They cant help Themselves Chapter 3: Ocellus Pt1
“Get out of our school you freaking bug monster!”
 
“Hey! She ain’t a monster”, Sandbar retorted to the pony screaming at Ocellus.
 
“Sandbar, you want Yona smash tiny racist pony?”
 
“No Yona, This is still a friendship school…even if some ponies didn’t get the message.” Sandbar placed a hoof on Yona’s chest, “Let’s just go back to the dorms.”
 
“Why don’t all you freaks go back where you came from!”, the pony shouted as the three walked away.
 
Walking back to the dorms, Sandbar noticed Ocellus had taken the pony’s harsh words harder than he expected. “Don’t litsen to ponies like him Ocellus, ignorant ponies are always going to exist.”
 
“But he’s right, I am a monster”
 
Sandbar stopped in his tracks, grabbing Ocellus he spun her around to face him. “No you’re not! You’re the most accepting creature in this school, and my friend.” Sandbar and Ocellus continued walking toward the dorms. “Why would you even think something like that about yourself?”
 
Ocellus looked at the floor as they walked, “I know changelings don’t eat love anymore, but sometimes I have these… cravings”
 
“What do you mean?”
 
“I mean like, when I’m with you and the rest of our friends I’m fine, but whenever somepony makes me feel bad like that I just…”
 
“You just what?”
 
“I just, I…”
 
“What?”
 
“I wanna eat him!”, Ocellus’s voice echoed down the empty halls as Sandbar and Yona stood in shock at her words.
 
“You want eat pony?”, Yona asked, more curious than disturbed.
 
“I know I’m a monster! Please don’t hate me”, Ocellus started crying.
 
Sandbar stood there with his mouth open for a second before he recognized that he had to say something. “We don’t hate you we’re just… confused”, he said wrapping his hooves around his sobbing friend. “We all love you Ocellus, but you gotta walk us through this.”
 
Ocellus wiped her face and looked up at Sandbar. “You mean it? You don’t think I’m a monster?”
 
“Of course not!”, Sandbar assured.
 
“Bug pony is friend, not monster”, Yona chimed in stamping her hoof.
 
“You’ll always be our friend Ocellus. Now, can you just explain to us what you mean by you want to eat him?”
 
A slight smile showed itself on Ocellus’s face as she stood up. “I would never do it but, whenever I don’t have love I always feel this need to have somepony… inside me”, she explained. “Whenever somepony is mean, this weird feeling comes over me and I start to looking at them like food.”
 
“Yona is confused, you want eat pony yes or no?”
 
Sandbar stepped in front of Yona and took Ocellus by the hoof. “I think I understand. Look Ocellus, everytime you think about eating somepony I want you to just close your eyes, and think of me”, Sandbar kissed Ocellus on the forehead and looked back at Yona. “Let’s go, I think we’ve had enough friendship lessons for one day.”
 
 
 
 
{The next day}
 
The friends spent the day on a field trip with their substitute teacher Applejack. Rainbow Dash and Twilight were missing so Starlight had taken it upon herself to run the school in the meantime, and hired substitutes for the classes.
 
Out on this literal field trip, the group found themselves doing farm work more than they were learning any actual friendship lessons. Applejack had them harvesting apples and making hay, under the guise of it being a team-building exercise. To be fair to her though, Applejack was in the fields working with them the entire day.
 
As the sun set the group made their way up the road back to the school of friendship, but along the way Gallus started talking shit, like he always does.
 
“Hey Ocellus, heard you wanna eat Sandbar”, Gallus flew around in front of Ocellus with a shit eating grin on his face. “What’s the deal with that, I thought the bugs weren’t doing that sort of thing anymore?”, he asked in a mocking tone.
 
“Who told you about that Gallus!”, Sandbar demanded.
 
“Yona may have told Gallus about hungry friend. Yona sorry.”
 
“Yah she told me all about how bug girl here is hankering for some yummy pony m…”
 
“Shut up Gallus!”, Sandbar got between Gallus and Ocellus. “She’s our friend, what’s wrong with you?!”
 
“It’s ok Sandbar, he’s right”, Ocellus mumbled.
 
“No he’s not! You…”
 
“She... is a ticking time bomb”, Gallus interrupted. “Who knows what the crazy bug’ll do to us if we’re not looking.”
 
“Please... stop”, Ocellus begged.
 
“Knock it off Gallus I’m warning you!”
 
“What you gonna do pony boy?”
 
Sandbar turned to Ocellus, “I know your not a monster Ocellus. There comes a time when you’ve got to stand up and fight for yourself. Now is one of those times.”
 
Ocellus looked into Sandbars eyes and knew his words rang true. Standing tall she walked toward the griffon. “You better to be nice to me!”
 
“Oh ho-ho, look at the pony-eater standing up for herself” Gallus mocked. “And what are you gonna do if I’m mean?”
 
Before Sandbar could stand up for Ocellus again, she transformed into a giant terrifying bug bear and grabbed Gallus out of the sky.
 
“GRRR”, she growled. Bringing Gallus up to her snout, Ocellus roared into the frightened griffon’s face.
 
Gallus screamed as the ear splitting roar rang his ears, and the hot breath washed over his face. Opening his eyes Gallus saw the toothy maw of Ocellus slowly open wide, revealing… the throat.
 
“NO! don’t do it!”, Sandbar yelled. But Ocellus ignored him. All she could hear right now were the desperate pleas for mercy, coming from her so called friend.
 
The group looked on as Ocellus stuffed Gallus into her mouth and swallowed.
 
* GULP *
 
Sandbar and the group watched the bulge of their friend make it’s way down and disappear inside the belly of the giant bug bear.
 
“She didn’t”, Smolder denied what she was seeing with her very own eyes. Ocellus had just eaten her boyfriend, whole, and alive.
 
Ocellus rubbed her giant belly for a moment before changing back into her much more appealing changeling form… although with a ludicrously distended gut; a gut that now contained the squirming body of a still very much alive Gallus.
 
“Let him out”, Smolder screamed at the bloated changeling. “You let him out right now you monster!”
 
Ocellus shook her head before rolling over onto her side.
 
Sandbar walked up to her and leaned down. “I think he’s learned his lesson Ocellus, you need to let him out now.”
 
“I… I cant”
 
The whole group gasped at the girl’s words.
 
“What do you mean you cant!?”, Smolder demanded.
 
“I cant!”, Ocellus cried.
 
The goup heard Gallus give an agonized, muffled scream from inside of her body.
 
“I’ll get him out!”, Smolder walked forward, brandishing her sharp dragon claws.
 
“No!”, Sandbar yelled jumping in front of her. “Let’s get Starlight or something, we’re not cutting open Ocellus!”
 
Ocellus’s stomach gave a loud rumble. “HELP! IT BURNS!”
 
“He’s not gonna make it to Starlight! MOVE SANDBAR!”
 
“No, I wont let you!”
 
Smolder took a deep breath, readying herself to roast the pony that stood between her and her lover.
 
Before she could let lose the blaze, Yona slammed into her side; sending the tiny dragon over the fence, careening thirty yards away. Luckily the soft grass combined with Smolder’s tough dragon scales prevented any physical damage, but knowing that her friends were gonna just stand by and watch, as Gallus died right in front of them, that had Smolder crying.
 
“I’M SORRY! Just please, someone… HELP ME!”
 
Tears streamed down her face as Smolder heard Gallus begging for his life. “Please! He’s dying, do something!”
 
Sandbar looked back at Ocellus who was sniffling into the grass knowing what she had done and back to Smolder. Sandbar hung his head in remorse and regret. “Sorry Smolder, he’s already dead”
 
“YOU’RE ALL MONSTERS!”, Smolder screamed as she took to the sky. I’m getting princess ember! You’ll pay for this!”
 
Sandbar and Yona watched as their friend… ex-friend flew away toward the dragon lands.
 
“I’m sorry Smolder”, Sandbar said to himself.
 
Looking to yona Sandbar saw she too was now crying. “Are we monsters?”
 
Sandbar looked back at Ocellus in the grass and the now still mas of their late friend Gallus inside her. “I don’t know”