//------------------------------//
// Chapter Four: A Parasite 
// Story: Voices In My Head (Cupcakes Closure) 
// by Perry Pinkie Potter 
//------------------------------//

"Actually, yes." Mrs. Cake replied. "One night she said she would be staying up late in the basement, but then said she was tired and would go to bed in her own room. It was like she was fighting with herself…" She trailed off.

This concerned me. And worse off was that the two had more to tell me. Everything from Mr. Cake asking if Pinkie wanted to see a movie with him that night, to Mrs. Cake simply asking how her day went. Pinkie Pie arguing with her own mind, though the Cakes said the persona she gave the voice was 'Pinkamena'. This sounded like what had happened to Cloudy Wish, and her 'voice' Sea Star. I couldn't save my friend, but maybe I could still save Pinkie.

It was about 6:00, and since the hospital opened around 7:00, I had to make sure I had my act together.

"Thank you both so much. I know that might have been hard, but I want you to know that I'll try my hardest to help Pinkie Pie."

They nodded, and Mrs. Cake spoke up. "Is this our fault? Should we have known? Suspected it?"

I shook my head rapidly. "Absolutely not. Trust me, this isn't a very normal thing in Equestria. You can only suspect it if you've had experience with it. Don't let yourself think for a minute your to blame."

They nodded. "Then how do you know about it?" Mr. Cake asked.

I stood there a minute outside the door. Then, I quietly replied, "A friend." Then I left.

I ran to the hospital, scolding my behavior. "Get those tears out of your eyes! You can't save Cloudy Wish! But if you want to save Pinkie Pie, stop dwelling in the past and get your head back on Earth! And you didn't even say goodbye to the Cakes! Probably made them feel like they've done something wrong!" I had to remember to apologize to them later, (as if they didn't have enough going on without me making them feel bad) but I had to prioritize. Pinkie Pie first.

When i finally got to the hospital, I went straight to the front desk, and,, as I had hoped, no one else was there. 

"Yes?" The pony at the reception desk asked.

I smiled. "Hello! Could I please get a brain scan on Pinkie Pie?"

The nurse nodded. "Do you have a note from the patient's guardian, being a Pie or a Cake?" She asked.

I pulled the pink stationary note out of my bag that the Cakes had been kind enough to give me. "Will this do?"

The nurse looked at the note. "Well, this seems all in order. When would you like this?" She asked.

"Whenever you can find the time to, mam." I said dismissively.

The nurse shook her head. "According to this note, your in charge of care and appointments on this patient." 

"Huh?" I looked at the note, which admittingly I hadn't read before. 

Tears filled my eyes as I looked over it. Mr. and Mrs. Cake were trusting me with someone who was as good as a daughter to them. I couldn't let them down! I put the note back in my bag. "Do you have a doctor in now?" I asked.

The nurse looked at her schedule. "We should have quite a few."

I nodded. "Immediately."

There was a special balcony where you could view the scan being performed. It was pitiful to see Pinkie Pie lying there. Images filled my head. Me looking at Cloudy Wish like he was crazy. Him lying there. Him acting as though he couldn't hear me. Him- NO! I WASN'T letting that happen to Pinkie Pie. I shook my head. I needed to stop it. 

"Um… Mrs. Light? There's something you should probably see." The doctor called.

I trotted down. "What is it?"

The doctor shook his head. "Take a look."

I gasped at what the brain scan showed. 

"A virus?" I asked incredulously. "Something invading her brain." 

The doctor nodded. "That's what it seems."

I shook my head. "Can you treat it?" I asked.

"Yes."

I breathed a sigh of relief. I looked at the clock and gasped. "How long do you think this treatment will take?"

The doctor looked again. "I'd say a good hour."

I nodded. I'll be back by then. "I've got some things I need to do. Could you tell me when your finished?"

The doctor nodded. "Of course."

I thanked him and left.