//------------------------------//
// Chapter One: A Normal Day [Edits Made] 
// Story: Fractured Mind 
// by PoneStudios 
//------------------------------//

Twenty-two years later
Buttercup Rose woke up with a groan and a sigh, sitting up and rubbing her eyes with her forehooves. She looked at herself and sighed. Scarlet had clearly been out last night, as evidenced by the thorough washing she'd given their body.
Good morning, sleepyhead! Scarlet greeted from deep in her mind.
Good morning, Scarlet. Buttercup irritatedly replied. So, you were out last night.
Mm-hm. I took our body out for a spin at midnight, like usual. 
Buttercup shivered at that. What did you do this time, Scarlet?
Good question, darling. Now if only you could figure out the answer...
Ah. No questions, then? Buttercup felt the mental leash Scarlet had her on being tightened.
No, not this time, darling. You'll find out eventually, just like you always do. Buttercup felt Scarlet's presence fading, but the mental leash stayed tight around her neck.
Today's a strict day, Buttercup supposed to herself. Gee, thanks, Scarlet.
Scarlet gave no answer. Buttercup sighed and got out of bed. She went over to her vanity and brushed her mane and tail, put on and zipped up her favorite blackish-blue hoodie, made sure the sleeves covered all of her forelegs, then went into the bathroom and brushed her teeth. After that, she rubbed her hooves with the daily dose of hoof-protection powder[1] and went into the kitchen to get breakfast. Sunset was sitting at the table, eating a bowl of cereal and reading patient reports.
"Good morning, Buttercup! How'd you sleep?" Sunset smiled at her. Buttercup smiled back, internally sighing.
"I slept well, thanks for asking. How are you this morning?" Buttercup's tone was almost too joyful for comfort, but Sunset didn't notice.
"I'm good." Sunset smiled and looked at her patients' reports. "Quite a few of my patients are making progress. Is the hospital any better?"
"Meh, as good as can be with so many in with the Feather Flu."
"That's unfortunate. I hope they get better soon!" Sunset went back to eating her cereal and Buttercup looked in the fridge for something to eat.
She looked at Sunset and the fake smile she had on faded just a bit, her eyes dimming as she thought. Maybe… maybe I could tell her… maybe...
But when she went to do so, she felt the mental leash tightening, silencing her and forcing her mouth shut.
Ah, ah, darling, you don't want Sunset to get hurt, do you? Scarlet's voice sounded in her head and she shivered, mouth still being forced shut by the mental leash.
She really didn't. She really, really didn't want her sister to get hurt... seeing Sunset get hurt in horrific visions was bad enough, she didn't need to see it in real life. Scarlet, please don't hurt her, I wasn't going to tell her, I promise...
Then don't try to, darling. Or else, well... I'm quite sure you know by now what will happen.
Buttercup's mind went hazy for a moment, mind lighting up with flashes of the visions that Scarlet gave her. Images of death, and the sound of a familiar scream that made Buttercup shiver.
As fast as it had clouded her mind, the haze cleared, leaving her standing in front of the fridge with a hoof on her forehead and groaning, trying to forget what had just happened.
Sunset turned to her when she heard the groan, concerned. "Buttercup? Are you alright?" Buttercup pulled her hoof down from her forehead, still groaning just slightly as her mind recovered from the visions. She nodded, hoping the small action would be enough to satisfy Scarlet and stave off the tightening of the leash for the time being.
"Yeah, Sunset... I-I'm fine," She lied with another, softer groan.
Sunset raised an eyebrow, noticing the slight twitching of Buttercup's mouth as she lied. "You sure you're okay, hon?"
Buttercup nodded as she felt a tug on the leash. "Yeah, I'm fine, I just... I'm a little tired is all." She gave what she hoped was a convincing grin and shoved a few pieces of toast in her mouth.
Sunset raised an eyebrow even further but didn't comment. "...Alright. Just take it easy then, okay?"
Buttercup nodded. "Okay. See you after work, Sunset."
"See you after work, Buttercup!" Sunset smiled and left for work.
Buttercup looked at the door as it closed, frowning a little as the leash pulled her towards her saddlebags, a choking feeling filling her head in the process. She hacked a little on reflex, her tongue sticking out as she tried to distract herself from the lack of freedom.
She had to get to work. Redheart would be upset with her if she was late again.





Buttercup trotted down the street towards Ponyville General Hospital just a few minutes later, silently hoping that nopony would talk to her today and she wouldn't have to spare the effort to lie to them. She hated having to keep so many secrets and distance herself from everyone she loved and having to talk to others only reminded her of the horrible situation she was forced into.
Unfortunately, her hope was left unanswered, and she heard someone calling her name.
"Hey, Buttercup!" It was Lavender, her best friend since second grade. She grimaced and let out a quiet grunt that went unnoticed by Lavender, and then forced herself to smile and act like she was alright.
"Hey, Lavender. How are you?"
"Good, good. Yourself?"
"Yeah, sure. You know how it is."
"Mm-hmm. The usual then?"
"Yeah... Hey, how's your mom and dad doing?"
"Oh, they're fine. They are living it up in Sapphire Shoals."
“The retirement home?” Buttercup raised an eyebrow.
“No, they have their own place. It’s a nice little cottage on the edge of town, surrounded by a garden and apple trees. I go there, sometimes, to visit them for holidays and things.”
“Ah. Well, good for them.” Buttercup nodded, closing her eyes and shifting a little.
“Sure is, isn’t it?” Lavender gave a small laugh. "What about you? You don't seem like you."
"Oh, I'm fine. Just a little tired is all."
"I guess," Lavender seemed unconvinced. Then she seemed to remember something. "Oh! Last week you told me about a job offer in Manehatten. How's it going? Have you gotten an interview yet?"
Buttercup shook her head, shrugging. "Not yet, but hopefully soon. It's a really good opportunity."
"That's great! I'm sure you'll get it. You always do!"
Buttercup noticed a young filly sitting with an older mare, crying. "Hey, lavender?"
"Yeah?"
"Why's Daisy Petal crying?"
Lavender winced and Buttercup shivered, hoping it wasn't what she thought it was.
"You didn't hear?" Lavender asked.
Buttercup shook her head. “No. What happened?”
"Daisy's older sister went missing last night. She went to bed last night, and the next morning she was gone!" Lavender said worriedly.
"Oh... are they looking for her? Do they know if she's alright?" Buttercup asked.
"They've been searching since this morning, but haven't found anything yet. The guards say that if she's gone for more than two days, the chance of her surviving is slim to none."
"That's terrible! I hope she turns up alright..."
"I do too, Buttercup. Peony was going to come with us to the Summer Sun Celebration this year..."
They finished the rest of the walk to the hospital in silence and made their separate ways to the cafeteria. Buttercup went to the nurse's station to start her shift. She looked to the head nurse, Nurse Redheart, and held back a sigh. "Hello, Nurse Redheart!" She said cheerily.
"Good morning, Buttercup. I see you're here on time for once." Redheart replied in a semi-friendly tone. "I see you're not eating anything this morning."
"Yeah, I woke up early for once and had the time to get breakfast at home. Ha-heh..." She gave a nervous laugh and shoved the tight lump of dread in her throat down where it wouldn't affect how she acted.
Redheart, while now slightly suspicious of Buttercup's emotional state, ignored the fakeness of the grin. "I'm glad, Buttercup." Redheart turned to the clipboard, looking over various notes and forms with a pencil in her mouth to mark items.
"So, where am I needed today?" Buttercup asked.
"Maternity ward, they're down a nurse who got sick with the measles."
Buttercup nodded, going down a hallway towards the maternity ward.





Hours later, Buttercup walked out of the hospital, sighing. It had been a long day taking care of foals and their mothers. She was ready to go home, for multiple reasons. The first and smallest being that she was tired.
The second, though... she just didn't feel safe around foals. Even though the mental leash kept her under Scarlet's proverbial hoof, it didn't really tug hard on her... except in the maternity ward. In the maternity ward, she could feel it almost constantly, especially when she got close to one of them. It was always there when she was around foals. It was as if Scarlet was watching her, warning her of the danger of being around someone so young.
She breathed out, shaking her head. This feeling was nothing but paranoia.
But it isn't, is it?
Buttercup took in a breath. Her hoof went up to her neck, tugging as if the mental leash was physically there. She shivered and forced herself to ignore it, moving over to a tree to meet Lavender and walk home with her. Lavender was watching as she approached, a strange expression on her face.
"You okay, Buttercup? You seemed a little out of it for a second, there." Lavender asked her. Buttercup nodded, swallowing and forcing her hoof down from her neck.
"Yeah, I'm fine!" She grinned a little, walking with Lavender. "I just-- Tired, is all."
Lavender didn't seem entirely convinced, but thankfully, neither did anyone else.
"...Alright then. Want to go get something from Sugarcube Corner?" Lavender asked with a grin.
"Yeah, of course!" Buttercup said. Telling Lavender that she didn't want to would tip her off that something was wrong.
"Alright, come on!" The two walked down the street towards the bakery, Buttercup with a slight hesitation in her step. As they walked, Buttercup's thoughts kept drifting back to Daisy Petal's older sister and how she'd disappeared. She was gone. Just vanished in a puff of smoke, overnight. Something about that didn't seem right, that yesterday she'd be here and the next she was gone. Although-- she knew the most likely reason for that.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Lavender spoke. "Hey, you okay, Buttercup?"
Buttercup looked up at Lavender, startled. "Y-yes, I-- I just got lost in my thoughts." Lavender would get suspicious if she said the same thing too much.
Lavender patted her shoulder. "That's good! I'm glad you're not lost in your head like you used to be in high school."
Buttercup said nothing more, holding back a nervous gulp as she found herself staring at Lavender.
Staring, and wondering if Lavender knew.
"What did you want to talk about?" Lavender asked.
A thousand thoughts ran through Buttercup's head but she managed to collect herself and answer. "Nothing. What did you want to talk about?"
Lavender frowned, and her face seemed to darken. "Nothing. Let's talk about something else." Buttercup frowned, though she said nothing.
Silence is suspicious, darling~ Scarlet's voice came to the forefront of Buttercup's mind.
I know, I know, Scarlet, but I can't think of anything to say! Buttercup snappily replied.
She felt the leash tighten, and she held back a choking noise.
Don't talk back to me like that, darling. Remember, I can still make life miserable for you. Buttercup began seeing flashes of visions again, and she stopped, a hoof going up to her forehead and tiny whimpers of fear coming out of her mouth.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Scarlet, I didn't-- I just-- She was cut off.
Shh, dear, don't worry about it, just don't do it again. And think of something to say to Lavender to explain why you're shivering and mumbling to yourself while you're at it. With that, Scarlet left, and the flashes of visions stopped. Lavender had stopped walking when Buttercup had and was looking at her strangely.
"Buttercup, why did you stop? Are you alright?"
She shook her head to try and get herself back together, realizing she was very, very close to crying. She forced herself to stand up straight and smile at Lavender.
"I'm okay, Lavender. I just--" But no excuse came to mind. Buttercup went silent, shivering a little and looking away. "...Never mind. Come on, let's go."
"Are you sure you're alright?" Lavender asked again.
Buttercup nodded, giving her a smile. "Yeah, I'm good now." She held back the familiar shiver down her spine that signaled Scarlet's presence watching her from inside their mind.





When they got to the bakery, Buttercup stuck to Lavender, avoiding talking to any of the ponies in the building for fear of giving something away and making Scarlet upset with her.
They both went up to the counter and Buttercup stayed silent, watching as Pinkie came up to the counter and began speaking to Lavender. "Hey there! What can I get'cha?" Pinkie asked with a wave and a grin.
Lavender smiled back at Pinkie. "A toffee cake for me and... Buttercup, what do you want?"
Buttercup was lost in her thoughts once again. She was staring at Pinkie, smiling but with no happiness in her eyes. Pinkie shivered a little, waving a hoof in front of Buttercup.
"Buttercup? Buttercup? Rooosieee? Are you there?" Pinkie asked, confused.
Buttercup shook her head, blinking. She hadn't realized she'd been staring.
"W-wha? Oh, yeah… um, a cherry cupcake for me, please." Buttercup mumbled, eyes dropping to the floor as she blinked again and let out a groan that nopony could hear, save for Pinkie, who knew to ignore it.
"Sure thing!" Pinkie said, grinning and skipping away from the counter.
Buttercup looked up at Lavender with a sigh as the other mare began to speak.
"You've seemed really out of it today, Buttercup. Are you alright?" Lavender asked. A small, concerned frown was on her face. Buttercup looked at Lavender, unsure of what to say. She really couldn't let anyone know about Scarlet, no matter how much she wanted to. Even thinking about what Scarlet would do to her if she did made her shiver.
"I'm... I'm fine." Lavender didn't seem to buy it. Her forehead was creased and she looked worried about her friend.
"You sure? You're not acting like yourself."
"I'm fine, I'm fine, I promise, Lavender, I just..." Buttercup stopped, trying to shove the heat out of her tone. "I just need to go home and rest, that's all. Really, I'm okay."
"... Alright." Lavender seemed to buy it and didn't press further. Buttercup held in a sigh of relief. She and Lavender went to a table and sat down, waiting for their food to arrive.
As they waited, Lavender first took a look at some papers from work, then looked at Buttercup, noticing how oddly she was still behaving. Buttercup was keeping herself occupied with various medical reports from patients in the hospital.
She knew that normally, she would be talking with the other ponies around her, but today, she didn't want to risk it. Today, right after Scarlet had taken their body for a spin at midnight, she didn't want to risk Scarlet taking control again. Only several minutes later, after Pinkie had dropped off their desserts did she notice that Lavender was staring at her.
"Lavender, you're staring." Buttercup waved a hoof in front of Lavender.
"Yes, I know." Lavender kept staring.
"Okay... why are you staring?" Buttercup leaned in closer to Lavender.
"Because you're acting weird." Lavender just kept staring. Buttercup raised an eyebrow.
Then she sighed, and Lavender raised an eyebrow in turn.
"Okay, look, Lavender, I know I'm not acting like myself. I know I seem like I'm in trouble, but you have to believe me, I'm not. I just... Sometimes a mare just wants to relax is all."
"Really? You never keep to yourself like this, Buttercup. Not even when you're tired. In fact, socializing seems to rejuvenate you, even. You cannot just want to relax. You relaxing entails talking to ponies. I've been your best friend since second grade! I should know." Lavender's eyes narrowed and Buttercup shifted a little, uncomfortable.
"I'm sorry, Lavender. You are correct, I just... Right now, all I want to do is rest." She couldn’t resist rubbing her forehead with a hoof, thinking of all the possible ways this could go wrong and all the possible ways Scarlet could get back at her for being so obviously upset.
"Alright..." Lavender seemed to accept that answer but continued to study her. Buttercup looked away, trying not to fidget. She looked down at her dessert and picked at it for a moment, before looking up at the other mare again.
“Lavender, just--” Buttercup started, but stopped, knowing that saying that would tip Lavender off, and make Scarlet upset at her. She couldn't think of anything else to say, really. What Lavender wanted to know most was why she wasn't acting like herself, and that was something that just wasn't answerable.
Not unless she wanted to see Sunset... She shivered, resisting the urge to shake her head. She couldn't think about that, not right now. She looked at Lavender, shoving the thought to the back of her mind where wouldn't bother her until she was alone. Lavender, upon seeing Buttercup like this, seemed to understand.
"Alright, I won't pry. But just-- If you're in trouble or something, tell me, okay? I don't want you getting hurt." Buttercup nodded as a reply to that. Bit too late for that, Lav.
"Thank you, Lav. And I'm sorry for worrying you." Buttercup smiled, a genuine one this time, and took a bite of the cherry cupcake.
"You don't need to apologize for that. I'm always here for you." Lavender smiled back and then both of them went back to eating.
Pinkie watched Buttercup from the counter, her eyes darting between Buttercup's smile and the pastry she was working on. She hummed and her eyes narrowed, sensing that something about Buttercup wasn't right. She shrugged and decided to leave it alone. She knew, likely better than anypony else (Thanks to an… unfortunate outburst on Buttercup’s part), that Buttercup liked to be left alone.





When she got home an hour later, Buttercup couldn't help but feel relieved. She was home. She was safe. She was away from everypony else. She wasn't at risk of losing control to Scarlet anymore. She finally let out the sigh of relief from earlier, let her hunched-up shoulders relax, and her stiff legs all slump. She put her saddlebags on the rack next to the door and then went into the kitchen to get something to eat. Today had been a long day. She pulled a daisy sandwich out of the fridge that she'd made yesterday and took a bite out of it, sitting down at the kitchen table and slumping down onto it, her forelegs automatically going to cover her face.
She afforded herself the luxury of groaning since nopony was here as-of-yet. She didn't usually do it anywhere anyone could see her, but since she was at home alone, she figured she could. It felt so good to let out the built-up stress from the day. It felt good to let out any sort of emotion these days, in any way she could. But for the moment, since she felt nothing but exhaustion and emptiness, she didn't do anything but eat her sandwich and sit where she was, waiting for Sunset to come home for the night.
A few minutes later, when Sunset came home, Buttercup sat up and sighed. "Hey, Sunset."
"Hey, Buttercup. How was work?"
"It was good. Lavender and I went to Sugarcube Corner for a while afterward."
"Oh, did you? That sounds like fun."
Buttercup bit her lip nervously.
She nodded and yawned, standing up and finishing the daisy sandwich she'd gotten out. "I think I'm heading to bed now, Sunset."
"Okay, hon. I'll see you in the morning."
Buttercup yawned again and then left the kitchen, going to her room and closing the door.
As she lay on her bed, she couldn't help but wonder about Daisy Petal's sister and hope she got home alright. Or at least that she was alive, wherever she was. She wondered if she should've been feeling anticipatory guilt for what she knew was most likely to happen.
And then she wondered if Scarlet knew anything about this. She couldn't help but want to ask, even though she knew Scarlet most likely would not give her an answer. Still, it couldn't hurt, could it? Nothing would happen but Scarlet being slightly annoyed at Buttercup for trying to unravel her special surprise.
She closed her eyes and tried to sleep, but her mind wouldn't let her. She kept remembering each face she saw today.
Lavender, Daisy Petal, Nurse Redheart, Sunset, Pinkie Pie... And then her likeness in the mirror for Scarlet every time she deigned to tease her with a sneak peek of what came next. Her eyes opened wide and she shivered. She had to find out what was going on. She had to ask Scarlet. She-- if she didn't ask, she'd feel bad about not trying to help Daisy Petal. So she sighed and closed her eyes once more.
Hey, Scarlet?
Yes, darling?
What's-- What's going on with Daisy Petal's sister?
Why, I don't know, darling.
Because even if you did, you wouldn't tell me?
Correct. You certainly have a way of interfering in my little surprises for you, don't you, Buttercup?
So you won't tell me.
Well, I'm not exactly sure what you're getting at, darling.
You won't tell me what's going on with the sister of that filly, you know, the one that was kidnapped?
Oh, her. No, I won't tell you. It'd be far too much fun to let you guess what happened to her.
So you admit you did have something to do with her!
Mm, no, darling, although I can see why you'd think I did. I simply... suggested, and your mind came to its own conclusion. Buttercup growled at that.
Scarlet, just-- tell me what's going on! Buttercup felt the mental leash tightening at that, choking her.
Darling, you would do well not to talk to me with that tone. I, after all, am the master, and you are the puppet.
Scarlet--
Darling, if you wish to retain your sanity, you will stop asking. Remember what I can do to you if you disobey me again.
She was right, of course. Buttercup took a deep breath and tried to calm herself, but she needed to know.
"Fine, fine, I'll stop bothering you. Good night..."
Good night, darling. Oh, and-- Good luck tomorrow!
Buttercup was left even more confused than when she'd started asking, but didn't pry for more, because she knew Scarlet would make good on her threat. She had, many times before. She only closed her eyes and fell asleep, not dwelling on what Scarlet's last line had meant.





The next day, Buttercup saw a crowd of ponies. Confused as to why so many ponies would be here, and wondering if this had anything to do with Scarlet's odd warning from last night, the rose unicorn pushed through the crowd to see what was going on better.
What she saw sent chills through her. A royal guard was standing in the road, talking to the crowd in a shout so everypony could hear. 
"We have an announcement about Peony Stem as requested by her family."
That’s Daisy Petal's sister. What happened?
"She, unfortunately, has been found dead in the Everfree forest."