The next day, Derpy was free to go. I escorted her slowly back to the house; it had been a while since she stood and walked. She was amazed by the new layout of the house, even more so when I told her it was only Big Mac and Myself that did the moving. Naturally, she apologized for us having to move things on account of her, but it was never an issue for me. I assured her that it’ll all be for the best, and that she shouldn’t worry so much.

We went to work with placing her medicine in easy to remember spots, and comfortable positions for her to sleep in. She mentioned that her bed at the hospital was extremely uncomfortable, which made me laugh more than it probably should have. During this entire process, she never took her eyes off me, as if to savor the last moments she would see me before I left. I noticed this almost immediately, yet paid no mind to it, my priorities were to make sure she would be safe and secure when I was gone.

“I wish I could go with you.” she told me.

“Me too, but the Doctor was explicit with having you stay here.” In truth, I probably could have brought her along, if what I told her I would be doing in the city was actually true.

We tried to sleep the way we always slept together in the night, but her injuries prevented her from holding on to me. I even tried switching roles, but once again, her injuries got in the way of me holding her. Though we slept in the same bed, we were more separate, than we were together. In the middle of the night, I heard her faintly sobbing, and all I could do was to put my hoof on her shoulder. It wasn’t much, but she found some comfort out of it.

Day broke, and it was time to leave. Big Mac came to the house to help Derpy follow me to the Train Station. Like always, I was grateful for his assistance.

We arrived at the station ten minutes before departure, which was enough time to say my goodbyes to the both of them. I said goodbye to Big Mac first. I took him aside, so Derpy wouldn’t hear us.

“Make sure to check up on her, when I’m gone.” I told him, just to be sure.

“Don’t worry. She’ll be safe.” he said with gusto. I didn’t doubt him for a second.

“I’ll make it up to you somehow. Maybe I could help your family with the next Applebucking Season.”

Big Mac chuckled as he slapped me on the back with great force. It hurt.

“There’s no need. I just hope ya find what ya lookin’ for.”

“I hope so too.”

I gave Big Mac a light hug, before we walked over to Derpy. Before I could say a word, she embraced me with a surprising amount of speed, unleashing a flurry of kisses on the cheek and mouth. I almost fell down in astonishment.

“Be careful!” I said, “You’re going to get hurt!”

Not that I didn’t welcome the bevy of affection I was getting, but I could tell this was hurting her.

“I don’t care!” she said, in tears.

“It’ll only be a few days, I promise.”

“Just be back in time for my birthday, okay? And get me a present if you haven’t gotten one already.”

“Your birthday isn’t for another few weeks.”

“I know, but if you’re not back by then, I’ll….”

I interrupted her with a soft, gentle kiss. For a few moments, her worries were gone, and so were mine. The clock above the station rang. It was time to go. I separated myself from her, and went on board the train.

Walking into the nearly empty train car, I looked outside and found my car was right next to Derpy and Big Mac.

Big Mac noticed me first, and pointed Derpy to my direction. The both waved goodbye, and I returned the gesture. The train started to move. As it was making its way out, Derpy tried to chase it. Her limp wasn’t doing her any favors. She reached the edge of the station, and I realized something; something that I never told her. I ran as fast as I could to the end of the train, opened the back door, looked straight at Derpy, and yelled at the top of my lungs, with all the pride in the world…

“I LOVE YOU!”

Even from the distance I was now in, I could see her smile.

“I LOVE YOU TOO!” I heard her call out. It was all I needed to help me last the next few days without her.

I arrived in the city of Manehattan within a few hours. It had been so long since I visited the city I grew up in, that I almost didn’t recognize it. Gone was the quiet calm of Ponyville, and replaced with magic powered cars, and fillies screaming newspaper headlines. I did not miss this place one bit.

The old apartment I used to live in was still intact, but it was no longer mine. I was sure that it was now taken by somepony who enjoyed the noise of the city, or somepony like me, who merely tolerated it.

I checked into a nearby hotel, I had the extra bits, so I figured I’d get something nice. It was a pretty decent room, with room service, and a variety of films to watch on the television, some less…appropriate than others, but it came with the territory. The previous tenant forgot to throw away his service bill by the table. With curiosity, I took a peek. Not only was the price through the roof, but the films he watched were definitely in the ‘not safe for fillies’ category. I threw away the paper as fast as I possibly could.

So here I was, miles away from home, with only my thoughts, my bits, and my bag full of essentials. It was time to roam around.

The memories of Manehattan slowly came back to me, as I spent the first day walking around the city. I recognized various places that I went to, the restaurants, the desert shops, the theaters. I tried out a muffin inside one of the bakeries; it was alright, but inferior to the muffin’s at Sugar Cube Corner, and definitely pales in comparison to the muffins Derpy made. Pretty soon, I made my way around Manehattan like I did before I moved away. I also made a few extra stops to pick up a few things, before heading out of the shopping district.

The next day, I started my search for a professional eye doctor. The first hospital was no help, only specializing in standard medical procedures. The same went for the next two that followed. On the last one, a Nurse was kind enough to direct me to a place, whose specialty was eye surgery. It was a place I’ve haven’t heard before called Crystal Clear, which was unexpectedly located around where I stayed at. I facehoofed myself for missing it, and then thanked the Nurse for her assistance…along with apologizing for bearing witness to my self-inflicted face assault.

It was time for the moment of truth. I didn’t bother going back to the hotel to rest, now that I’ve found the only possible solution, I had to know now rather than later.

There it was, Crystal Clear, in bright blue letters. I can’t believe I even missed this, the sign was so flashy. Of course, with a flashy sign, could mean this place was not the real deal. Nevertheless, I walked inside.

The place was nearly barren, in terms of actual patients. The actual lobby was very nice, very clean, and at the end was a pretty little unicorn receptionist, who noticed me walking in.

“Can I help you?” she said, as I walked over to her.

“Actually, I was wondering if this place could help me.”

“If you want an appointment for magic eye surgery, there’s a bit of a wait.” She says, taking note of my glasses.

“No, not for me. It’s for somepony else. Is there a Doctor I can talk to, right now?”

"Where is this other pony?"

"Please. I just need somepony to talk to."

She started at me with an inconvenienced stare. She then picked up the nearby phone with her magic, dialing a number. After a few moments of waiting for an answer, she talks into it.

“I’m sorry Ma’am, but there’s somepony who wants to talk about a possible appointment.” she pauses. “Not with him, with somepony else.” another pause, "I told him that, but he looks adamant about seeing somepony." another pause, she then chuckles. “Okay.”

She hangs up the phone.

“Doctor Eagle Eyes will see you. She’s down the hall, to your right, you can’t miss her.”

“Eagle Eyes?” I questioned.

“Down, the hall, to your right.” she reiterated, annoyed with me.

I did as she asked. Soon, I saw the door marked ‘Eagle Eye M.D.’. Opening, I was surprised to see that this Dr. Eagle Eyes was a Griffon. My past experiences with Griffons weren’t the most pleasant. However, I wasn’t going to let that cloud my judgment. She looked at me and smiled; the first time I’ve ever seen a Griffon smile.

“Hello.” she spoke first, “I’m Dr. Eagle Eyes. The name’s a little on the nose, I know, but it was the name I was given. Please, have a seat.”

I sat down and introduced myself. She inspects my eyes, namely my glasses, complimenting the design.

“Are you sure you don’t want magic eye surgery? I can fix your vision in no time.”

“Not today. I’m here to inquire about a possible appointment with somepony else. My marefriend.”

“Why isn’t she here, right now?”

“She doesn’t know that I’m here. If she did, I don’t think I would be sitting here right now.”

“What seems to be the trouble with her?”

I reached into my small bag to pull out a few pictures of Derpy and I, back when we started dating. They were very beautiful pictures of us, mainly in the park, playing around. I separated the pictures by the best ones that only contained her, making her eyes easy to see, and gave them to Eagle Eyes. As she took them, I noted her talons; they looked sharp, maybe even enough to perform surgery with. However, she handled the pictures with delicacy. She smiled at each successive picture.

“She’s very pretty.” she said, “You photograph really well. What’s her name?”

“Her name is Ditzy Doo, but she’s more commonly known as Derpy.”

“No doubt, due to her eye?”

“Exactly.”

She shook her head in disbelief.

“Since she’s not here, what can you tell me about her condition? Can she see out of it?”

“I think so. It’s something she’s had for most of her life, and it has been affecting her performance at work, and at home. She says that she loses her balance, gets dizzy, and sometimes forgets her sense of direction. She’s been prone to accidents…the last one was really bad.”

She could see the sadness in my eyes.

“From the way you speak of her, it sounds like you care about her a lot.”

“I do. I want her to be happy, and if that means I have to give you all my bits, then I will.”

“I admire your determination, I really do. Unfortunately, I cannot accurately diagnose a possible patient, who is not present here.” she says, as she gives back the pictures. "I'm sorry."

I put them back in my bag, ready to leave the room. It wasn’t the answer I was looking for, but I was also expecting it.

“It's okay.” I said, “I’m sorry for…”

“I’m not finished, young colt.” My head perked up. “Despite this, from what I can see from the pictures, I have a pretty good idea what she might have…and it’s treatable.”

My heart nearly jumped out of my mouth from hearing the news.

“However, it’s only a chance. She could have an advanced version of the disease, or something else entirely, and it might require some heavy surgery. Still, in order to give an exact diagnosis, I need her here. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes! If it means that she’ll be cured, I can do that!”

“Good. I’m going to mark you as a special appointment. When you’re ready to come back, with Ditzy Doo, I’ll be here.

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

“Don’t thank me yet. Just bring her here.”

“Yes, yes I will! Thank you again!” I yelled, as I ran out the door.

I was happy. It might have been just a chance, but it was better than nothing at all. I galloped back to the hotel, jumped on the bed like an excited filly that just got his first candy bar. I think I might have over done it just a little bit.

After the series of jumps, I lied on the bed, excited...ecstatic…and then…scared.

I thought the hard part was over. Now, I had to go back to Ponyville, and tell her the truth.