Crystal Prep had always maintained a high reputation about itself, and everywhere one looked across their grounds, there were signs of how prestigious and dedicated the place was to its academics. From the students diligently working on their assignments during their lunch break, to the meticulous way in which the grounds and building were being kept properly maintained, to even small things like how quiet a lot of the place was. Every element of the place spoke of professionalism and the elite, and after all, why not? This was, at the end of the day, a school where you'd find the best and brightest of students, not only in this city, but in perhaps the entire region. In both academics and athletics, these students were the cream of the crop, admired, or perhaps even envied for their abilities, something that many took a certain pleasure in knowing.

And speaking of athletics, beside the main building of the school itself was yet further signs of just how far beyond this place was to other places of education. For there, stretching out a vast distance, was a running track going all the way behind the school, dwarfing that of the track used by Canterlot High. As one might expect, the thing was, at the moment, almost empty, reserved only when needed, such as practise for upcoming events or even just general fitness training by the students. However, there was, in fact, some activity going on, as there were two individuals standing at the start point of the track. One was a student of Crystal Prep, Indigo Zap, one of its most notable athletes. And beside her was, quite frankly, someone that most wouldn't expect to see at this school, a student of Canterlot High. Rainbow Dash, a girl who, like Indigo, had cultivated quite a reputation for athletics. As the two girls took their respective places, they gave each other a little smirk, after which, Indigo finally spoke.

"Ready?"

Rainbow, looking ahead, narrowed her eyes.

"I was born ready!"

At that, both girls took up a crouching position, and after a few moments of silence, they were off, racing each other as fast as their legs could carry them. As expected of girls who took athletics seriously, both Rainbow and Indigo ran faster than what most would be capable of, tearing across the track like a pair of blurs. However, despite their great enthusiasm, as well as the clear competitiveness upon their faces, neither one seemed to be getting ahead of the other, and for many minutes, they stayed neck-and-neck. Being as fit as they were, they passed one lap of the track fairly easily. Then a second. A third, fourth and then finally a fifth. And it was on that fifth lap that their efforts were starting to show, with sweating and panting now evident for both of them. Without even a word, they stopped where they had begun, on the starting point, and after a long while of catching their breath, Rainbow spoke.

"You...getting...tired?"

At that, Indigo gave a scoff.

"Ha! Not...on your...life!"

The fact that they were having trouble just talking at a normal pace made it clear that they were not doing any more running for the time being, and so, after simply looking at each other for a few moments, they broke out into smiles, chuckling slightly as, at long last, they collapsed, sitting on the track together as they continued to gather breath. As they did this, Rainbow looked over the track they'd run, nodding in approval before looking over to Indigo.

"Gotta hand it to ya, Zap. This is a pretty sweet place ya got here."

Indigo, naturally, gained a look of pride at that.

"Well duh! We're Crystal Prep! What did you expect?"

Rainbow raised an eyebrow after hearing those words.

"Yeah, you guys got some fancy stuff. But don't forget that we held our own against you even without this kinda stuff."

Indigo nodded, looking way from Rainbow for a moment.

"Good point. Still...we don't really know how the Games would have ended. I mean...we kinda had other things on our mind."

Rainbow chuckled slightly at that.

"Yeah. Trust me, our school has had more than it's fair share of that sorta thing."

Hearing that, Indigo looked back to her.

"Yeah, I heard. That's gotta be weird, all those monsters and stuff you go against, right? I mean, it's cool, but also kinda weird."

Leaning forward, Rainbow nodded.

"Sure...but it's done a lotta good, remember? I mean...when was the last time someone from CHS was ever allowed near here, much less racing on the track?"

Indigo considered that for a moment, and shortly afterwards, a smile crept onto her face.

"Good point. I mean sure, we may have all been blasted by a crazy magical whatever-it-was, but hey, at least we can stop all that bad stuff between us, right?"

Rainbow nodded again, and after a moment, her expression changed to a more cocky one.

"Well...at least until we have another contest between the schools."

At that, Indigo laughed a little.

"Oh sure, then it's on!"

In this moment, the two girls shared a moment of laughter together, and when it finally died down, Rainbow regarded the sports field around them, a look of slight nostalgia crossing her face.

"You know, I never really paid much attention to this place before. It's kinda nice."

But Indigo, hearing that, looked to her with confusion.

"Before? You mean this isn't the first time you've been here?"

Instantly, the rainbow-haired girl looked a little guilty, as she started scratching the back of her head and chuckling in a somewhat nervous manner. She looked away from Indigo for the time being, but even then, she could feel the girl's gaze piercing into her, until at last, she let out a sigh before explaining herself.

"Okay...I may have...kinda...sorta...spied on you guys before the games began. Well...me and Pinkie. Didn't stay long though."

After hearing that, Indigo's eyes widened with surprise.

"Wait...that was you?! I'd heard a couple of Canterlot High girls snuck into the place, but..."

Rainbow nodded, confirming the matter.

"Yeah, it was us. Sorry about that."

However, rather than looking indignant or angry about it, Indigo, to Rainbow's confusion, actually started to look similarly guilty, and when she finally spoke up again, the reason became clear.

"Well...if we're being honest with each other...I kinda spied on you guys too."

Rainbow's head snapped in her direction, giving her full attention now.

"What?! Really?! I don't remember hearing about that."

To that, Indigo started to look somewhat pleased with herself.

"Well, I guess I was better at hiding than you or Pinkie were. Besides, I didn't really stay too long."

Rainbow titled her head a little.

"Why?"

Indigo looked away, looking as if she was having difficulty putting her words together.

"Well...it was kinda weird. I got to your auditions for the Games, and all I saw was a pair of girls wearing bird outfits and squawking at each other. Didn't know what was going on so I just left."

Rainbow turned, a look of embarrassment plastered all over her face.

"Ah. Say no more."

For a moment, Indigo smiled at having caused that kind of reaction in her racing partner. However, that smile faded when she saw that Rainbow now started to look somewhat uncomfortable about something. Turning, Indigo looked to where she was looking, an immediately, she understood. For Rainbow was looking right up at a large window at the nearby school building, and there, looking down at both of them with a look of disapproval, was none other than Principal Cinch. Rainbow regarded the older woman with a slight tint of dislike in her expression, but neither said or did anything about it. As for the Principal herself, she stayed there, looking at the two for some time, before simply turning away like she had better things to do with her time. After this uncomfortable silence had passed, Rainbow looked to Indigo with a softer expression.

"Sorry if me being here is gonna make things bad for you."

But Indigo merely waved a hand at that.

"Don't worry. She can't do a thing. I mean, it's not technically against the rules for Canterlot High people to come and race here."

Rainbow considered that for a moment, only to look up again as Indigo continued.

"It's probably a good idea Twilight is going to your school now. I don’t like to think how difficult Cinch would make it for her if she stayed here."

Rainbow nodded, frowning slightly as she looked up to the window where Cinch had been.

"I'll say. How can you guys put up with someone like her?"

Indigo shrugged her shoulders before replying.

"Meh. As long as you can get used to the whole evil-stepmother vibe she's got going, she doesn't really bother anyone. But still, she was really ticked off after the Games. Twilight should count herself lucky she won't be here anymore."

Rainbow considered that for a moment before looking to Indigo with a somewhat curious expression.

"I'm surprised you'd be all that worried about her. I mean...you guys didn't really seem all that friendly to her back then."

Indigo looked away, a look of slight shame on her face now.

"Yeah...I guess we kinda messed up on that. But still...she is...or...was one of us."

At that, Indigo looked to Rainbow, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"So you guys better treat her well, you hear?"

Smirking at that, Rainbow let out a brief cackle before putting a single thumb to her chest.

"No worries there, Zap. Paragon of loyalty, right here!"

Indigo rolled her eyes a little at that.

"Yeah? Well, you're not the only one who can be loyal to her own, Dash. Twilight may be moving over to you guys, but once a Crystal Prep, always a Crystal Prep. So..."

Almost immediately, Indigo started to look a little uncomfortable, as if she were almost embarrassed to say what she needed to say.

"...you know...look out for her, okay?"

Rainbow looked at her, at the sincerity in her expression, and knew that Indigo had meant every word of it. There was genuine concern for Rainbow's soon-to-be-classmate, and that was something the girl could definitely respect. Smiling, she reached out with one hand, and Indigo, seeing it, smiled right back before taking it. The two shook, an unspoken agreement having been made, and soon afterwards, they began to stand up at long last, having felt recovered from their earlier sprint together. As they dusted themselves off, Rainbow turned, looking up at a nearby clock on the side of the school. It was still technically lunch time, and there was more than enough time for more to be done, so, looking over to the track once more, a smirk grew on her face before she looked yet again to Indigo.

"So...one more lap?"

At that, Indigo looked over the place herself, before looking back to Rainbow with a smirk of her own.

"Please! As if you even need to ask?"