Fluttershy, wishing to show her new friend Catbug around town, gestured towards him with a wing. "Come on, little guy. Do you want to ride on my back? It's a tad far."
"No thanks!" he replied, immediately before the shell on his back hinged open. With a soft buzz, he rose slowly into the air on translucent wings.
"Oh!" she said, slightly ashamed of herself. "I should have figured you could fly, what with the ladybug shell on your back and all."
"It's ok, let's go!"
Wishing to keep him company, Fluttershy took off herself. The pegasus at Catbug's side, they flew leisurely above the path in the direction of Ponyville. The two passed a few mares along the way, some of whom spared the new arrival a curious upwards glance. He waved at each and every pony, grinning affectionately.
As they entered the outskirts of town, the pair was almost immediately intercepted by Pinkie Pie, as she sprung up below them. "Hi Flutters!" she blurted out, the mare in question flinching a bit as she bounced up and down. Then, noticing Catbug, she somehow tilted her head completely upside down. "And who's this adorable critter?"
He landed in front of Pinkie, giggling. "I'm Catbug! Who are you? You're funny!"
Pinkie gasped, mouth agape. The speed at which she was bouncing slowly increased until she was practically vibrating. Soon after, she shot off into the distance, leaving behind a cloud of dust and a confused mammal-insect.
"That was my close friend, Pinkie Pie," Fluttershy explained. "Knowing her, she's probably already planning a 'welcome to Ponyville' party for you."
"A party? For me? Yay!" he exclaimed, jumping with arms outstretched. "I wanna go help her!"
"Oh no, Catbug, Pinkie would want it to be a surprise. I was thinking we could take you to meet Twilight first, clear up some things." He didn't need to know that there was an incredibly small part of her mind which feared he could be dangerous somehow, not unlike the Parasprites. She shuddered.
His cheerful reply of "Okay!" showed no indication that he had discerned any of this.
Catbug gawked every which way at the various ponies going about their business as they soared over the small town. The two landed at the front gate of Twilight's castle, gleaming purple in the sunlight.
His eyes traced upwards over the structure. "It's so shiny! And big! Your friend must be super rich."
"Well, she is a princess."
"Really? I've never met a princess before. Unless you count about half of Wallow's doll collection."
Fluttershy pulled on the huge door, smiling at his quip. "Let's not keep her waiting, then."
Catbug hovered inside, marveling at the crystalline architecture as she trotted after him. She poked her head into each room they passed, calling out for Twilight as she did so. Fluttershy found her friend in the library, of course, head buried in a rather large tome which was floating next to her face.
She called out to her about a dozen times, but the alicorn was completely oblivious to the quiet cries. It was Catbug landing on top of her desk which snapped Twilight out of her reverie. She yelped audibly, dropping the book as she backpedaled away.
"H-How did you get in here?"
Fluttershy stepped into the room. "I brought him here to meet you. He popped in out of nowhere this morning outside my house."
Twilight looked at her quizzically before turning back to Catbug, who was smiling and waving at her. "Hiii!"
She smiled almost instantly. "It's very nice to met you. I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle."
"I'm Catbug! It's nice to meet you too!"
"This adorable scamp seems to be from somewhere far away, from what he was saying earlier," Fluttershy continued. "And investigations are more your thing than mine, Twilight."
Then, turning to Catbug, "Now, be nice to Twilight while I'm gone, ok? I'm going back home to check on Angel and the others."
"Ok! Bye Fluttershy!"
After watching her go, he turned back to see that Twilight was staring expectantly at him, quill and parchment floating at the ready for note-taking purposes. Catbug didn't think to question the magic. He'd seen stuff way crazier in his time.
"So, first things first, what exactly are you?" Twilight asked.
"I'm Catbug. I said that already."
"No, what I mean is, what species do you belong to?"
"Catbug."
"Not that. When you're with other's like you, what is the group called?"
"I'm a Bravest Warrior!" he proclaimed.
She groaned. "That's... it isn't... what... bah." Twilight had begun pacing around, mumbling to herself. Completing a full circle, she noticed Catbug pawing at the book she had been reading. When she stopped moving, he turned to look.
"My turn for a question! What's this thing?" he asked. "It seems broken."
"Wait... you've never seen a book before?"
Catbug shook his head. Had Twilight possessed the mental fortitude of Rarity, she would have fainted. Instead, she went ballistic. "How is that even possible? Books are the essential gateways to knowledge, the very foundation of learning itself! A life without books is practically unfathomable, unreasonable it its mere suggestion! Can you even read? Oh, Celestia, please have mercy on this poor, poor creature! How will-"
"Hey!" Catbug interrupted. "I can read! I just don't use these flimsy paper things." He plopped down on top of the book, pointing a paw at some of the text. "See, this part is about... Chee-mahrahs or something."
Chimeras, Twilight corrected in her head. "Wait a minute. If you don't read books, then what do you read? Letters? Newspapers?"
Catbug stood back up, only to plop down on his haunches. "We have computers. You can search for stuff by punching the letter buttons, and then the words pop up on the screen! But this thing doesn't have buttons, or a screen. How do you get the words to change?"
Pondering the implications of what had just been said, Twilight's eyes brightened considerably, living up to her name. "Really? That's amazing! Just think, a whole library at my hooftips! How does it work?"
"Umm... I think you need something called an Internet. And I dunno what that is."
"Oh," she said, sunken, as she had never heard the term before either. "Ok then, let's start from the beginning. Where are you from, Catbug?"
"I live on Neo-Mars in the Bravest Warriors' invisible hideout!"
"Neo-Mars? Where is that? And who are these 'Bravest Warriors' you keep talking about?"
"It's a planet. And the Bravest Warriors are my friends. We go all over space helping people!"
Twilight gasped, scribbling vigorously. "So... you're an alien?" she practically shouted. "Did they beam you down here from a mothership to act as an emissary to Equestria?"
Catbug scratched his chin in thought. Then, his belly for good measure. "Danny says I'm extra-mansional or something! That's good, right?"
Extra-dimensional, Twilight inferred with shock. She launched herself into the air, looping around to grab Catbug in her hooves. "This is so exciting, so unprecedented! Well, ok, not that unprecedented, as I've done this before, but still! I'm actually talking with a being from a Completely. Different. UNIVERSE!"
"It is good! Yay!"
"Yay indeed, Catbug! How did you get here? Did you use a mirror portal?"
"I jumped," he said, squirming out of Twilight's hooves to hover in front of her. "It happens sometimes, though I usually end up in the See-Through Zone."
"See-Though Zone? Is that another dimension?"
He nodded. "It's kinda like your castle, princess, all purple and crystally. Only with more monsters."
"That's terrible!" she exclaimed, reaching out to hug him again. "Are you alright? Can't you control when these 'jumps' happen?"
"Nope! But I'm alright, you ponies are all super nice! You all remind me of that one toy Wallow used to have, the Pony Lords Battle Aquarium!"
Before Twilight could question Catbug further on the matter, which was disturbing in its implications, she heard a 'thud' from outside the castle, followed by vibrations which caused some of the books to shift slightly. "Oh, great. Now what?"