Mark of Eternity
by cherrypiex
//chapter2: Work
:: thirteen days ago
Reading was what Twilight did best, and reading was what she was doing now.
She had to find out everything about the spell. The snail shell necklace. Where it came from. Who came up with this horrid spell –– and whether he or she was still alive to this day. How to undo its effects.
Those words were burning at the back of her mind, a sentence that gripped her with conviction: "The spell can only be undone by the wielder's death." But Twilight was certain –– she was utterly and confidently convinced –– there was another way. Death was never a solution, was it?
Although Spike was her faithful assistant, he knew nothing about the spell. Twilight felt that the less ponies who knew, the less dangerous her knowledge of it would become. By letting somepony else into the game, the danger of this news reaching the Mayor's ears would just be snowballed.
Twice she had snuck into the Mayor's residence to find out more about the spell. Two days ago, the Mayor had been out for afternoon tea with her friend Rarity. She had gained access to the mansion by lying to the guards that she had wanted to search for a long overdue book in the Mayor's study. She had been appalled at the guards' naiveness. During that journey, she had found nothing, except a nameless list with random names of famous pop stars. Princess Celestia's name was glaringly present at the bottom of the list. She memorized all of the names, since the list seemed suspicious.
Only yesterday, when Twilight's curiosity peaked at an alarming level, she had snuck into the Mayor's mansion once more. She couldn't think of any plausible excuses for entering the Mayor's house yet again , so she put on her cloak of invisibility (it was basically a cloak shrouded by an invisibility spell) and charged into the house once the front door was open. This trip round, she found a guidebook to spells, which contained the guide the Mayor used for her spell of eternal youth. Being merely a presence neither seen nor heard in the Mayor's study allowed her to eavesdrop on the Mayor and her assistant. For the record, this was how their conversation went:
"I don't want to do this anymore," the unicorn, Cherry Twinkle, pleaded. Twilight noticed that she, too, had the snail shell.
"But you must," the Mayor replied. She's not only evil, she's forceful! Twilight screamed internally. "It benefits not only myself, but you too! We'll live forever. We'll look young and pretty forever."
"Yes, but taking the lives of innocent young mares with their whole lives laid out in front of them –– it's just too horrid for me to continue doing it." Cherry Twinkle glanced at the necklace. "I can't, Mayor."
"You've started, and you've got to end it," the Mayor retorted. "If you stop halfway, you'll die."
"I know, Mayor. But I'd rather die than have fifty other mares die in my place."
The Mayor pondered over Cherry's words for a while. Then, she relented. "Fine; I will ask for another gathering with Cream Puff and Polkadot and the rest and we'll make the decision then." Twilight recognized the two names from the list she had memorized. "By the way, you're lucky they hadn't held the inquest of Wind Chaser's death."
Cherry hung her head in shame. "I know."
"Hopefully Princess Celestia will go easier on you."
Twilight was stunned that they would speak of the spell in broad daylight, in voices so loud they could be overheard by any passersby. But the mansion was empty except for the Mayor's family in the lower stories, and guards patrolled the neighboring garden to prevent trespassers.
This was major information that she had just gained. These Cream Puff and Polkadot personalities were famous pop stars hailing from Canterlot. They were well-known for going under the knife countless times. Did this mean they were involved in the spell too? And her mentor, Princess Celestia? 'Go easier on you'?
...and the list. The list. Was it a list of names, of ponies involved in the spell too? Did they have some sort of committee governing the spell? Twilight bet it was. There were no other possible explanations, were there?
Twilight donned her detective's hat, returned home and studied her books.