Hightail University

Part 1: A Hoof-Ful of Reality

By Firefly

The sound of birds chirping echoed through the open window spilling sunlight atop what could be described as a nest of blankets. A whirlwind of reds, blues, and satin sheets had been pulled into the center of a four-poster bed where a brunette-haired female form lay curled up, breathing softly and groaning slightly as an insistent fly kept landing on her nose. A fly that she'd swatted at several dozen times now but every time the little bugger got away, leaving her to fall nearly into that sleeping state again before landing on her nose again.

And so the dance had gone for the last two hours.

But such a dance could not last forever. The slight whoosh of the door of the dormitory room opening sent the fly flitting out the open window and leaving the brunette to a soft smile and a happy groan as she curled back up, pulling a satin sheet up to her chin and drawing in a deep breath as she let herself slowly begin to drift off to that most delightful series of dreams she'd been having. Ones that involved things a girl tended to keep to herself.

"Lily. Don't you have class at seven?"

A rather sharp voice found the sleeping female's ears and for a moment she didn't respond.

~Class? What are you on about? I'm at home in my bed. A nice relaxing sleep before Physics class.~

The girl's eyes shot open suddenly. Sitting up like a bolt of lightning, her hair sticking out in all sorts of ungodly directions as she turned her gaze to the blonde female taking off her shoes and standing across the room from her in the small two-person dormitory.

"Wait. What time is it?" She asked urgently, grabbing for what looked like a small pane of glass laying on her side table, fumbling it several times as the blonde responded.

"It's six fifty-five. I just got back from my morning run." The blonde mumbled, tugging the ponytail holder from her hair and letting her sweat-soaked mane fall down about her.

"SIX FIFTY-FIVE!" Lily exclaimed, tapping several spots on the small glass object, her phone, and having it light up showing four missed alarms and several missed phone calls from Serrah, the blonde female now heading towards the bathroom in their dorm.

"Honestly Lils, you'd think after five months at school you'd be able to wake up on time. Best get a move on, you know how Professor Barnes feels about tardy students. He booted Aurora out of class last week because she got stuck at Pony Club last week after winning the regionals. Two minutes late, after winning one of the biggest regional derbies in the country. I swear he has no sense of accomplishment. Aurora had the best and worst day of her life at the same bloody time." Serrah paused, stifling a slight giggle as she watched her VERY naked roomie race about their room hunting down the four-piece outfit that made up the University's uniform.

"Lily. It's in your side table. The Laundry Drones come by every Sunday." Serrah said softly, grabbing a brush from a small vanity table next to the bathroom door she was standing in.

Lily stumbled through her movements, tripping into a pair of panties, haphazardly tugging up her skirt, roughly tugging her blouse and blazer on, and doing up the buttons as she stumbled towards the door.

"Shoes, Lils. Don't forget your bag! And here..." She tossed the hairbrush to the stumbling woman.

Lily caught the brush, sparing a moment to tilt her head.

"Trust me. Use it on the way to class. If you show up like...well...that. You'll never live it down."

Lily let out a long sigh as she pushed her feet into black ballet-style flats and unhooked her black messenger bag from one of several hooks beside the door and slung it over her shoulder, "Some days, I'm not sure I'd function without you Serrah."

"You wouldn't. But you're welcome. Now go! Race to class like you're a pony at her tryout for the derby team!" She stifled a giggle and turned, heading into the bathroom knowing just how much that would annoy Lily, the girl who avoided ponies like they were out of style. Which in this society, they were exactly the opposite.

Lily puffed out her cheeks slightly, "Oh shut it Serrah!" She mumbled before racing out into the hall, nearly taking out a sleepy-looking girl walking by her door and racing down the hall without so much as an apology.

Luckily for Lily, her Physics classroom wasn't too far off. It was the first classroom inside the main doors of the school. Of course, it was a half-kilometer sprint across a well-tended gravel path flanked by two rolling fields of grass to get to the school. Luckily at this hour, most people were in class and the path was wide open except for a single figure making her way along the path at a VERY slow pace, in four-inch heels that she was wobbling visibly in.

Lily slowed down to a walk near this particular girl, "Hey Saph! How goes the heel training?"

The female, Sapphire by name but Saph to most looked up with bright blue eyes as she blew a curled piece of soft pink hair out of her face, "Slowly. And painfully. Thanks for asking Lily! Late for class again?"

Lily frowned and sighed. It was not a good feeling being known as the person who was late all the time. Wrinkling her nose she'd nod, "Yeah. As per usual." She turned towards the main building of the school, a building that looked like it was made of glass, but was made of holographic panels that could be as clear as glass or as opaque as a chalkboard. It was tacky in Lily's opinion, but when you were one of the best universities in the country you could afford to be a bit tacky apparently.

Looking back to Sapphire, Lily would offer a soft smile, "Hey. As some person I can't remember the name of once said. The pain you feel today, is the strength you feel tomorrow! You'll be prancing about in hooves and running with the best of them in no time! With your dedication, that's guaranteed!" She offered Sapphire a bright smile and a pat of reassurance.

"Thank you, Lily. But don't hold yourself up because of me!" She shoo'd the girl off.

Lily chuckled and offered a nod before racing off towards the school again, dipping through the entryway just as the doors were about the shut from someone opening them moments before. She felt a bit like a ninja as she dipped, ducked, and dodged her way through the small tour group making their way down the hallway, earning a rather sharp glare from the tour guide leading them.

Just up the hall on the right was her classroom. Lily slowed down to a halt just before the door, casually leaning over and looking through the liquid crystal window in the door. Inside was a multi-level classroom with stadium-style seating where students sat while the teacher stood at the bottom during lessons. Inside was an older man with a neatly trimmed beard and a series of piercings and tattoos that would fit better in a tattoo parlor than a physics classroom. Professor Barnes, who somehow managed to be the coolest teacher but also the strictest in the entire school.

Lily watched for a moment, eventually finding the eyes of a redheaded female sitting amongst the students. As the professor turned his back to begin writing in mid-air with what looked like a pen which left glowing holographic writing in the air as he wrote.

The redhead stared at Lily and then tapped her watch several times and gave a sort of cautious look.

Lily wasn't sure what to make of the look that Lily gave her but seeing as Professor Barnes had his back to the class and the door to the side was out of his line of sight, it felt like the perfect moment to sneak in and take a seat. Maybe he wouldn't notice the new face in the crowd. She pressed a button on the panel next to the door, which made the door shimmer slightly and then disappear. Lily silently thanked whatever god might be listening for the creation of holographic doors.

With a deep breath she slipped into the classroom, making her way silently up the stairs and making her way towards the top and back of the classroom, several students stifled chuckles as she made her way by. At the front of the room, without even turning from his mid-air writing, the silver-haired professor spoke, "You might think you're some sort of modern ninja, Miss McKinsey, but you walk like a mare on hard concrete."

Lily froze in her tracks and reached up, tousling her unbrushed hair that despite Serrah's insistence, she'd not brushed. She turned on the spot to face the front of the class where Professor Barnes had stopped writing and turned to face the class. He crossed his arms over his chest and canted his head to the side slightly, "What's the excuse this time? Laundry Drone ate your uniform? Broke your holophone? Or perhaps, a mishap at the salon?" The last comment drew a chorus of chuckles from the class making Lily flush brightly and reached up to smooth out her hair with her fingers as best she could.

"I..." She began and then paused for a moment to consider her options. She could lie, but professor Barnes had a way of seeing through lies like police drones saw through walls.

So she bit her lip slightly and answered, "...I slept through my alarms. I'm sorry Professor Barnes, it won't happen again."

"You've been saying that for five months Miss McKinsey. Somehow I doubt today will be the turning point. Take your seat, maybe try and learn something useful, and see me after class. I'll not have your tardiness making a constant mockery of my class, nor this school, any longer." And with that, he turned back around and continued to write. Lily let out a slow sigh and walked over, slumping heavily into the chair next to the redhead that had exchanged looks with her before entering.

"I did try and text you, Lily. I'm sorry." The redhead whispered.

Lily nodded, "I know. Don't apologize, it's not your fault I can't be bloody on time for anything. Maybe I just like sleep too much."

The redhead wrinkled her nose, "Or the fistful of Melatonin you take to go to bed every night."

"Don't judge me. You know why I take it..."

"Because you have sleeping problems and refuse to see a doctor. Of course I do."

"Oh shut it Charlotte." Lily huffed and tugged her multi-tablet out of her bag, setting it on the tablet before her and tapping the buttons until a holographic screen was projected over her desk.

The problem was, that Lily knew Charlotte was right. It had been a problem that she'd had for a long time. A problem she knew stemmed from her egregious lack of exercise and not burning near enough energy daily to sleep properly. Being out of shape and lazy at best tended to cause a myriad of problems. But as Lily constantly argued, she was the thinking type, not the athletic type. She'd always been the more bookish type, full of information and taking comfort in her ability to learn, but always one to avoid just about anything physical. Gym class? Not a chance. Pony demonstration days in high school? Doubtful. The only classes she'd ever failed had been the physical ones, even though society as a whole had moved towards an overall healthier and more fit lifestyle, both because of developments in healthier food but also the activity level, in general, going up as many jobs in society become more physically active.

Lily was the odd one out in many regards. Obesity and poor health from being out of shape was at the lowest it had been in the last Century. Going 'greener' was a lot more than just a fad these days.

Flipping through several pages on her holo-screen she'd bring up her notes for class and lean into her chair, listening as he went into his physics lesson, pausing only to close the holo-door of the classroom as a small training group of ponies clip-clopped their way down the hallway, hooves echoing loudly on the hard flooring.

Ah yes, another facet of society that had changed drastically in the last Century. Ponygirls and Ponyboys, the most prominent change to the world in a long time.

Who would have thought it would be a niche fetish that got up and changed the world in the blink of an eye?

But such was a story for another time.