Daughter of Sobekby Lord Shadow EclipseChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 1On the Way to Canterlot High Becky did her best to hide herself underneath the hood of her green hoodie. The girl was going to do her best to not stand out at this new school. She had to hope that she didn't get bullied at this new school. Becky had to go to some new school since her last school was not an ideal place for her. She was relentlessly bullied for her appearance. Other kids didn't approach her because of how she looked, too. There were a lot of things about Becky that could be described as "inhuman". She had random patches of scales throughout her entire body, most notably on the sides of her head. This gave her the appearance of having a punkish hairstyle. Her eyes were bright green with reptilian pupils. Her hands and feet had sharp black claws and her teeth were strong and sharp. She wore a green hoodie with a white T-shirt and gray baggy sweatpants complete with green sneakers. She hurried along the sidewalk to get to this new school. She hurried past the horse statue up front and made her way to her first class, Biology. Becky walked through the door and sat down in the very back nearest to the window. She waited in anticipation as the rest of her new classmates filed in the classroom and sat down, talking of familiar things. At some point, a friendly-looking older woman walked into the room and looked at the class just as the first bell rang. "Good morning class! My name is Miss Cheerilee, and I'll be your Biology teacher for this year," she greeted warmly. "And as I understand it, we have a new student joining us". This was the part that Becky dreaded the most: introducing herself to the class. Whenever that happened before, that would open the door to bullying of differing kinds. She's been heckled, name-called, and even beaten up before. They'd all call her names related to reptiles. Miss Cheerilee scanned the room until her eyes fell upon the hooded girl. "Aw, there you are! Would you kindly come up here and introduce yourself to the class?" Miss Cheerliee asked. Pulling her hood over her eyes, Becky stood up and walked up to the front of the room facing the class. Refusing to look them in the eye, she began her introduction. "Hi, my name is Becky. I love reading manga, swimming, and watching anime. My mother is a zookeeper for the Canterlot Zoo," she said. After that, Cheerilee spoke again. "Excuse me, Miss Becky, but could you please remove your hood?" Miss Cheerliee asked. "Uh, I'd rather not, ma'am. I don't feel comfortable removing my hood," Becky said. "I'm sorry, but it's school policy," Cheerilee said. Seeing no other way out of this, Becky reluctantly removed her hood. The silence that followed was almost deafening. The poor girl could feel the unwanted attention and discomfort building up in her until she could feel hot tears running down her face. Becky knew that she was going to get bullied after this. She closed her eyes to shut off the tears. Until she felt someone pull her hood over her head. She looked up to see a guy standing there with a sympathetic look on his face. He was tall and had adequate muscle on him. He wore a gray jacket, blue jeans, and black sneakers. The guy's hair was dirty blonde and his eyes were light blue. He looked at Cheerliee. "Miss Cheerilee, I think we should allow her to keep her hood up if she wants to. This is clearly distressing her," he said. "I... I see. I'll talk with the Principals about this," she said. After returning to her seat, Becky couldn't help but stare at the nice guy who pulled her hood over her head. He was actually nice to her, despite her looks. She couldn't figure him out, but he was nice. And cute, she had to admit. She was so focused on staring at him that she could barely hear the bell ring. Before she could walk out the door, Cheerilee stopped her. "Hey, Becky, I'm so sorry for what happened. I'll speak to the Principal about you wearing your hood," she said. "Okay," she said simply before leaving for her next class. Cafeteria Becky walked into the cafeteria with her lunchbox in her left hand. She walked through the room until she found a solitary table with no one sitting at it. She speed-walked all the way to the table and sat down. "I hate this first day. I don't know if I can take any more interaction with others," she thought to herself. Becky opened her lunchbox to reveal her mother's prepared lunch: a bag of Doritos, a bottle of strawberry-banana juice, a piece of Key lime pie, and thick strips of raw beef. Becky smiled with a show of fangs at the sight of the food. But before she could chow down, a bright face suddenly appeared in her peripheral vision. Becky jumped in her seat. The face that startled her belonged to a smiling girl with pink fluffy hair. The girl held out her hand to Becky in greeting. "Hi there! I'm Pinkie Pie! You're obviously new here, and I want to give you a warm greeting!" Pinkie said warmly. With a bit of hesitation, Becky wrapped her hand around Pinkie's. Pinkie shook her hand violently with the vigor of a Formula One car. After letting go, Pinkie grabbed both of Becky's wrists. "I couldn't help but notice that you were about to eat your lunch all by yourself, so I thought I'd invite you to eat with me and my friends!" Pinkie said. Before Becky could open her mouth to protest, Pinkie pulled Becky and her lunchbox over to a table full of other strange girls. Becky started to panic when the girls all turned their eyes towards her and Pinkie. "Oh, you must be the new girl, darling," a posh-looking girl asked. "Yeah, she's new! What's your name?" Pinkie asked. Lowering her hooded head and hugging herself, Becky muttered her reply. "I'm Becky. I recently moved here from Florida," she said quietly. "Nice to meet ya, Becky! I'm Applejack," the country girl said. "I'm Rainbow Dash". "I'm Fluttershy". "My name is Twilight Sparkle". "I am Rarity". "I'm Sunset Shimmer". "Won't you sit with us?" Applejack asked. Becky reluctantly sat down between Applejack and Fluttershy. Once she was settled, she slowly opened her lunchbox to start eating. Applejack peeked into her lunchbox and looked at Becky with a scrunched face. "Is that... raw beef?" Applejack asked. "Yeah. It's a... dietary thing of mine," Becky said. Before their very eyes, Pinkie and her friends watched as Becky silently ate every strip of raw beef she had. Once the macabre display was over, she moved onto her bag of Doritos. Rainbow Dash was the next to speak to her. "You have some pretty interesting teeth," she said. "Yeah, I was born with them," Becky said simply. "So... where are you from?" Sunset asked. "I was born in south Florida near the Everglades," Becky replied. "Do you have any hobbies?" Twilight asked. "I like to read, watch anime, and swim," Becky replied. "If you want, you can try out for the school's swim team," Rainbow Dash said. "No thanks. I don't like sports," Becky said. Rainbow looked shocked upon hearing what sounded like heresy to her. But before she could say anything to Becky, a hand clasped over her mouth. "Well that's fine," Applejack said. "How are you liking CHS so far?" Becky wasn't sure how to answer that. She had been forced to reveal her reptilian features before her entire Homeroom class and humiliated, yet had been shown kindness by a guy who didn't even know her. There was a kindness in his eyes that she had never seen in anyone else she had known aside from her mother. Speaking of which, the same guy passed by the Rainbooms' table in front of Becky. He hadn't noticed her, but she couldn't help but notice him. Some of the Rainbooms noticed her reaction and looked towards the guy she was looking at. Sunset in particular gave Becky a sly grin. "Only your first day here at this school, and you've already found someone you like?" she asked coyly. "Wh-what?! No!" Becky denied. "I just think he's a good guy, that's all!" "If you want to know, his name is Roller Rock," Rarity said. "And he's single". "How do you know that?" Twilight asked. "I have my ways," Rarity replied simply. "Well, it's nice to know he's single," Becky whispered to herself. "What was that, sugarcube?" Applejack asked. "Nothing! Shut up!" Becky replied. The other Rainbooms looked to each other and giggled conspiratorially. Becky just looked down and continued to finish off her packed lunch. Once she was done, Pinkie spoke up to Becky. "Hey, do you want to hang out with us later?" Pinkie asked. "We're going to the Canterlot Zoo". "Really? My mom works at the Canterlot Zoo," Becky said. "What? That's cool! You should totally join us," Rainbow Dash said. "Well... maybe I will," Becky said. "I love the zoo and all the animals in it". "Alright, it's settled! We'll all head to the zoo after school!" Sunset said. As the girls were eating and talking, Becky started to feel more and more at ease with them. She smiled in a form of relief. "I think I'm going to like hanging around these girls," Becky thought. Chapter 2On The Way to Canterlot Zoo - Later That Day Becky and her newfound "friends" had all decided to walk together to the zoo. Along the way, they passed by the open air fish market. They scent of the fresh fish was visibly unappealing to the Rainbooms, but Becky's mouth watered at the scent of fresh caught fish. "Let's see what they have," Becky whispered to herself before taking a sniff. "Salmon, tuna, tilapia, catfish, halibut, cod, trout, and even crawdads." "You like seafood?" Rarity asked, trying to block out the smell of fish. "I do. I especially like sushi, which is like artwork in the form of food," Becky replied. "I do enjoy a nice catfish fry now and then," Applejack said. The smell of fish brought lovely memories to Becky's mind. She remembered that her father was the one to teach her how to fish and they would often go fishing together while he was around. The thing was that they would sometimes go into the water and catch fish with just their teeth, something easy to do since they could both swim great. Becky shook her head to focus on her and the Rainbooms getting to the zoo. "How about we get to the zoo? My mom is probably working there late anyway," Becky said. "I also want to be there to see the eggs hatch." "Eggs? What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked. "The Canterlot Zoo recently built a Nile crocodile exhibit and two of them had produced a nest of eggs," Becky said. "My mom promised me that I would be there to watch them hatch." "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Fluttershy said. "Of course you'd want to get to the zoo after hearing that," Pinkie Pie said. ***** Canterlot Zoo - Nile Crocodile Exhibit Becky led the girls to the newly-built Nile crocodile exhibit and marveled at seeing the powerful reptiles sunning themselves on the grass or were chilling in the water. Becky always enjoyed hanging around them and noticed a few of them swimming over to her. "Hey guys, did you all miss me?" Becky asked the crocs. The crocodiles all growled and bellowed in response. They were all happy and healthy, eating fresh fish and chicken and were well taken care of by the zoo staff. The girls took notice of Becky's interaction with the crocs. "They seem to like you, Becky," Twilight said. "Yeah, sometimes I swim with them," Becky said. The girls looked to Becky as if she had just turned herself into a crocodile. Sunset spoke first. "You actually swim with them?" Sunset asked. Becky shrugged in reply. "They've obviously never hurt me, so I do so from time to time." "Still, it sounds crazy to be swimming with crocodiles," Rarity said. "It would be if you didn't know what to do," Becky said. "Anyway, we gotta find my mom." The girls continued their way through the zoo and Becky finally found her mother handling one of the pangolins. Becky's mother was dressed in typical zookeeper attire and had short brunette hair tied in a short ponytail. She smiled at seeing her daughter with a group behind her. "Hey, sweetie! I guess you had a good day at school?" Becky's mother asked. "Today was pretty cool, I guess," Becky said. "We're here to see the crocodiles hatching." "Oh, that's right! Thanks for reminding me!" Becky's mom said. "Let me just put this little guy away and we'll go see them." Becky and the others followed her mother to the veterinary building to the room where the eggs were being incubated. They were being kept in a special machine designed for incubating the eggs. They all looked inside and could hear the typical call young crocodilians made when they were ready to hatch. "YEONCH, YEONCH, YEONCH!" Before their very eyes, the little crocs all began to emerge from their eggs, blinking their large eyes at the new world they find themselves in. They all seemed to look directly at Becky and made an effort to crawl over to her. Becky put her hands into the incubator had picked up some of the hatchlings and regarded them with kind eyes. "Hey there, little ones!" Becky said to them in a soft voice. "Welcome to the world." The little hatchlings were still making their calls as they were looking at Becky, but at least they seemed to enjoy her holding them. Becky looked over to her mom with a question. "What'll happen to them, now?" she asked. "We'll keep them here until they're big enough to be shipped to other zoos or wildlife sanctuaries," her mom replied. "You and your friends are more than welcome to visit them though." Becky and the others were enjoying seeing the crocodile hatchlings crawl around in the makeshift nest. Becky put the hatchlings back into the incubator and scooped up another handful of hatchlings to give attention to. Fluttershy looked to Becky and asked if she could hold some of the hatchlings. Becky simply handed her the ones she herself was holding. "Is it okay if we all hold some of the hatchlings?" Rainbow asked. "I suppose that will be fine," Becky's mom said. The Rainbooms all took turns holding some of the hatchlings. The hatchlings squirmed at first, but they eventually calmed down and rested comfortably in the warm hands of the girls holding them. Becky was having a lot of fun with the girls and interacting with the newborn crocs until Becky's mom looked at the clock. "Okay girls, it's nearly closing time so I suggest you leave quickly," Becky's mom said. With some reluctance, the Rainbooms and Becky returned the hatchlings to the incubator and Becky led them out of the zoo. Once they passed the Nile crocodile exhibit, Becky heard one of the crocodiles calling. "Hey, Becky! How are today?" she called. Becky couldn't afford to reveal her little "talent" to a bunch of girls she barely knew, so she simply nodded to the crocodile in acknowledgement and went on her way with the others. They left the zoo just in time and Becky turned towards the others. "I'd say today was a good day, wouldn't you agree?" Rarity asked. "Coming here was a good idea! I liked holding the baby crocs," Sunset said. "Yeah, and I'd love to hang out with you again, Becky!" Pinkie said. "Wait, really? You'd all actually like to hang out... with me?" Becky asked. "Of course. We can tell that you'd be a lot of fun to be around, Becky. We'd like to be your first friends here in Canterlot if you want," Applejack said. Becky stared at the girls for a long time. This was the first time anyone had actually wanted to be her friend. And they didn't seem to be the types to be bothered by her appearance. A warmth spread throughout her body and a smiled crept on her face. Feeling safe around them, and seeing that no one else was around, Becky removed her hood in front of them. The girls were all in awe of her true crocodilian appearance. Rainbow seemed to be enthused by her looking like a rock star. Becky looked at the girls with tears streaming down her face and showing a sincere, fanged smile. "Sure! I'd love to hang out with you guys again sometime!" Becky said. "Maybe we can hang out at my place, sometime!" "We'd love that!" Twilight said. "Okay, then!" Becky said before parting ways with the Rainbooms. She intended to make her life in Canterlot better than her old one in Florida. The Rainbooms offered her friendship, and she would make every attempt to be theirs. * * * * * Becky's House Becky and her mom lived somewhere in the rural part of town, in a cozy house by a decent-sized lake where Becky would often swim. In fact, that was what Becky went to do as soon as she got home. Becky had been swimming in the lake ever since she and her mother moved there. She changed into her swimsuit and swam through the waters of the lake like a torpedo, swimming with a newly-sprouted tail. She would sprout her tail to swim only when she swam alone, which was a lot. If she was in a public pool, she would swim with her arms and legs like a normal human, and even then she could swim better than the average. With her nictitating membranes over her eyes, Becky swam through the water with her powerful tail swishing from side to side. The bottom of the lake had groves of aquatic plants, schools of sunfish, and even a snapping turtle chilling among the weeds. Becky snapped at a few bluegill and red-ear before surfacing. There were several ducks and frogs among the lily pads and there even some deer drinking from the lake on the shore farthest from Becky. Becky just stared at the bullfrogs around her. "Frog legs sound pretty good right about now," Becky said. "Then again, Mom said she'd be bringing pizza home, so I'll just continue swimming for now." Becky just continued swimming around in the lake among the fish and rested at the bottom, having a staring contest with the snapping turtle she saw earlier. She stared right into the turtle's eyes as the turtle simply sat there. The turtle was wondering why the hell a human-crocodile being was staring so intently into his eyes, but he was too scared to look away or try to move away from her. The turtle tried closing his eyes to try to make himself look invisible to the croc girl, and when he opened his eyes again, the girl was swimming away from him. "Ha! I won!" Becky thought. Breaching the water and leaping into the air with speed she spun in the air with her tail swishing when she noticed something on one of the shores of the lake. Or rather, someone. It was Roller Rock, the guy who had helped her out on her first day. He was carrying a fishing pole and a tackle box in his hands and he was looking at Becky with wide eyes. Becky was so scared that she forgot to stick the landing in the water. She belly-flopped in the water and she felt like her whole body got slapped. Shaking off the pain of the impromptu belly-flop, she surfaced and could see that Roller was still there, and he was just as shocked as she was. "Uh... Becky?" Roller asked cautiously. "Is that you?" "Uh... yes," Becky replied. "Did you see anything?" "You mean... the tail?" Roller replied. "I distinctly remember seeing a tail." The two stared at each other for a long time unsure of what to do now. Becky was going to have a hell of a time explaining this. Chapter 3Becky's Lake Becky and Roller continued to stare at each other without saying anything. She was going to have a hell of a time explaining this. After a while, she was the first one to speak. "Do you... think I'm some kind of freak, now?" Becky asked. The response she heard wasn't what she expected. "Are you kidding me? You look awesome!" Roller replied with a big smile on his face. Becky turned to him with a look of surprise. She had never heard anyone other than her mother compliment her "unique" appearance. She was about to ask him why he wasn't freaked out about her being half-crocodile when he showed her a tattoo on his chest that was a talented image of a crocodile. He looked at her with a sheepish smile. "The thing is, I've always had a fascination with reptiles. Especially crocodilians," Roller said. "And I think you being half-croc is super cool!" "You... really think I look cool?" Becky asked. "Of course. That makes you cooler than most," Roller said. "In my eyes, you're one cool croc!" Becky started to laugh at being referred to as a "cool croc", and she was genuinely happy to see that Roller wasn't bothered by her looks at all. She stopped laughing and looked at Roller's fishing gear. "I've been swimming in this lake ever since I moved here and I never saw you here fishing," Becky said. "I recently got my fishing license and wanted to begin with the nearby lake," Roller said. "You come down her to swim every day?" "What can I say, it's in my blood," Becky replied. "My dad's Sobek, the Egyptian crocodile god of water." Roller stared at her for a good while before shrugging with a neutral expression. "Well, knowing what I've seen, no one in this town's a stranger to magic," Roller said. "So you being the daughter of a crocodile god doesn't faze me at all." "So... you want me to help you catch some fish?" Becky offered. "I'm a good fisherwoman after all." "Nice of you to offer, but I prefer using the gear I just bought," Roller said. "But, if you could try to herd fish over to my area of the lake, that would be great." "I'll see what I can do," Becky said chuckling. With a flick of her powerful tail, Becky dove back into the water and swam around the lake, making sure to try to herd them towards the part where Roller Rock was currently standing. Under the water, Becky could make out the hook, bait, and bobber that Roller was using for fish. Given how small the lure was, he was aiming for a decent-sized bluegill or maybe a smallmouth bass. Becky swam to the bottom of the lake and stared upwards at Roller's hook and bobber, waiting for any fish to swim near the hook and bobber. After waiting for a while, a largemouth bass emerged from the weeds and made its way towards Roller's bait. It wasn't a monster, but it was a pretty good size. And it must have been hungry if it was willing to go for the small bait on the hook. She watched as the fish got closer and closer, seemingly inspecting the bait before finally biting down on it. Roller immediately reacted and gave a slight tug on the line to make sure the hook was secured in the fish's mouth before really starting the fight with the fish. Becky watched the fight with great anticipation. "Come on! Come on! You can do this!" Becky mentally cheered. The fish was putting up quite a decent fight, but Roller really seemed to put his back into the fight and the bass was getting more tired with each passing reel of the line. The fish was being pulled closer and closer before the fish disappeared above the water. "Yes! You did it!" Becky thought. Becky swam up to the surface and saw Roller holding the thrashing bass with the biggest smile on his face. He laughed out loud when Becky approached. "Never expected to catch a largemouth on my first go!" Roller said. "You should be happy. Largemouth are good eating," Becky said. Roller put the bass in a special cooler he brought with him to preserve the fish. Becky tilted her head to the side. "Do you know how to prepare the fish for eating?" Becky asked. "I know how to prepare fish." "I looked up a YouTube tutorial about how to prepare fish before getting my license," Roller replied. "You want some fish?" Becky flashed him her sharp teeth when she smirked. "I think I can catch my own fish, but thanks for asking." "Just trying to be nice. Say, uh... do you want to hang out after school sometime? Like, here around the lake?" Roller asked. At that moment, Becky's heart was beating so fast that it threatened to break her ribs. She only just met the guy earlier today, but he was completely fine with her appearance and he helped her out in homeroom. She had a feeling that she could trust him. Once again, Becky gave him a toothy smirk. "You know what? I'd like that," Becky said. "You want to swim with a crocodile?" "I would if you're the crocodile. See ya later!" Roller said. Becky watched Roller leave until he was completely out of sight. Once he was gone, Becky smiled and dove back into the water. There were butterflies in her stomach while thinking about what she and Roller could do when they met up later. She thought about getting him to swim with her in the lake and eating fish with him along the shoreline. Maybe she could invite him to play video games with her via Discord and play Super Mario Bros with him. The possibilities were endless. And she would look forward to it. The sun had passed the treetops by the time Becky got out of the water to return home. She walked through the field behind the house and walked up the stairs to the back door. Becky smelled the pizza her mom brought home and her mouth began to water. As much as she enjoyed eating fish and raw beef, she enjoyed eating things like pizza even more. She magically retracted her tail as she opened door. Her mom was relaxing on the couch watching TV when she heard her daughter entering. She greeted her daughter with a smile. "Hey, baby croc! How was your first day?" she asked. "Must have been good if you brought a group to the zoo to see the Nile crocs hatch." "I'd say that today was pretty good. I got to meet some decent people and made a new friend at the lake," Becky replied. "I helped him catch some fish." Becky's mom shot up from her seat and looked at Becky with wide eyes. She looked as if she just sniffed the devil's snow. "I'm sorry, did you say 'him'? You met a boy at the lake?" her mom asked. "Yeah, and don't worry. He's a good guy," Becky said. "He goes to my school and we're in Homeroom together. He helped me out and he doesn't mind my looks. Definitely better than the guys I knew in Florida." "So, he's a keeper in your eyes?" her mom asked with a smirk. "Sounds to me like you have an attachment to him." Becky's cheeks turned a deep shade of red. She swung her claws in the air as she yelled. "It's not like that, Mom! We just met today, after all!" Becky said. Her mom didn't look convinced. "Well, either way, I'm glad you're having a good time here in Canterlot," her mom said. "Especially after your little incident back in Florida." "That was a one-time thing, Mom. I don't think I'll have anything to worry about," Becky said. "The people I've met today all seem nice, so I think I can live a good life here." The mother-daughter duo moved to the living room and ate pizza together. It was a great night to live in Canterlot for the daughter of Sobek.
Chapter 1On the Way to Canterlot High Becky did her best to hide herself underneath the hood of her green hoodie. The girl was going to do her best to not stand out at this new school. She had to hope that she didn't get bullied at this new school. Becky had to go to some new school since her last school was not an ideal place for her. She was relentlessly bullied for her appearance. Other kids didn't approach her because of how she looked, too. There were a lot of things about Becky that could be described as "inhuman". She had random patches of scales throughout her entire body, most notably on the sides of her head. This gave her the appearance of having a punkish hairstyle. Her eyes were bright green with reptilian pupils. Her hands and feet had sharp black claws and her teeth were strong and sharp. She wore a green hoodie with a white T-shirt and gray baggy sweatpants complete with green sneakers. She hurried along the sidewalk to get to this new school. She hurried past the horse statue up front and made her way to her first class, Biology. Becky walked through the door and sat down in the very back nearest to the window. She waited in anticipation as the rest of her new classmates filed in the classroom and sat down, talking of familiar things. At some point, a friendly-looking older woman walked into the room and looked at the class just as the first bell rang. "Good morning class! My name is Miss Cheerilee, and I'll be your Biology teacher for this year," she greeted warmly. "And as I understand it, we have a new student joining us". This was the part that Becky dreaded the most: introducing herself to the class. Whenever that happened before, that would open the door to bullying of differing kinds. She's been heckled, name-called, and even beaten up before. They'd all call her names related to reptiles. Miss Cheerilee scanned the room until her eyes fell upon the hooded girl. "Aw, there you are! Would you kindly come up here and introduce yourself to the class?" Miss Cheerliee asked. Pulling her hood over her eyes, Becky stood up and walked up to the front of the room facing the class. Refusing to look them in the eye, she began her introduction. "Hi, my name is Becky. I love reading manga, swimming, and watching anime. My mother is a zookeeper for the Canterlot Zoo," she said. After that, Cheerilee spoke again. "Excuse me, Miss Becky, but could you please remove your hood?" Miss Cheerliee asked. "Uh, I'd rather not, ma'am. I don't feel comfortable removing my hood," Becky said. "I'm sorry, but it's school policy," Cheerilee said. Seeing no other way out of this, Becky reluctantly removed her hood. The silence that followed was almost deafening. The poor girl could feel the unwanted attention and discomfort building up in her until she could feel hot tears running down her face. Becky knew that she was going to get bullied after this. She closed her eyes to shut off the tears. Until she felt someone pull her hood over her head. She looked up to see a guy standing there with a sympathetic look on his face. He was tall and had adequate muscle on him. He wore a gray jacket, blue jeans, and black sneakers. The guy's hair was dirty blonde and his eyes were light blue. He looked at Cheerliee. "Miss Cheerilee, I think we should allow her to keep her hood up if she wants to. This is clearly distressing her," he said. "I... I see. I'll talk with the Principals about this," she said. After returning to her seat, Becky couldn't help but stare at the nice guy who pulled her hood over her head. He was actually nice to her, despite her looks. She couldn't figure him out, but he was nice. And cute, she had to admit. She was so focused on staring at him that she could barely hear the bell ring. Before she could walk out the door, Cheerilee stopped her. "Hey, Becky, I'm so sorry for what happened. I'll speak to the Principal about you wearing your hood," she said. "Okay," she said simply before leaving for her next class. Cafeteria Becky walked into the cafeteria with her lunchbox in her left hand. She walked through the room until she found a solitary table with no one sitting at it. She speed-walked all the way to the table and sat down. "I hate this first day. I don't know if I can take any more interaction with others," she thought to herself. Becky opened her lunchbox to reveal her mother's prepared lunch: a bag of Doritos, a bottle of strawberry-banana juice, a piece of Key lime pie, and thick strips of raw beef. Becky smiled with a show of fangs at the sight of the food. But before she could chow down, a bright face suddenly appeared in her peripheral vision. Becky jumped in her seat. The face that startled her belonged to a smiling girl with pink fluffy hair. The girl held out her hand to Becky in greeting. "Hi there! I'm Pinkie Pie! You're obviously new here, and I want to give you a warm greeting!" Pinkie said warmly. With a bit of hesitation, Becky wrapped her hand around Pinkie's. Pinkie shook her hand violently with the vigor of a Formula One car. After letting go, Pinkie grabbed both of Becky's wrists. "I couldn't help but notice that you were about to eat your lunch all by yourself, so I thought I'd invite you to eat with me and my friends!" Pinkie said. Before Becky could open her mouth to protest, Pinkie pulled Becky and her lunchbox over to a table full of other strange girls. Becky started to panic when the girls all turned their eyes towards her and Pinkie. "Oh, you must be the new girl, darling," a posh-looking girl asked. "Yeah, she's new! What's your name?" Pinkie asked. Lowering her hooded head and hugging herself, Becky muttered her reply. "I'm Becky. I recently moved here from Florida," she said quietly. "Nice to meet ya, Becky! I'm Applejack," the country girl said. "I'm Rainbow Dash". "I'm Fluttershy". "My name is Twilight Sparkle". "I am Rarity". "I'm Sunset Shimmer". "Won't you sit with us?" Applejack asked. Becky reluctantly sat down between Applejack and Fluttershy. Once she was settled, she slowly opened her lunchbox to start eating. Applejack peeked into her lunchbox and looked at Becky with a scrunched face. "Is that... raw beef?" Applejack asked. "Yeah. It's a... dietary thing of mine," Becky said. Before their very eyes, Pinkie and her friends watched as Becky silently ate every strip of raw beef she had. Once the macabre display was over, she moved onto her bag of Doritos. Rainbow Dash was the next to speak to her. "You have some pretty interesting teeth," she said. "Yeah, I was born with them," Becky said simply. "So... where are you from?" Sunset asked. "I was born in south Florida near the Everglades," Becky replied. "Do you have any hobbies?" Twilight asked. "I like to read, watch anime, and swim," Becky replied. "If you want, you can try out for the school's swim team," Rainbow Dash said. "No thanks. I don't like sports," Becky said. Rainbow looked shocked upon hearing what sounded like heresy to her. But before she could say anything to Becky, a hand clasped over her mouth. "Well that's fine," Applejack said. "How are you liking CHS so far?" Becky wasn't sure how to answer that. She had been forced to reveal her reptilian features before her entire Homeroom class and humiliated, yet had been shown kindness by a guy who didn't even know her. There was a kindness in his eyes that she had never seen in anyone else she had known aside from her mother. Speaking of which, the same guy passed by the Rainbooms' table in front of Becky. He hadn't noticed her, but she couldn't help but notice him. Some of the Rainbooms noticed her reaction and looked towards the guy she was looking at. Sunset in particular gave Becky a sly grin. "Only your first day here at this school, and you've already found someone you like?" she asked coyly. "Wh-what?! No!" Becky denied. "I just think he's a good guy, that's all!" "If you want to know, his name is Roller Rock," Rarity said. "And he's single". "How do you know that?" Twilight asked. "I have my ways," Rarity replied simply. "Well, it's nice to know he's single," Becky whispered to herself. "What was that, sugarcube?" Applejack asked. "Nothing! Shut up!" Becky replied. The other Rainbooms looked to each other and giggled conspiratorially. Becky just looked down and continued to finish off her packed lunch. Once she was done, Pinkie spoke up to Becky. "Hey, do you want to hang out with us later?" Pinkie asked. "We're going to the Canterlot Zoo". "Really? My mom works at the Canterlot Zoo," Becky said. "What? That's cool! You should totally join us," Rainbow Dash said. "Well... maybe I will," Becky said. "I love the zoo and all the animals in it". "Alright, it's settled! We'll all head to the zoo after school!" Sunset said. As the girls were eating and talking, Becky started to feel more and more at ease with them. She smiled in a form of relief. "I think I'm going to like hanging around these girls," Becky thought.
Chapter 2On The Way to Canterlot Zoo - Later That Day Becky and her newfound "friends" had all decided to walk together to the zoo. Along the way, they passed by the open air fish market. They scent of the fresh fish was visibly unappealing to the Rainbooms, but Becky's mouth watered at the scent of fresh caught fish. "Let's see what they have," Becky whispered to herself before taking a sniff. "Salmon, tuna, tilapia, catfish, halibut, cod, trout, and even crawdads." "You like seafood?" Rarity asked, trying to block out the smell of fish. "I do. I especially like sushi, which is like artwork in the form of food," Becky replied. "I do enjoy a nice catfish fry now and then," Applejack said. The smell of fish brought lovely memories to Becky's mind. She remembered that her father was the one to teach her how to fish and they would often go fishing together while he was around. The thing was that they would sometimes go into the water and catch fish with just their teeth, something easy to do since they could both swim great. Becky shook her head to focus on her and the Rainbooms getting to the zoo. "How about we get to the zoo? My mom is probably working there late anyway," Becky said. "I also want to be there to see the eggs hatch." "Eggs? What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked. "The Canterlot Zoo recently built a Nile crocodile exhibit and two of them had produced a nest of eggs," Becky said. "My mom promised me that I would be there to watch them hatch." "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Fluttershy said. "Of course you'd want to get to the zoo after hearing that," Pinkie Pie said. ***** Canterlot Zoo - Nile Crocodile Exhibit Becky led the girls to the newly-built Nile crocodile exhibit and marveled at seeing the powerful reptiles sunning themselves on the grass or were chilling in the water. Becky always enjoyed hanging around them and noticed a few of them swimming over to her. "Hey guys, did you all miss me?" Becky asked the crocs. The crocodiles all growled and bellowed in response. They were all happy and healthy, eating fresh fish and chicken and were well taken care of by the zoo staff. The girls took notice of Becky's interaction with the crocs. "They seem to like you, Becky," Twilight said. "Yeah, sometimes I swim with them," Becky said. The girls looked to Becky as if she had just turned herself into a crocodile. Sunset spoke first. "You actually swim with them?" Sunset asked. Becky shrugged in reply. "They've obviously never hurt me, so I do so from time to time." "Still, it sounds crazy to be swimming with crocodiles," Rarity said. "It would be if you didn't know what to do," Becky said. "Anyway, we gotta find my mom." The girls continued their way through the zoo and Becky finally found her mother handling one of the pangolins. Becky's mother was dressed in typical zookeeper attire and had short brunette hair tied in a short ponytail. She smiled at seeing her daughter with a group behind her. "Hey, sweetie! I guess you had a good day at school?" Becky's mother asked. "Today was pretty cool, I guess," Becky said. "We're here to see the crocodiles hatching." "Oh, that's right! Thanks for reminding me!" Becky's mom said. "Let me just put this little guy away and we'll go see them." Becky and the others followed her mother to the veterinary building to the room where the eggs were being incubated. They were being kept in a special machine designed for incubating the eggs. They all looked inside and could hear the typical call young crocodilians made when they were ready to hatch. "YEONCH, YEONCH, YEONCH!" Before their very eyes, the little crocs all began to emerge from their eggs, blinking their large eyes at the new world they find themselves in. They all seemed to look directly at Becky and made an effort to crawl over to her. Becky put her hands into the incubator had picked up some of the hatchlings and regarded them with kind eyes. "Hey there, little ones!" Becky said to them in a soft voice. "Welcome to the world." The little hatchlings were still making their calls as they were looking at Becky, but at least they seemed to enjoy her holding them. Becky looked over to her mom with a question. "What'll happen to them, now?" she asked. "We'll keep them here until they're big enough to be shipped to other zoos or wildlife sanctuaries," her mom replied. "You and your friends are more than welcome to visit them though." Becky and the others were enjoying seeing the crocodile hatchlings crawl around in the makeshift nest. Becky put the hatchlings back into the incubator and scooped up another handful of hatchlings to give attention to. Fluttershy looked to Becky and asked if she could hold some of the hatchlings. Becky simply handed her the ones she herself was holding. "Is it okay if we all hold some of the hatchlings?" Rainbow asked. "I suppose that will be fine," Becky's mom said. The Rainbooms all took turns holding some of the hatchlings. The hatchlings squirmed at first, but they eventually calmed down and rested comfortably in the warm hands of the girls holding them. Becky was having a lot of fun with the girls and interacting with the newborn crocs until Becky's mom looked at the clock. "Okay girls, it's nearly closing time so I suggest you leave quickly," Becky's mom said. With some reluctance, the Rainbooms and Becky returned the hatchlings to the incubator and Becky led them out of the zoo. Once they passed the Nile crocodile exhibit, Becky heard one of the crocodiles calling. "Hey, Becky! How are today?" she called. Becky couldn't afford to reveal her little "talent" to a bunch of girls she barely knew, so she simply nodded to the crocodile in acknowledgement and went on her way with the others. They left the zoo just in time and Becky turned towards the others. "I'd say today was a good day, wouldn't you agree?" Rarity asked. "Coming here was a good idea! I liked holding the baby crocs," Sunset said. "Yeah, and I'd love to hang out with you again, Becky!" Pinkie said. "Wait, really? You'd all actually like to hang out... with me?" Becky asked. "Of course. We can tell that you'd be a lot of fun to be around, Becky. We'd like to be your first friends here in Canterlot if you want," Applejack said. Becky stared at the girls for a long time. This was the first time anyone had actually wanted to be her friend. And they didn't seem to be the types to be bothered by her appearance. A warmth spread throughout her body and a smiled crept on her face. Feeling safe around them, and seeing that no one else was around, Becky removed her hood in front of them. The girls were all in awe of her true crocodilian appearance. Rainbow seemed to be enthused by her looking like a rock star. Becky looked at the girls with tears streaming down her face and showing a sincere, fanged smile. "Sure! I'd love to hang out with you guys again sometime!" Becky said. "Maybe we can hang out at my place, sometime!" "We'd love that!" Twilight said. "Okay, then!" Becky said before parting ways with the Rainbooms. She intended to make her life in Canterlot better than her old one in Florida. The Rainbooms offered her friendship, and she would make every attempt to be theirs. * * * * * Becky's House Becky and her mom lived somewhere in the rural part of town, in a cozy house by a decent-sized lake where Becky would often swim. In fact, that was what Becky went to do as soon as she got home. Becky had been swimming in the lake ever since she and her mother moved there. She changed into her swimsuit and swam through the waters of the lake like a torpedo, swimming with a newly-sprouted tail. She would sprout her tail to swim only when she swam alone, which was a lot. If she was in a public pool, she would swim with her arms and legs like a normal human, and even then she could swim better than the average. With her nictitating membranes over her eyes, Becky swam through the water with her powerful tail swishing from side to side. The bottom of the lake had groves of aquatic plants, schools of sunfish, and even a snapping turtle chilling among the weeds. Becky snapped at a few bluegill and red-ear before surfacing. There were several ducks and frogs among the lily pads and there even some deer drinking from the lake on the shore farthest from Becky. Becky just stared at the bullfrogs around her. "Frog legs sound pretty good right about now," Becky said. "Then again, Mom said she'd be bringing pizza home, so I'll just continue swimming for now." Becky just continued swimming around in the lake among the fish and rested at the bottom, having a staring contest with the snapping turtle she saw earlier. She stared right into the turtle's eyes as the turtle simply sat there. The turtle was wondering why the hell a human-crocodile being was staring so intently into his eyes, but he was too scared to look away or try to move away from her. The turtle tried closing his eyes to try to make himself look invisible to the croc girl, and when he opened his eyes again, the girl was swimming away from him. "Ha! I won!" Becky thought. Breaching the water and leaping into the air with speed she spun in the air with her tail swishing when she noticed something on one of the shores of the lake. Or rather, someone. It was Roller Rock, the guy who had helped her out on her first day. He was carrying a fishing pole and a tackle box in his hands and he was looking at Becky with wide eyes. Becky was so scared that she forgot to stick the landing in the water. She belly-flopped in the water and she felt like her whole body got slapped. Shaking off the pain of the impromptu belly-flop, she surfaced and could see that Roller was still there, and he was just as shocked as she was. "Uh... Becky?" Roller asked cautiously. "Is that you?" "Uh... yes," Becky replied. "Did you see anything?" "You mean... the tail?" Roller replied. "I distinctly remember seeing a tail." The two stared at each other for a long time unsure of what to do now. Becky was going to have a hell of a time explaining this.
Chapter 3Becky's Lake Becky and Roller continued to stare at each other without saying anything. She was going to have a hell of a time explaining this. After a while, she was the first one to speak. "Do you... think I'm some kind of freak, now?" Becky asked. The response she heard wasn't what she expected. "Are you kidding me? You look awesome!" Roller replied with a big smile on his face. Becky turned to him with a look of surprise. She had never heard anyone other than her mother compliment her "unique" appearance. She was about to ask him why he wasn't freaked out about her being half-crocodile when he showed her a tattoo on his chest that was a talented image of a crocodile. He looked at her with a sheepish smile. "The thing is, I've always had a fascination with reptiles. Especially crocodilians," Roller said. "And I think you being half-croc is super cool!" "You... really think I look cool?" Becky asked. "Of course. That makes you cooler than most," Roller said. "In my eyes, you're one cool croc!" Becky started to laugh at being referred to as a "cool croc", and she was genuinely happy to see that Roller wasn't bothered by her looks at all. She stopped laughing and looked at Roller's fishing gear. "I've been swimming in this lake ever since I moved here and I never saw you here fishing," Becky said. "I recently got my fishing license and wanted to begin with the nearby lake," Roller said. "You come down her to swim every day?" "What can I say, it's in my blood," Becky replied. "My dad's Sobek, the Egyptian crocodile god of water." Roller stared at her for a good while before shrugging with a neutral expression. "Well, knowing what I've seen, no one in this town's a stranger to magic," Roller said. "So you being the daughter of a crocodile god doesn't faze me at all." "So... you want me to help you catch some fish?" Becky offered. "I'm a good fisherwoman after all." "Nice of you to offer, but I prefer using the gear I just bought," Roller said. "But, if you could try to herd fish over to my area of the lake, that would be great." "I'll see what I can do," Becky said chuckling. With a flick of her powerful tail, Becky dove back into the water and swam around the lake, making sure to try to herd them towards the part where Roller Rock was currently standing. Under the water, Becky could make out the hook, bait, and bobber that Roller was using for fish. Given how small the lure was, he was aiming for a decent-sized bluegill or maybe a smallmouth bass. Becky swam to the bottom of the lake and stared upwards at Roller's hook and bobber, waiting for any fish to swim near the hook and bobber. After waiting for a while, a largemouth bass emerged from the weeds and made its way towards Roller's bait. It wasn't a monster, but it was a pretty good size. And it must have been hungry if it was willing to go for the small bait on the hook. She watched as the fish got closer and closer, seemingly inspecting the bait before finally biting down on it. Roller immediately reacted and gave a slight tug on the line to make sure the hook was secured in the fish's mouth before really starting the fight with the fish. Becky watched the fight with great anticipation. "Come on! Come on! You can do this!" Becky mentally cheered. The fish was putting up quite a decent fight, but Roller really seemed to put his back into the fight and the bass was getting more tired with each passing reel of the line. The fish was being pulled closer and closer before the fish disappeared above the water. "Yes! You did it!" Becky thought. Becky swam up to the surface and saw Roller holding the thrashing bass with the biggest smile on his face. He laughed out loud when Becky approached. "Never expected to catch a largemouth on my first go!" Roller said. "You should be happy. Largemouth are good eating," Becky said. Roller put the bass in a special cooler he brought with him to preserve the fish. Becky tilted her head to the side. "Do you know how to prepare the fish for eating?" Becky asked. "I know how to prepare fish." "I looked up a YouTube tutorial about how to prepare fish before getting my license," Roller replied. "You want some fish?" Becky flashed him her sharp teeth when she smirked. "I think I can catch my own fish, but thanks for asking." "Just trying to be nice. Say, uh... do you want to hang out after school sometime? Like, here around the lake?" Roller asked. At that moment, Becky's heart was beating so fast that it threatened to break her ribs. She only just met the guy earlier today, but he was completely fine with her appearance and he helped her out in homeroom. She had a feeling that she could trust him. Once again, Becky gave him a toothy smirk. "You know what? I'd like that," Becky said. "You want to swim with a crocodile?" "I would if you're the crocodile. See ya later!" Roller said. Becky watched Roller leave until he was completely out of sight. Once he was gone, Becky smiled and dove back into the water. There were butterflies in her stomach while thinking about what she and Roller could do when they met up later. She thought about getting him to swim with her in the lake and eating fish with him along the shoreline. Maybe she could invite him to play video games with her via Discord and play Super Mario Bros with him. The possibilities were endless. And she would look forward to it. The sun had passed the treetops by the time Becky got out of the water to return home. She walked through the field behind the house and walked up the stairs to the back door. Becky smelled the pizza her mom brought home and her mouth began to water. As much as she enjoyed eating fish and raw beef, she enjoyed eating things like pizza even more. She magically retracted her tail as she opened door. Her mom was relaxing on the couch watching TV when she heard her daughter entering. She greeted her daughter with a smile. "Hey, baby croc! How was your first day?" she asked. "Must have been good if you brought a group to the zoo to see the Nile crocs hatch." "I'd say that today was pretty good. I got to meet some decent people and made a new friend at the lake," Becky replied. "I helped him catch some fish." Becky's mom shot up from her seat and looked at Becky with wide eyes. She looked as if she just sniffed the devil's snow. "I'm sorry, did you say 'him'? You met a boy at the lake?" her mom asked. "Yeah, and don't worry. He's a good guy," Becky said. "He goes to my school and we're in Homeroom together. He helped me out and he doesn't mind my looks. Definitely better than the guys I knew in Florida." "So, he's a keeper in your eyes?" her mom asked with a smirk. "Sounds to me like you have an attachment to him." Becky's cheeks turned a deep shade of red. She swung her claws in the air as she yelled. "It's not like that, Mom! We just met today, after all!" Becky said. Her mom didn't look convinced. "Well, either way, I'm glad you're having a good time here in Canterlot," her mom said. "Especially after your little incident back in Florida." "That was a one-time thing, Mom. I don't think I'll have anything to worry about," Becky said. "The people I've met today all seem nice, so I think I can live a good life here." The mother-daughter duo moved to the living room and ate pizza together. It was a great night to live in Canterlot for the daughter of Sobek.
