HighTail University Pt. 09

It was a surprisingly good night of sleep for Lily. It wasn't often she managed to feel completely rested without the help of her medication. On the other hand, having not gotten proper sleep in ages it was a bit of a shocking experience when someone gave her a gentle poke forcing her out of that restful sleep.

She let out a slight groan, easing her eyes open to see Serrah's smiling face only a few inches from hers, "Mornin' sleepyhead! Time to get up. I brought you coffee!" Serrah held up a Naturefoam cup which had steam rising from the lid to accentuate her point.

Lily grumbled and rolled over, tugging her blankets up and over her head, "Gimme a bit longer will you?"

Serrah set down the coffee cup and with a WHOOSH, ripped the blankets straight off of her, "Nope. If you sleep much longer, not only will you not make it to the trade show. You'll also not have enough time to get to Professor Barnes. So, up up up so we can go already! Also, there are some really cool demos at the trade show this morning!" Serrah was beaming from ear to ear as she looked down at the rather grumpy-looking Lily.

"Oh for fu......fine!." She said with a sigh, sitting and pulling herself from her bed. She was almost surprised by the pastel blue bandages around her arm and leg, "Right.... ponies." she mumbled, noting she was surprisingly sore this morning. Running around on a polo field trying to keep up was taxing, who would have thought?

Slipping into the bathroom, she cleaned herself up, donned her school uniform, and immediately scooped up the cup of coffee Serrah had brought her, "You're lucky you brought coffee." She mumbled softly, looking at the time on her clock reading 7 AM and wrinkling her nose, though it quickly unwrinkled when Serrah thrust a freshly baked apple fritter under her nose.

"And a fritter. Trust me, I know how to avoid sleepy Lily's wrath. It's still warm too!"

Lily huffed and took the pastry, "That's cheating."

"Maybe if it was a competition, my dearest Lily! Now c'mon, the trade show is in the Expo building on campus, so it's not TOO far a walk."

Lily moved to follow Serrah out of the dorm after tossing her messenger bag over her shoulder, "The expo building? I haven't been in there since I came for the big orientation thing."

"Only because you're bloody anti-social half the time!" Serrah shot over her shoulder as she led the way, her blonde ponytail swishing back and forth.

"Am not..."

Serrah turned about, walking backward and sipping her coffee, "No? Other than with me, what was the last social thing you actually did? Group activities? A social gathering of any sort."

Lily frowned and took a long sip of her coffee, "I worked on a group project for biomechanics."

Serrah snorted, "Oh yeah because classwork toooootally counts as socializing." Serrah somehow managed to dart and weave around people confidently as she kept walking backward. It was actually rather impressive to watch. Seeing her give her head a subtle turn to take note of anyone in the hall and adjusting her path accordingly.

"Depression sucks Lily. But did you ever stop to think that maybe part of it, is that you're so introverted? Social contact is a big part of our mental health after all!" Serrah said this without judgment, she knew Lily genuinely struggled in her day-to-day. The lack of sleep, the pressure from school, now from potentially failing out if she didn't take an extracurricular, she knew it was hard on her friend.

"I get more than my fill of social interaction from you. You're like forty people squeezed into one bubbly individual."

Serrah waved a dismissive hand, "True, but I'm still only one person. You need some variety. I think the whole extracurricular thing will be good for you. And if it isn't, well, then at least the pressure of your grades and stuff will be gone. Professor Barnes is really going to bat for you."

Lily sighed a little bit, "Just another person I'll owe."

Serrah spun about, flicking Lily's nose sharply, "Not everything comes with a bloody cost you know. He cares about his students. Otherwise, he'd have simply let you fail out and lose your scholarship. The only cost he's pushed onto you is getting you to join a club, which isn't so much payment for him as it is good for you."

Lily squeaked and rubbed her nose grumpily, "Fine fine. I get your point." She said, looking ahead at the entrance of the expo with the huge Holo-Board reading 'University Trade Show' on it in bright letters, a smattering of hoofprints running along the bottom, not surprising. MOST careers from here branched off of the pony track after all.

Serrah spun about, falling into step beside Lily and giving her a gentle nudge, "C'mon. We're out together, let's just enjoy the day and at noon you can give your answer to Professor Barnes! He's overseeing the derby demonstrations today."

Lily tilted her head, "Derby demonstrations?"

Serrah giggled, "Right. Derby is uhm...hectic pony obstacle races. Have you ever seen that show Transterran Ninja Warrior?"

Lily nodded, "Yeah."

"Well, it's like that. Except for ponies and it's a race with multiple ponies running at the same time. It's pretty action-packed and fun to watch actually. Ember is one of the top Derby ponies in the school!"

Lily squinted, "You know an awful lot about Ember, don't you?"

"Really? That's the only thing you got from that sentence? That I know about Ember, one of the school's top competitive pony students? Unlike you, some of us actually take an interest in the school athletics teams."

"That's not fair Serrah..."

Serrah wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed, "No, it's not. I'm sorry. I just keep an eye on some of the athletics in the school. I shouldn't assume you know what I'm talking about."

Lily leaned into the hug gently. Serrah was one of the few whose hugs made her feel genuinely warm inside, "It's ok."

Serrah released her as they crossed the threshold into the Expo Center. The trade show was MASSIVE. All sorts of vendors, Demos, and interactive booths. The place was buzzing with activity despite the early hour and Lily sighed a little bit.

"C'mon. Don't get sour already. Look! Nike released a fancy hoof boot! And look! A demo on next-generation equi-implants! Imagine having a real tail...that'd be neat." Serrah mused as they walked along, taking a peek at several of the booths as they moved along. More than once, Lily found herself leaning against the entrance of a booth and watching as Serrah nosed through everything and tried every single demo she could.

Lily was happy to watch her friend enjoy, even if she didn't partake much. She got demoted to bag carrier after Serrah bought a bunch of athletic wear.

"Why all the athletic stuff?" She asked curiously.

"I'm in like four clubs, duh. A girl can never have too much activewear! Plus, those leggings were super cute and made my butt look good..."

"Yeah, they did make it look good." Lily said in mild amusement making Serrah grin like a dork.

They continued along, working their way through the trade show and taking in the sights, smells, and sounds. Eventually, they were passing by a high-end Adidas booth when the woman running it waved, "Hello ladies! Care to try out new Mach 10 hoof boots? Designed for speed, precision, and comfort!" She motioned to a display stand showing a sporty set of hoof boots that came up to just below the knee. They came in just about every color.

"Heck yeah!" Serrah said with a bright smile and trotted right over to the attendant.

"What about you Miss? Care to try a pair?"

Lily shook her head, "Nah, I'm not much of a hoof kinda gal. I like my regular old sneakers."

The attendant's smile shrunk by a few molars, "I understand. We ARE offering a demo fee! Wear them for five minutes and we'll load five hundred credits to your school account. We get models, you get a few credits. How's that sound?"

Serrah peeked out from behind the attendant looking at Lily, "C'mon! Five hundred credits will buy you a few meals until your funding goes through!"

Lily shook her head, "Honestly. I'm good."

Serrah put on a big pout, "C'mon! Puhleaaaaaase? For me?" It wasn't so much that she wanted to pressure Lily into trying them. It was that the credits would be helpful for her and she'd get to try something new.

Lily puffed out her cheeks. Serrah walked over and used two fingers to deflate them before leaning in so that Lily had to look her in the eyes, "Hmmm." She said as if thinking about something, and then she brightened up like she had an idea, "I'm not giving you a choice! C'mon!" She moved around behind Lily and pushed her towards the fitting benches until she was sitting down on one, Serrah plopping down beside her.

The attendant giggled and crouched down in front of Lily, "Your friend is quite enthusiastic."

"Tell me about it." Lily mumbled.

"I just was, silly. May I remove your shoes?"

Lily blinked, "M...My shoes? Why would you...Oh. Uh, sure! I make no promises they don't stink."

The attendant giggled, "Worry not! Stinky feet are the tamest of things we see daily. Ponygirls becoming prominent in society has kind of created its own set of foot ailments and smell is definitely one of the tamer issues." With practiced hands she tugged Lily's shoes and socks off in one smooth motion, setting them to the side.

Beside her Serrah was chatting away with the attendant helping her out, looking bright and bubbly as usual, "I hate you Serrah." She said with a huff.

"And I looooove you. So it balances out." Serrah said in a sing-song voice and finishing with a giggle as the attendant working on her feet took a few measurements.

Lily turned back to the girl in front of her, watching as she measured the length, width, and circumference of her feet. Then used a little tool to check the arch in her foot. The attendant seemed to ponder for a few moments.

"Let me guess, Feet not designed for those boots?"

The attendant grinned, "Nope! You've just got a cute high arch. We've got boots that help handle that quite nicely. Gives really nice support through the arch. Any color preference?"

Lily, blushing at the compliment, shrugged, "No preference."

The attendant tapped the nano bandages on Lily's leg, "Could match the blue?"

Lily looked at them and shook her head, "No thanks. The blue is a bit gaudy."

The attendant pouted, "Fiiiiine, basic black it is." She stood up and walked over to a wall of boxes, flicking through until she found the right size and width before returning to crouch down in front of Lily again.

"Now these are designed to be a bit tighter. They're an athletic hoof, made kind of like athletic wear where it kind of hugs your body. The interior is filled with a moisture-wicking bio-foam and the foot is encompassed in our new comfort fit design!"

Lily just smiled through the sales pitch, she knew it was the girl's job so she let her give her spiel, "Sounds...unique."

The attendant smiled, lifting the hooves carefully out of their packaging and setting them down, "Not really a fan of the whole pony thing huh?" She asked as she gently made Lily point her toe downwards like a ballerina and began to work the base of the boot onto her foot.

"Not really. Like, I respect the green initiative behind it. It's just...I dunno. It's never really been for me. My family is kind of old school and traditional so I've never had much exposure to it, nor any real interest." Lily explained, surprised at how forthcoming she was with that information.

The attendant wiggled The base of the hoof into place and then gently pulled the zipper up right to the top of the boot. Lily's right foot was now enclosed in a sleek matte black hoof, with sporty off-white 'lines' designed into its appearance.

"I understand that. But just because you haven't been exposed to something, doesn't mean you can't try it out or anything. Look at you now, trying on hooves 'cause your friend begged you to." The attendant smiled encouragingly, "How does that feel?" She asked, tapping the top of Lily's boot gently.

Lily wiggled her foot around inside of the boot, "Surprisingly comfy. Although that angle is...intimidating."

The attendant nodded, "They do tend to be comfy, comfort after all is one of the most important parts of functional hoof boots! As for the angle, that's another story. It certainly takes some getting used to. You've at least walked in heels before, right?"

"I have, yes." She said as the attendant began to work her other foot into a boot.

"Good, you should be fine then!"

After securing the second boot the attendant extended a hand to Lily, "C'mon, let's see how you handle them."

Lily took her hand and eased up to her feet. Her legs shook visibly and she wobbled slightly like a newborn foal taking its first steps, "Jeeze. Is this what it's like being tall?" She asked jokingly.

Beside her, Serrah was trotting around in circles with confidence in a vibrant pair of red and orange trimmed hooves, "Heck yeah it is. Welcome to the world of height shorty!"

"You hush Serrah!" Lily said with a huff, taking a small and cautious step.

"How in the heck do you even walk in these things?"

"Lift your knees high and aim to place them down flat with each step." The attendant held Lily's hand as she went through a few steps. When she was confident enough to stand on her own she'd let her stumble about a bit.

"How the heck are you so good at that Serrah?" She asked, watching her friend and standing stock-still.

"Walked in heels lots! It feels pretty natural."

Lily squinted, "Looks more than natural."

Serrah shrugged, "Think what you will. C'mon. Walk around the booth with me a bit! Let's see how you do! Then we can change and go see Professor Barnes next. The derby demo should be starting by the time we get there."

Lily nodded, "Fine. I feel so ridiculous." She said as she walked alongside Serrah with little confidence and shaky legs.

"You look ridiculous too. But damn do your legs look good." Serrah cast a playful wink and led her around the booth several times as they waited for their five minutes to expire.

It was Lily's first time in hooves. A day she would fondly remember.