The Very Hungry Caterpillar

by sunnypack

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Other, Spike, Twilight Sparkle
Length: 1706

Once there was a caterpillar and he was very hungry. Twilight investigates a noise coming from the kitchen. It's a caterpillar and it's very, very hungry.

Twilight read a book, and the book told her a tale,
There once was a caterpillar, it had started so frail,
It searched for food, for it was in the mood,
For some juicy, juicy leaves, or so it believed.
It ate and ate, until it got full,
And then one night, it felt a strange pull,
Wrapped in a cocoon so tight,
It came out, what a sight!
A beautiful butterfly, oh my!
It stretched it wings, and began to fly...

Twilight is up late one night, reading a pleasant old children's book. Then she hears a sound and investigates. There was a caterpillar, and it was very, very hungry.

Published 2014-12-13 07:40:06 UTC
Last updated 2014-12-14 03:41:19 UTC

1 - More than Midnight Snacks

Chapter 1: The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Twilight yawned and put down the book. It was a nice children's book about a very hungry caterpillar that ate through various leaves until one day it became a butterfly. It was small and simple, but it had all the good components of a small and simple story—beginning, middle and end. Twilight found that she enjoyed it, and it was a pleasant surprise. She didn't know she could gain so much pleasure from reading such a simple book.

All books lay close to Twilight's heart. She treasured every one of them, no matter their subject, contents or origins. Each book had a story to tell, whether it was printed on its pages or hidden away in the markings and scratchings of the book’s delicate covers. She sighed in contentment and yawned.

Glancing outside, she noted the position of the moon and blinked in befuddlement.

Oh, she thought, registering the moon’s angle. How time flies.

Twilight got up to her hooves but nearly toppled over. Groaning, she realised that she had been engrossed with reading fairy tales and children's stories for the past few hours in an uncomfortable kneeling position. She felt the familiar, but hated, pins and needles sensations work their way down to her hooves.

"Oh," she groaned out loud. "Why do I do this to myself?"

There was a simple answer to that, and those familiar with Twilight knew the answer. A good book was hard to put down. Good writing was captivating. If it were up to Twilight she would immerse herself for the whole day, just reading solidly until the sun extinguished itself.

She grinned ruefully, though nopony was around to see. "I think," she said out loud. "I should cut down on reading."

"Good idea."

Twilight spun around, heart racing, half-rearing and frightened to the core.

"Spike!" she yelped, putting a hoof to heart. Twilight dropped back to all fours as the purple and green dragon yawned. He just gave her a quizzical look, then shrugged and waddled to the kitchen.

Twilight looked at the dragon as he went to the kitchen and opened the fridge, scrounging around.

"Spike," Twilight repeated. "What are you doing?"

The dragon glanced back to Twilight, before perusing the fridge.

"I'm hungry," he replied, stuffing an apple in his mouth.

Twilight cocked her head. "That's unusual." She yawned, surprising herself. "Oh," she mumbled, blinking blearily. "I must be more tired than I thought." She headed out of the kitchen. "Don't go too far with the food," she warned, trotting out the door. The only reply she got was a muffled affirmative and a waving claw.

"Mmm'mmfff."

"Good night to you too, Spike."

––––

It was the soft hours of the night, but something woke Twilight up. Blinking in the darkness of her room, she tried to take stock of what would wake her. She looked at the small shelf beside her bed that held the miniature cuckoo clock. It ticked gently, showing that the wee hours of the morning were underway. It was not yet dawn, nor twilight, so the darkness was almost total, save for the constant light of the stars and the waning moon.

She stumbled towards her shelf and checked the books. No, nothing was out of order. Sometimes she would wake up in the middle of the night and realise that some books in her shelf were out of order. Sometimes they needed to be rearranged before she could get back to sleep. A quick check revealed nothing.

She plodded back to her bed. What was it that was bugging her? As she came back to her homely bed, she noticed that Spike's bed was empty. Clarity flooded her mind. Ah, Spike must have gotten up again. What was it this time?

Carefully, she made her way down the stairs. The traversal made interesting with a few brief moments of adrenaline as Twilight stumbled a couple of times before she thought to use a light spell. As she approached the lower floor, she realised that Spike was in the kitchen again.

Huh? Why was he so interested in eating this late at night?

"Spike? Is that you? Are you hungry again?"

The dragon looked up and Twilight giggled at the ridiculous sight. He had stuffed two pear's worth of sliced fruit in his mouth and his cheeks bulged ridiculously.

"Spike," Twilight admonished. "You should take it slow. I know you're hungry, but stuffing yourself won't do you any good."

Spike swallowed it all and shrugged rather sheepishly. "Sorry, Twilight. I can't help it, I have an urge to just eat and eat and eat." After a moment Twilight heard his stomach growl. "I still feel hungry," he admitted.

Twilight's face went from irked to worried. The sound of hooves clopping along the floor was Spike's only warning as Twilight lifted him in her telekinetic field and placed a gentle hoof to his head.

"You don't seem sick," she muttered as she released the dragon.

Spike shrugged. "I don't feel sick either. I just feel hungry." He ate a few plums.

Twilight blinked. "Well, do you want to see a doctor? It could be serious."

Spike shook his head. "I'll be fine," he said, dismissively waving a claw. "I'm just a little hungry."

Twilight was a little skeptical. “If you’re sure,” she said, retreating from the kitchen.

“Just don’t eat too much,” she warned once again.

––––

Twilight woke with a start. She knew what she would see, but had to look anyway. Sure enough, Spike’s bed was empty yet again, the sheets in the basket strewn and the dragon nowhere to be found.

Twilight entered the kitchen again and found the lights on, the fridge no longer the only light source to illuminate the place. Spike was cooking and there was food laid out on the table. It was a veritable mountain to say the least.

“Spike!” she cried in shock. “What is all of this?!”

Spike shrugged, his apron coming loose. Twilight registered that he was standing on a stool, cooking and baking at the same time. He absentmindedly tied the apron back as she stared.

“I was a little hungry,” he replied simply, as if the answer would satisfy her. Twilight was not amused.

“Spike. This is serious. I think you should see the doctor. I don’t think you should be eating this much food.”

Spike shifted on the stool. He glanced guiltily at the smorgasbord on the kitchen table. Cakes, pies, cupcakes, pickled gherkins, fruits and vegetables, salads and gem-encrusted delectables. Twilight sniffed the air, taking in the hot vegetable broth that Spike was also brewing.

Spike crossed his arms. “I know it sounds weird, Twilight, but this feels right. I feel hungry and I have to eat.”

“Spike,” Twilight continued gently, coming around the table. “Are sure that’s all it is? If you eat this much, you’ll get sick. Remember the ice cream?”

Spike shuddered. “Yes I do, but trust me, Twilight. I think I know what I’m doing. One more day and then we can go see the doctor if I’m still hungry like this. I promise.”

The dragon looked at her with guileless emerald eyes, pleading with her. Twilight sighed.

“Alright,” she finally conceded. The dragon relaxed slightly. “And I won’t say ‘I told you so’ when you do get sick.”

That night, Twilight listened to the pained grumbling of Spike as he tossed and turned in his bed.

I knew it, she thought darkly. Spike should have listened to me.

The next morning Twilight awoke to find Spike gone from his bed. Grumbling, she clattered down the stairs to find the dragon already eating breakfast. The dragon had already set aside pancakes for her, but the thought of that delicious meal didn’t faze her.

“I thought you said you weren’t going to be hungry,” she accused, shovelling an angry fork into her mouth.

The dragon gave her a toothy grin, looking very smug for some reason.

“I’m still a little hungry,” he admitted and he held up a claw before Twilight could interrupt. “But much less than last night, thank Celestia.”

Twilight subsided but then she noticed something different about Spike.

“Are you taller?” she asked, looking at the dragon. He did look a little taller and a lot more slim.

“You think?” he grinned and continued eating his gem-encrusted cereal. He turned around as if trying to look at himself. As he rotated on the stool, Twilight gasped.

“Spike! On your back!”

Spike’s eyes widened, taking in Twilight’s panicking expression.

“What? What is it? Is it a spider?”

“No!” Twilight replied, a hoof clasped to her muzzle and tears in her eyes.

“You have wings!”

Author's Note

If you have wings, you can fly.

2 - In Which This Chapter Takes The Story A Little More Literally

Chapter 2: In Which This Chapter Takes The Story A Little More Literally

Twilight woke up the next day feeling much more refreshed. She was happy, so deliriously happy for Spike. He had gotten his wings and he could fly!

With a skip in her step, she headed down to the kitchen, as was the usual routine. Spike had gotten up ahead of her, but she spotted him outside the kitchen, looking in.

"What's wrong, Spike?"

"There's something in the kitchen, Twilight. It's in our fridge."

Twilight neared Spike, peering around him. She caught sight of a monstrously-sized rainbow-coloured caterpillar, eating from the fridge.

The caterpillar looked back at Spike and Twilight for a moment, before going back to snacking.

Twilight wouldn't let this dampen her mood.

"Come on, Spike. Let's get something to eat at the café," she muttered. She called back to the caterpillar over her shoulder. "If you touch the books, you'll regret it!"

Some say, that night, a beautiful butterfly was seen against the moonlight, it had beautiful papery wings.

Some say, that night, the library exploded.

Author's Note

Twilight, you should really take care of the big hungry caterpillar in your library and not just leave it there.

In other news, the Hungry Caterpillar also ate the fanfiction section of the library, thank Celestia.