//------------------------------// // Surprise // Story: Arrivals from the lands of the old faith // by OB //------------------------------// A sheep. To be more accurate, a very young sheep, maybe around spikes height. A lamb. Said lamb was wearing a red cloak with a white trim near the bottom and a golden bell on the collar. The Lamb was also wearing a black crown with a red eye in the centre. In fact, Twilight was certain she saw the eye blink a few times. The Lamb looked down at them, and paused a surprised look on their face. Then they went back onto the ship. After a while, The Lamb descended the gangplank, this time with a few individuals following. One of these individuals was a rather grumpy looking black cat, the second was a green individual that Twilight quickly identified as a bagworm. Following the bagworm was a much less grumpy looking yellow cat. Following the yellow cat was a red frog who was also grumpy looking. next came a blue squid (who looked very nervous). Finally came a purple spider. One of the strangest things about these new individuals, Twilight thought, was that many of them were injured. the bagworm had bleeding bandages on the place where his eyes should be, the frog had bandages on her throat, the squid on his ears and the spider on his head. Another strange thing is that the black cat seemed to have a third eye on his forehead, but it's eyelid was closed. Another strange thing was that the yellow cat was wearing a necklace with a golden skull on it. The Lamb and their entourage approached the gathered creatures. They paused a few meters away. The Lamb approached the princesses and gave a short bow. "How do you do?" The Lamb said. "Greetings" said Princess Luna. "On behalf of all of Equestria, I welcome you to our land" said Princess Celestia. "Hello there, I'm princess twilight. That's princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Quick question. Are you a ruler of some kind? I only ask because of the crown..." Twilight said. "You can say that," said the Lamb. "My followers refer to me as "The Lamb", you may call me Lambert." "If you don't mind me asking Lambert, what brings you and your retinue to our lands?" inquired princess Luna. The Lamb sighed. "That's a long story. Can we discuss somewhere more private later?" he inquired. "Of course." said Princess Celestia. "Would you like to introduce your friends?" Princess Twilight asked. "Of course," The Lamb replied. "Introducing, Narinder!!!" He pointed at the black cat. "Leshy!!!" he pointed at the bagworm. "Heket!!!" He pointed at the frog. "Kallamar!!!!" He pointed at the squid. "Shamura!!!! He pointed at the spider. "And last but definitely not least Toby!!!!" He pointed at the yellow cat. "It's nice to meet you all!" said Toby. "Hello" said Leshy. "Hello" said Kallamar. "..........Hello.........." said Heket. "Hello" said Shamura. "Hello" said Narinder. "Hi!!! I'm Pinkie Pie and this here is Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Gallus, Ocellus, Silverstream, sandbar, yona, smolder, spike and Starlight glimmer" Pinkie said pointing to each creature as she said their name. "We should probably take this conversation somewhere more private. Perhaps Princess Twilight's castle?" suggested Princess Celstia. "Of course, Princess Celestia!" replied Twilight. "Before we depart, can my associates and i grab a few materials from the ship?" inquired the lamb. "Of course" said princess Celestia. After grabbing what they wanted to grab, The Lamb and crew accompanied the creatures back to Ponyville. They marvelled at the train, peppering the creatures with questions, that they answered the best that they could. Upon reaching Ponyville, they took in the town and marvelled at Twilight's crystal tree castle. After everycreature was inside and comfortably seated, the Lamb cleared their throat. "It's time to tell you why we're here. But in order to tell you that story, I have to tell you this story......"