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// Cato II - Train That Size Going That Fast, It’ll Vaporize Anything That Gets In Its Way 1 
// Story: The Friendship Games: The Pack Of Careers 
// by TheGathering 
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The first event for the Friendship Games was the Acadeca, basically a fancy way of saying “Academic Decathlon” for short. 

(Author’s Note: That is a reference to the song in the movie, only here I basically just explained where they made the song name from.)

It was a cheesy name, for sure, don’t get me wrong on that. But, as a nerd, academics was where I excelled.. well that, and swords. But that was back in District 2 Middle and High. Here, there was no events based on weapon skills, much to my disappointment as well as some of my friends. But again, that didn’t matter. All that mattered here was defeating the Crystal Prep contenders. It was around before the start of this event that I noticed that Crystal Prep had a girl that looked exactly like Twilight Sparkle. I nudged Urchin, and gestured in her direction.

“Of all the ironies in the world..” Urchin sighed. “This is just great. You got this, Cato.”

I smiled back. “Yep, I do.” 

Standing there as Dean Cadence explained the first event to everyone, my eyes just scanned the Shadowbolts. Each of them couldn’t stop practically staring at me, though it seemed that one of them was staring at me more in adoration than fear. It was very obvious to me anyway that with me around, there were definitely not going to be on their A-Game. Deep down inside, I smirked. You all have no idea who you’ve brought upon yourselves.

It started off with Chemistry, and then progressed subject by subject. As expected, with my big, nerdy brain, I was just flying through. While some of my teammates weren’t as like useful as I was, whose names I will not mention here, the fact that I was seriously wiping the floor with Crystal Prep’s best students due to my brain, quick on the draw reflexes, and killer instinct more than made up for it. At least unlike them, I really did have something to fight for and a reason to give it my all. I promised Applejack that I would take down Crystal Prep, and I’ll be damned if I come short on that goal. 

I was smart enough to entrust my teammates with stuff that I wasn’t really skilled in like baking with Pinkie Pie. Seriously, that Mona Lisa we did, that was a work of art. In effect, this combination allowed me to basically soar through the roof with the highest number of points among the competitors. Typical for me, I know. But hey, being a hulking nerd with a brain has its advantages. 

I honestly found it amusing to watch the Crystal Prep students’ faces gawk in disbelief as their school just went down in one event after another. It was just pure gold to me, music to my ears. I was giving a big middle finger to the status quo of the Friendship Games and the Status Quo couldn’t handle it. Even though Rarity had been like drained of her energy somehow midway through the first event, it was already too late to Crystal Prep to salvage their fortunes in the first round. Soon, it came down to just me and the Crystal Prep Twilight, with Cinch as the judge of the final round of this event. 

I had honestly expected from my first look at her that she would do anything to help Crystal Prep’s fortunes. Sure enough, she tried to do so during the final round of the first event by saying my answer was incorrect only for Marvel, Flash, and Thresh to protest. She tried to dismiss having to take a second look, but just one terrifying death stare from August and she relented. I swear, that girl’s death stare can make you do anything out of fear. Just like that, she corrected herself and said that I had the right answer first, just like I knew it was. Shaking hands with the Crystal Prep Twilight, beneath the mask of sportsmanship, I could see fear in her eyes. 

I found Rue immediately, who wasn’t competing. “Hey Rue, mind doing me a favor?”

“Yeah, Cato.”

“I need you to spy on Crystal Prep’s Twilight when she isn’t competing. There’s something fishy going on about her, one that she really doesn’t want to show, and I don’t know what.” 

“You can count on me.”

As Rue headed off, I sighed and thought to myself, leaning up against the locker during the break in between the first and second event. You’re really making mincemeat out of the competition, Cato, I thought inside my mind. I chuckled at that. That was what I came here to do, and I wasn’t going to stop. Besides, I was now one step closer to giving Canterlot High a win and healing the trauma in Jackie’s heart.

My train of thought was broken when I heard the sound of footsteps approaching me. I turned to see the source. Two Crystal Prep students, both female and one being one of the Shadowbolts, approached me with flirtatious looks on their faces. I groaned, turned, and left. I had seen too many high school-related material about dating to know where this was going. Besides, they could have been sent to me to try to throw me off my prime. Nope, nope. Not going down that route.