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// 1. Prolouge 
// Story: Compendium 
// by LittleFaerieFire 
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When one looks back at a time when they should have surely perished, what do they recall? Do they recall the cacophonous tearing of metal? Do they remember the screams of those around them unable to do anything? Do they remember the striking realization that they were going to die? Or do they remember the one that saved them?

Even as Twilight once more played the thoughts of her near-death experience through her head once more she could feel the weight of time weighing on her memories. Humans were imperfect beings, after all, their minds and memories used shortcuts. When you remember something, you form connections between events, thoughts, and correlating ideas. Yet even knowing of this fact Twilight couldn’t help but dread the day she could no longer trust her own memories. Instead, being forced to only recall her savior through the countess notes and sketches she had prepared.

It is likely true that she would have some great many years before that becomes a problem that she would have to deal with, yet considering Twilight's current lack of progress it was a real concern. Three years Twilight had spent scouring various tomes of old that she had managed to get her hands on. Even then she had come no closer to once more seeing her savior. To thank her for saving her from certain death.

Once more, losing herself to those memories that Twilight holds most precious, she closes her eyes and finds herself back in her parent's old car. A light purple minivan that her parents had acquired after she had been born. It had faithfully served as the family's main form of transportation for nearly seven years. That, however, was going to quickly change.

“Twilight, are you sure you want to stay in the car?” Twilight’s mother Twilight Velvet asked her daughter who had still not pulled her nose out of the book she had been reading.

“I'm sure. I just got to the part in Starswirl the Bearded biography where-.” That was all Twilight got out before she faintly heard a clicking of the car door as it was pushed shut. Twilight shrugged as she saw her mother give her a parting wave. She could tell her about how Starswirl devised his various hypotheses later. Quickly losing herself to the retellings of one of the greatest philosophers and scientific minds of the world, she returned to the book that she had already read cover to cover three times over.

So lost in the memoirs of the past that she did not realize the sound of the present was warning her. The blaring of a horn went noticed yet never fully realized. After all, her mother had parked the car on the side of the road. Flipping to the next page Twilight did not see the imminent danger that she had unknowingly been caught within. For beyond the written realm of preserved history, she had been enthralled within. Reality proved to be uncaring for those that it would send to their unknowing demise.

The shrill scream of her name was what finally alerted Twilight to the fact that something was wrong. She glanced up from the book she had been invested in to see what was causing this disturbance. She could see her mother running towards her, oddly with fear in her eyes. Twilight couldn’t help but wonder if something had gone wrong with Shining Armor. After all that was the reason that the two of them were at Crystal Prep, but it was unlikely that her mother had already had enough -.

Those were the final thoughts that went through Twilight's head as there was a cacophonous scream of metal, a horrific crunching of bone, and an oddly soothing chorus of strings. Twilight was smart enough to piece together what had happened. The horn, her mother’s screams, the slight pain in her stomach. There was only one thing that didn't make sense to the young girl however, she couldn't place where the symphony of strings was coming from.

“My little Spark you must move.” A soothing voice called out from beyond the twisted realm of metal that Twilight had become entrapped within. Twilight looked towards where she believed the voice to be emanating from her vision so blurry with tears, she could find no one. “Little Spark you must move.” The warm voice repeated once more.

Twilight wasn’t sure where exactly the voice wanted her to move but all the same, she felt around for the seatbelt that she always wore, once she found it, she unbuckled it with a click. She gingerly touched her stomach and winced as she felt a slight stinging sensation. Twilight pulled back her hand oddly noting that it was wet. Her mother would likely complain that she spilled more juice on herself. She didn’t recall spilling any juice this morning, but it wouldn’t be the first time that such a thing had happened to her. “Little Spark you must continue, I have dulled the pain, yet it is up to you to reach safety. I can do only little more to help you.”

“Who are you?” Twilight questioned the voice that still hadn’t revealed itself to her. Upon hearing no response Twilight winced once more as the car door she put her hand against was hot. Her gaze twisted and she could see a tangled mess of metal and flames beyond the shattered glass.

“Not that way little Spark. Follow my voice and I guarantee that you shall survive.” The serene voice continued undaunted by the question that Twilight had asked. Twilight took one more look at the curling flames that seemed to be growing in strength.

“It sounds like your voice is coming from all around me!” Twilight couldn’t help but exclaim as she began to look for a way out of the wreck, she had found herself within. The young girl glanced around as she palmed the tears from her eyes, her glasses nowhere to be found. She looked down at the floor of her parent's car and saw them somehow perfectly preserved from the surrounding damage. She slowly moved towards them, slinking from the seat that she had been within and grabbing them. 

Slipping them on the blurry world was no longer as twisted as it was before yet still it was a mess of metal. She could, however, clearly see what appeared to be a small hole about two feet wide where the front passenger's side door had been.

“Yes, my little Spark that is the way.” The voice exclaimed in delight as the accompanying chorus of strings resounded. Twilight wasn’t sure if she should follow the advice of the strange voice but considering that she had just been in a car crash she could listen to the voice until she found her mother. Pushing herself over the median and into the remains of the front of the car. 

There Twilight ignored the growing heat that was slowly being suffused into the car as she continued to make her way over to the hole. It would be a tight squeeze but if she could get out it would be more than worthwhile. Perhaps had she begun her escape attempt earlier she would have made it, however before Twilight could attempt to squeeze through the opening once more a sheer tearing scream of metal resounded. The once potential avenue of escape was instead replaced by a new wall of metal.

Twilight was forcefully tossed back, brutally smashing her head into the console of her parent's car. The world was once more a sea of spinning blurs accented by the growing heat that began to permeate the air. Twilight could only curl up in a ball as the pain grew too much for her to bear. Tears filled her eyes as she awaited the end of her life. Hoping that she would be saved, that somehow the impossible would be performed, and that she would once more see her family.

The symphony of strings that had accompanied Twilight ever since the accident began was suddenly cut off. Leaving the small girl alone in an oppressive silence for what would be her final moments. A thickened black smog began to permeate the air surrounding the girl.

Twilight took a few shaky breaths as the acrid smog seeped into her lungs. Causing the young girl to choke on the foul vapors. The everpresent heat that had been born of the accident grew in strength almost as if it sensed its next victim. At that moment the seven year old Twilight Sparkle realized that she was going to die. That her final moments would be within a twisted realm of metal cut off from her family.

A bright flash of light permeated through Twilight’s eyelids that were attempting to shield the girl’s vision from the final sight. “I am sorry my little Spark, but you must continue on. You can’t perish here.” The voice solemnly states as the once-silenced chorus of strings reverberated through the air with a vengeance. No longer content to accept her demise, Twilight opened her eyes and even through the smog-filled air that had been choking her she could see an impossible sight.

A woman stood before her, her hair cascading down her back in an interchanging flow of rainbows. A form-fitting white gown billowed out from the woman, with accompanying white laces that connected the portions of the fine dress. Two large pearlescent feather white wings stood firm against the woman's back as they softly caressed Twilight’s face.

Twilight would have thought that the wings would have caught her attention, but no, impossible as they were instead, she was focused upon the woman's face. The gentle yet comforting smile somehow allowed her to forget the recent tragedy. The way that her eyes were portals to a near indescribable light pierced the growing darkness at the edge of the girl's vision. The way that when the woman spoke her voice was the same as the voice that previously spoke out to help Twilight. “My little Spark.” Was all she said and yet as she took Twilight’s hand in her own Twilight somehow knew deep in her very soul that everything was going to be alright.

“Who are you?” Twilight questioned the woman which could only be quantified as impossible. Her eyes were wide as she gazed upwards at the woman who smiled in response to her question filled with only the wonders a child still had.

“My little Spark you can think of me as your Guardian Angel.” The woman spoke out slowly as if she didn't claim to be a being that didn't exist. The wings aside, Twilight knew that most of what had already happened could be explained away using scientific principles and methods. Yet Twilight, even as young as she was, entrenched in the studies of sciences and seeking to understand the natural world, believed that this woman was indeed an Angel. “Now then little Spark we must get you to safety.” 

“My name is Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight hesitantly corrected the Angel that paused before letting out a tinkling laughter.

“That is your name indeed my little Spark.” The Angel agreed as she pulled Twilight up from her position on the floor. “Now then I need you to promise me one thing, can you do that?” The Angel asked Twilight who immediately nodded. Twilight would have happily promised the Angel anything that she wanted in exchange for being able to see her family one more time. The smile the Angel wore faltered momentarily yet the Angel continued on, nevertheless. 

“Anything Ms. Angel,” Twilight promised the angelic being before her. The Angel’s fracturing smile was restored to its previous splendorous form as her wings wrapped around Twilight’s small body. Forming a protective cocoon around the seven-year-old girl. A light that rivaled the Sun itself as it began to envelope both the Angel and Twilight.

“Please forget about me.” The Angel whispered as both the light and the Angel faded. Leaving Twilight alone a few feet from the crash site that should have claimed her life.

Not even a second later Velvet Sparkle, Twilight Sparkle's mother, nearly smothered Twilight to death as she embraced her daughter. Before she proceeded to ensure that she received the best medical attention that she could get. However, when the EMTs arrived they reported that almost miraculously that other than a faint scar on her stomach Twilight was in perfect health. That she walked away from the crash no worse for wear.

Even when she had been brought to the hospital for a more in-depth medical checkup none of the doctors could find anything wrong with her other than the scar that Velvet Sparkle swore her daughter did not have this morning. A medical mystery that was attributed to dumb luck, even when asked how she had gotten out of the wreck unscathed. None of the adults not even her mother believed Twilight when she informed them that an angel had saved her.

Pulling herself back to reality as Twilight pulled her shirt up and looked over the only reminder that she had of that incident. While six people perished in that horrific event that altered the course of countless lives. Twilight could not stop remembering her angelic savior. How she had saved Twilight’s life from certain demise and ferried her away to the safety of her mother’s awaiting arms.

Twilight had done her best to forget about her savior. Yet like all children when they discover something that existed beyond the veils of reality they once knew, it becomes a fascination. One that for Twilight Sparkle was all but impossible to forget. She after all had been saved by a mythical being. One that science could not explain.

 Had the rules of logic and science only ordained the direction of her fate that day there would have been a seventh that perished alongside the six. Twilight in the years that had passed had read up on that incident that had nearly so swiftly severed her mortal coil. It was claimed that she had experienced a miracle of luck. No. She had an Angel guarding her.

One that she had not seen since. One that she had yet to thank. One that she had failed to contact.

Humanity had a varied and strange history regarding the contact between mythical and exoteric beings. From binding spirits to guard places, calling upon the pearls of wisdom of the gods, and even summoning those called demons to bargain with. Yet throughout Twilight delving into the mystic arts, a study that had both confused and frightened her family, she had found little based on the summoning of Angels. Twilight had exhausted every single library within Canterlot City, well the ones that she had managed to gain entry to in her youthful age.

She had then turned her search to the various interlocking webs of the internet, scouring site after site for any potential way to summon an angelic being to pass on her thanks to her savior. Yet once more there was nothing for her to find. It was at the age of 10 years five months and 22 days that she decided to get her thanks to her savior in a less direct way.

Turning back to the acquired knowledge that she had initially deemed irrelevant. After all, when one was seeking to contact one of the so-called heavenly hosts, one did not need to memorize the incantation to summon the spirits of the recently departed. Turning ever deeper into the field of magical mysticisms that she had been sifting through. Seeking to find a messenger for her gratitude.

Twilight had not forgotten the scientific principles she had initially devoted her life to when deciding who or what would carry her message. For the weeks before she made her first attempt nearly 20 spiral-bound notebooks had been filled with reasons for and against each of the entities that she could rely upon to complete her goal. At the very top of the list was basic human necromancy, at the bottom even below attempting to contact a god to act as a messenger, was summoning a demon.

After all, demons were often considered the antithesis of Angels. If at the end of her list, one that was rather long, she would at worst turn to summoning a demon. That said, however, Twilight had a much more pressing issue on her hands. She had to become a necromancer. That meant that she had to summon the recently departed. Twilight had no other way to think of it, but she needed a human corpse.

Perhaps she could work her way up, Twilight morosely thought as she put the shovel down. Sighing in the cold night that she had long since been out in. Contemplating if she was willing to dig up this grave, which had its tombstone long since destroyed. It had been chosen as it was at the farthest reaches of the graveyard and there had not been any visitors to this grave in the two weeks that Twilight had been checking it.

A bright light pierced the place of final rest. Twilight winced as she threw herself to the ground next to the shovel that she had earlier placed. Holding her breath Twilight hoped that whoever was looking through the graveyard was not seeking her. Twilight’s hopes were quickly dashed by the familiar voice that pierced the silence she had been lost in.

“TWILIGHT?” Her brother shouted, causing Twilight to grimace. None of her family was supposed to be aware that she was still awake, much less had whisked herself out of the house and towards the cemetery. “TWILIGHT, I KNOW YOU’RE OUT HERE.” Shining Armor continued to shout to the graveyard as he swung his flashlight around in an attempt to catch Twilight.

 Twilight, however, did not answer her brother. There was no way that he actually knew that she was out here. She had performed the perfect escape from the house, she had even constructed a decoy Twilight to rest underneath her bed covers and give an appearance that she was still soundly asleep.

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief as the light from her brother's flashlight dissipated in the other direction. Perhaps she should start on something smaller than a human and work her way up. Scientists have been using rats and mice before they began to experiment on human subjects, she would do the same. Mind made up her next steps, she grasped the shovel that was next to her before a piercing beep filled the air.

Twilight immediately realized the culprit, it was her phone! She had kept it on her in the case of an emergency and now it was the device that was going to lead to her downfall. Hastily pulling it out and silencing it, but the damage had been done. She was caught in the center of the spotlight. Twilight couldn’t see the expression that was on her brother's face but judging from the speed that he was dashing through the rows of graves to get to her, he wasn’t exactly pleased.

This was a situation that required another miracle Twilight mentally commented as she glanced around for her guardian Angel. It was worth a try. After Twilight’s first plan failed, she moved to the next one, magic. Pulling out a charm that was meant to allow her to pull magic from the very air itself as she softly began to chant.

“Memories vanish, a clean slate found. Spell of forgetting, no trace around. Gone in whispers, lost without a sound.” Twilight intoned hoping that the old ratty tome of magic wouldn’t steer her wrong. She would have preferred having been able to test out this spell or any sort of magic before being forced to rely on it. Twilight was expecting something when she finished the spell, perhaps a flash of blinding light, maybe even some sort of warmth crawling down her skin. Instead, nothing seemed to happen.

Twilight thought for a singular moment that her spell worked as Shining Armor came to a harsh stop before her. 

“Twilight…. Why do you have the missing remote?” Shining cut himself off from the very obvious rant he was about to go on and instead focused on the mystic charm she had fashioned out of what was once the TV remote.

“Yes, it worked!” Twilight couldn’t help but exclaim in pure elation. She had performed her first feat of magic. It had been on her brother, which was unfortunate, but this meant that she could with enough work summon a messenger to pass on her thanks to her savior.

“Twilight, what worked?” Shining asked as he was even more confused than he had initially been. He had initially been attempting to sneak out of the house himself to visit his not-yet girlfriend Cadance when he had spotted his younger sister dashing down the street holding a shovel. Thoughts of Cadance, while still ever-present in his mind, were put behind the concern for his sister.

He trailed after her to ensure that she wasn’t about to do anything dangerous, and to potentially bail her out of whatever situation she had gotten herself into. He had however been expecting his sister to go out and perhaps dig a hole in a neighbor’s yard, not travel halfway across the city to the cemetery and then head inside. That had certainly given Shining Armor a pause.

Now he had never been as deeply invested in the scientific method as his younger sister, but he had learned to trust his gut. So, when his gut began to scream out that he should not enter the graveyard after his sister he paused, allowing the fear to rule for that moment. After all, perhaps it wasn’t his sister. Perhaps he was just sleep deprived and hallucinating again. It wouldn't be the first time it had happened. However, usually, he had seen hallucinations of Cadance, not his sister.

That moment where fear held dominion over Shining Armor was enough for him to lose track of his little sister. He was forced to search for her throughout the graveyard and when he couldn't find her after nearly 10 minutes of frantic searching, he had doomed himself, in an effort to protect his sister. He had called his parents and asked them to check and see if Twilight was in her bed.

What had initially started as a relatively annoyed conversation became frantic as neither of his parents could find Twilight in the house. Shining Armor had however informed them both that he was in pursuit but they could perhaps use their parental controls to set off an alert on Twilight's phone as she wasn't answering any of his calls. Thankfully that plan had worked as he was now standing before his sister who seemed oddly triumphant about being caught sneaking out.

“The spell! You now won’t remember anything that I tell you to forget.” Twilight explained to her brother that she was about to erase every single moment of this event. Shining Armor really was the best big brother she could ever have. He proved that magic existed and that she could use it. Her big brother seemed to agree as he hugged her.

“Twilight. I hope your spell works as I already told our parents about your little escape.” Shining Armor explained as his arms tightened around Twilight. Twilight stiffened at his words, she now not only had to erase some of her brother’s memories but also her parents. Even if she was a natural savant at magic, she still shouldn’t be casting spells she hadn’t perfected on her family.

“Forget everything regarding me tonight!” Twilight demanded after she gulped down the fear that threatened to paralyze her. After a few seconds of silence still encapsulated in her brother's arms Twilight spoke up once more. “Did it work?” She questioned.

“Twilight, I love you to death but if it had worked it would have been pointless for you to ask me, as I would have forgotten.” Shining Armor said with a sigh. Twilight frowned as she knew that she had performed the spell perfectly. She had her charm, and she had correctly recited the words. Why did the spell not work? Perhaps she would have pondered further on the failure of her first spell, but Shining Armor once more spoke up. “Shame that it didn’t work. Would have saved us both from getting in a whole boatload of trouble.” He said almost resigned to the fate that was quickly approaching the pair of siblings.

Shining Armor of course was thinking about how his time with Cadance would no doubt be reduced if not gone entirely. He knew that she would understand, she loved Twilight just as much as he did, if not more. “Why were you even at the graveyard with a shovel? Don’t tell me you were going to dig up a corpse?” he asked with a grim chuckle. Yet Twilight didn’t answer the question and Shining Armor could feel her stiffen within his arms.

 Pausing to ensure that she wasn’t going to answer he continued. “Twilight please tell me you weren’t about to dig up a corpse.” He demanded in horror and sheer confusion that colored his tone.

“Is this one of the scenarios where I am supposed to lie?” Twilight asked as she ran through her mind for any other of the various spells she had read about. Perhaps a spell that would allow her to time travel? No, she had no idea where any ley lines were, Twilight also didn’t think that her brother would appreciate slicing open her hand for the spell.

“Twilight the time for lying has come and gone. Now it is time to answer questions. One of which in particular is why ARE YOU ATTEMPTING TO GO GRAVE ROBBING?” Shining Armor was cursing himself, wondering how this had happened. He was supposed to be Twilight's role model. The one that she looked up to and followed after. He wasn't perfect. He was willing to admit that, but he liked to think he put forth his best foot when his sister was around.

He certainly had done his fair share of stupid things but this… This was far beyond anything that he had done. Thankfully Twilight seemed to understand the gravity of the situation.

“I needed to practice necromancy. I was hoping that it would be easy to master after all everyone says that it is one of the easiest schools of magic.” Twilight answered her older brother's question and was utterly confused as to why he buried his mouth into her head and groaned. Did her spell break her brother?