This was the most important reason by far as Luna and Nix shared one thing in common the everyone else had overlooked it seemed, and that was...

...Nightmare Moon's hair...

I know it sounds ridiculous out loud, but listen. Luna's hair was a dark hue of blue, and when her hair wasn't all magical looking, it was a bright shade blue.

I only know this because there were a couple old photos I found from the Canterlot times newspaper, an old shop. While the paper itself was black and white, the description in words told me enough about her hair color when she was reformed.

(Having a royal sister union was really a big thing back then, so naturally, someone had to get a picture somehow!)

Nix, while her hair was a lot like Luna's when it was all magical in color and movement, it was not the same when it was normal.

Nix's hair was purple, which definitely set them apart by hue contrast.

Now here's the kicker...Nightmare Moon's mane...Is lavender...

Neither Luna or Nix share the same color as the malicious dictator!

Now one could point out that while next is mane is purple, it could theoretically be possible that this time around, she decided to keep it. But I disagree as I seriously doubt that the princesses have the ability a change their hair color hue. Anyone as old as Celesta and Luna would've tried to die it at some point or another, just for a change in look.

But when has anyone recorded a time when either of the princesses decides to change their style... Never.

It's a flimsy defense, I admit, but enough for me to not take it seriously.

No, I know that Nightmare Moon is someone completely different. I just don't know how it happened.

Maybe some other occult decided to make a replica like they did with Nix.
I have a hard time imagining how they managed to get another piece from nightmare Moon's armor to do it. Last I heard all the pieces were destroyed already. But anything's possible if you're desperate enough...

And more importantly, where is Luna and Nix now.

My mom's aware of my theory and fully supports it. She did mention that the first thing Nix would do would be to go to the most familiar place to her. Which would indicate that she would come here to Ponyville.

I disagree. Even if she did want to come here, the barrier was on the town's border.

All sides have an enchantment that notifies anyone working for Nightmare Moon whether or not a pony or monster had just passed it.

No one comes here without being noticed, and no one leaves without being seen either.

I like thinking that she is out there still. Looking for a way to go home.

But it's hard to believe that someone practically my age would be trying that for two years.

But I still like to think it's the case...

Oh shoot, I'm going to be late for dinner!

Well, that's all I have to offer right now, but maybe I'll think of something new on the subject when I get back!

But first, I need to convince Dawn to start his...Hm. How am I going to do that?

...

I think I might have an idea!

Twist take1

Ummmm...Hi.
My names Twist, and...
...
...
I can't do this!

(click...click...click,click,click,click)

WHY WON'T YOU TURN OFF!!!

(clickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclickclick)

HOW DO YOU WORK THIS THI___!!!!

Author's Note

she is shy. give her time.:twistnerd:

Night watch report-1

Night watch report—agent Twilight Sparkle, reporting from Ponyville.

I am recording this message right now for both convenience and expediency.
I do not know when or where I will send this message from when I do, but the placement time will be easy to deduce based on my report.

It seems the occultist that filly-napped me have apparently succeeded... Sort of.

You see, I was going back to the ever-free forest to see if I can find some way to track the occultist.

I used the rare books that Celestia loaned me as an excuse to investigate.
I prioritized the books first (for obvious reasons) and executed my investigation as an afterthought.

Foolish of me to do without a weapon, but it worked out.

Anyways what I discovered after retrieving my books was a young filly, young enough to look the age of the Cutie-mark Crusaders, and yet she has no memory past the few hours she was in the Everfree forest and till now.

The part of this report that would disturb you the most here is the fact that the filly in question has a distinct look resembling... Nightmare Moon.

I have kept my cool and determine the situation to be......confusing.

It was evident that the filly was created by the spell cast just the day before, but her behavior is unusual considering the circumstances.

I need more time to question her; however, at the same time, I know she could be playing me for a fool.

Disguise was a trait Nightmare Moon had shown before, but still...

If the worst should happen, you will have received this stone in the absence of my presence for a 5-mile radius. Either by physically being removed from the area or my pulse is no longer beating...

The subject in question shows no visible sign of hostility or ill intent, but I like being on the safe side. I'm currently in my lab recording this, and I have a sound altering dome around me. She will not be able to access these recordings unless the previous requirements are met. In which case the crystals will have already teleported to your location... Now that I think about it, that's probably going to be inconvenient for you... But at least it will still guarantee that you hear these far sooner rather than later.

I opted for audio as it was the most convenient to send compared to the letter as my little...Guest is currently in my room sleeping soundly...with my last remaining ribbons of teleporting underneath the mattress.

Hopefully, I will have this delivered to you unless circumstances change.

... Oh boy, this is going to be a long night.

End of the report.

Author's Note

Twilights' past revealed.