Never Truly Retired

by DemonRykuKyuubi

Chapter 1 - Forces Unknown

The whole world around Ra'zaan seemed to be in slow motion. He was sitting next to Applejack's apple cart, watching as all sorts of different ponies passed him by. He'd grown used to the daily hustle and bustle of the nice little town, and I enjoyed every second of it. The Khajiit looked around the area he and Applejack had set up for the day. There were other street vendors dotting the sides of the street as far as the eye could see, and each and every pony seemed to be happy. Everypony had smiles on their faces. Heh... there's that familiar change again. Ra'zaan almost never said 'anyone' or 'everyone' anymore. Speaking of which, 'somepony' just jabbed the Khajiit in the ribs.

"Ouch!" Ra'zaan said, snapping out of his little trance. "What was that for, AJ?!"

The orange mare chuckled a bit to herself. "Ya looked like ya were about ta fall asleep, ya darn cat!"

"Heh. Sorry AJ. Guess I got lost in thought. I'll keep focused from now on." Ra'zaan smiled.

"Oh, don't worry none, Sugarcube." Applejack grinned. "Ya were only out of it for about fifteen minutes anyway."

This is how things had been for Ra'zaan with his job and around town for a good while now. He could openly joke with Applejack and the rest of the girls, and everypony in Ponyville knew him and waved when they walked by him.

"...Hey, Applejack?" Ra'zaan said finally.

She just smiled. "What's on yer mind, Ra'zaan?"

"How do you all do it. Stay so peaceful, I mean. In my world, being as friendly as most ponies here are just meant you weren't going to live long." The Khajiit didn't look at the orange mare as he spoke.

"Well, Ah can't say for sure, but Equestria has always been this way. At least as long as mah granny can remember, at any rate." She paused and thought before continuing. "Supposedly, Equestria 'as been quiet-like since the banishing of Nightmare Moon, over a thousand years ago."

Ra'zaan nodded slowly. "Alright then. I guess I'll have to ask the princess next time I have the chance then."

"EXCUSE ME?!" A voice called out behind them. "I'd like to buy some apples, please!"

Applejack and Ra'zaan spun around to see a cream-colored mare with a dark blue and pink mane. They chuckled a little before walking up.

"Sorry fer the wait, there, Bon Bon! Here ya are. That'll be 5 bits!" Applejack said cordially.

"Thanks, AJ. Have a nice day!" Bon Bon said as she walked off.

Applejack glanced back over to Ra'zaan, and they both blushed a little as the Khajiit rubbed the back of his head. It was going to be a long day...

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Nadene looked around town again. She had the herbs she needed, but didn't feel like making the potions just yet. She also still couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. She glanced around a bit, but nothing out of the ordinary seemed to present itself. She shrugged it off and continued her walk. She was about to head into Sugarcube Corner despite the fact that she was on a day off, when something slammed into her chest and knocked the Dark Elf over.

"Ouch! What in Talos's name was that?!" Nadene yelled, regaining her sight after the collision. She looked down and saw a familiar gray mare sitting on her chest.

"S-sorry, Nadene!" Derpy's voice was shy and full of regret for having knocked her friend to the ground. "Something seemed to pull me out of the air!"

The Dark Elf laughed a bit at that. "I think gravity had something to do with it..." She paused to slide the disheveled mare off of her and stand back up. "...but don't worry too much. No harm done! Would you like to join me for a cupcake, Derpy?"

"Sure! Thanks, Nadene!" Derpy said, jumping to her feet and running in to Sugarcube Corner. Before Nadene followed, she thought something to herself. "I could feel something just before that mare fell... Something is going on here, and I'll figure it out... right after a snack! 'Squee'!" With that, the ex-mage followed Derpy into the bakery.

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A cloudy figure floated just above Sugarcube Corner. I small chuckle could be heard as the cloud started to take form. It seemed to be making sure to stay out of sight.

"Ha ha ha! I haven't had a good laugh in a while! These ponies should be real fun to mess with... and~... now I'm bored. Hungry, too. I wonder what kind of cheese this world has..." The figure said before vanishing completely.

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"Nadene? I told you, you don't have to work today silly!" Pinkie smiled, bouncing up to the counter.

"I know, Pinks, but I thought I'd get myself a cupcake at least! Two, please." Nadene laughed.

Pinkie grinned and pulled out two cupcakes from behind the counter. "That'll be two bits, please!"

"Here you are." Nadene said, handing the gold pieces over to the pink mare.

Pinkie beamed as she walked towards the back of the bakery. "I'll talk to you later! I just need to finish up here. Later, Nadene!"

The Dark Elf waved goodbye to her overly-excitable friend, and then she and Derpy walked back outside with their cupcakes. The gray mail-mare devoured her treat within seconds of exiting the bakery, but Nadene just kept her's with with her.

"Hungry, were you, Derpy? Hehe!" The Dark Elf laughed. "Was it any good?"

Derpy gave a wide grin. "Sure it was! Pinkie made it! The only things I like more than Pinkie's cupcakes are muffins!"

Nadene laughed. Every single pony in Ponyville seemed to have their own unique quirks. As the two friends walked, they got various waves and greetings from other ponies around town. After a few minutes, stalls and stands started getting more and more frequent, signalling that they were getting close to the 'market' district of town. Looking around, it was easy to spot the only other two-legged humanoid in a Equestria.

"Working the apple stand today, eh, Ra'zaan?" Nadene asked as she and Derpy closed the gap between them and the stand.

"Hmm? Oh, Nadene! Yeah, AJ and I have been here since this morning. Nice to see you again as well, Derpy." The Khajiit replied.

It was at this point that Applejack noticed the commotion; she had just made another sale and hadn't been paying attention to the group. "Well, shucks! Ah didn't see y'all come over! Howdy, how have ya been, Nadene? Derpy?"

"Good AJ. Oh! Hey, Ra'zaan? Have you felt like you're being watched at any point recently?" Nadene asked curiously.

"Um... not really to be honest. Why?" Ra'zaan glanced into Nadene's deep blue eyes. She returned his gaze, staring into his amber eyes.

"Nothing. I just had a feeling a little while ago... wait... there it is again..." Nadene stopped and looked around. Nothing LOOKED out of the ordinary...

Ra'zaan also looked around. "I feel what you're talking about now... but... what do you think it means?"

"Would y'all please explain what all the ruckus is about? Ah don't feel a thing!" Applejack yelled out after a few more moments of silence.

Nadene and Ra'zaan turned to see an orange mare and a gray mare clearly confused about the present situation. They looked at each other and smiled.

"Sorry, girls. I sometimes forget that you never had to learn things like being about to sense when you are being followed or not." Ra'zaan began.

Nadene glared at the Khajiit, berating him with her stare for his bluntness. "It's just a feeling we get in the back of our minds whenever we're being followed. Don't worry too much about it." She finished.

"...I think they might want to worry about it after all... look..." The Ra'zaan said, pointing with wide eyes at a stall just across the road.

All eyes turned to see what the ex-warrior was referring to, and they gasped at what they saw. Four short, red-skinned, pointy-eared creatures were running around a nearby vegetable vendors stand, grabbing his produce and tossing it about. They had long, pointed tails and they were completely destroying the poor vendor's stall.

"Do my eyes deceive me... or are those scamps*, Nadene?" Ra'zaan asked in disbelief.

Nadene didn't speak for several seconds. "I-I think they are... based on the pictures of the Oblivion crisis** anyway... Wait, does that mean that Mehrunes Dagon*** is here?! That would be really bad!" The Dark Elf seemed to be hyperventilating.

"Calm down, damn it, Nadene! Look. Those scamps are mischievous at best. If they were of Mehrunes minions, they'd be killing instead of annoying that vendor." Ra'zaan put a claw to the back of his head and scratched at it. "Still, that presents another problem. Where did these things come from? I remember something mentioning a group of scamps that were docile, but... argh, I just can't remember!"

Those last words were yelled unintentionally by the Khajiit, and he accidentally attracted the attention of the scamps. They turned from the produce vendor, who was cowering in a corner, and scurried over to the group. They stopped at the feet of Ra'zaan and stared up at him.

"...And what is it that you little pests want? A treat? How about a good smack in the head?" The ex-warrior demanded, obviously annoyed by the creatures staring at him. He punted the one nearest to him and it landed limply on the ground. "Um... I think I hit it too hard... oops..."

"YA THINK?! Looks like ya killed the poor thing!" Applejack yelled, staring at the unmoving body.

Derpy even seemed a little miffed. "What did you do that for? They hadn't hurt anypony!"

"What are you girls getting all upset about?! These things are like little demons! They get into everything! Wait... right... killing is bad here... again, my bad!" The Khajiit said defensively.

The argument didn't last long, however, has the limp scamp's body vanished and an exact copy of it reappeared where the first had been standing before Ra'zaan kicked it.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't see that..." Ra'zaan said calmly.

Nadene, on the other hand, had an idea. "Wait, Ra'zaan. Think about it. Wasn't there some form of cursed staff that disappeared during the Oblivion crisis that had something to this effect?"

"Hmm... I got it! The Staff of the Everscamp^! It summoned four scamps that could never be killed, as they always came back after death."

"Well, that's fine and all, Ah reckon, but what do we do about them? They'll terrorize all the pony folk!" Applejack butted in.

Nadene seemed to ponder this for a while. "Well, I'd imagine this all happened because I went to Tamriel to gather some herbs. I felt a presence behind me as I was returning, but I didn't pay it any heed. Maybe we should take them to Twilight's for now, until we can get rid of them later."

"Alright. Let's do that. Then y'all can tell me what in the hay is goin' on!" Applejack yelled, and the group gave a quick chuckle. Then she, Ra'zaan, Nadene, and the four scamps headed towards the library. Derpy, meanwhile, said her goodbyes and took off in the other direction.

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"Well, well, well! They dealt with that little problem with no trouble at all. I'll have to step up my game if I want to mess with that group..." The shadowy figure thought happily to himself from the shadow of a nearby building. He had an intricately carved wooden staff in his right hand. "Hmm... what should I do with them next time... The everscamps will keep them busy for a while... Maybe I'll flood the town with mice! That would be fun! No... not yet... they'll get more soon anyway! He gave a throaty laugh. "Ah, well. I guess it's time I find out what that strange feeling that's been coming from that big place on the mountain is. Seems I may find a new friend in this strange place after all!" With that, the figure vanished yet again.

TO BE CONTINUED

Scamp* - weak servants to Mehrunes Dagon. (see below) Look just like little devils.

Oblivion Crisis** - Storyline of Elder Scrolls Four: Oblivion.

Mehrunes Dagon*** - Daedric Prince of War, Destruction, and Ambition. Had a major role in the Oblivion Crisis.

The Staff of the Everscamp^ - Cursed staff received during a quest in Oblivion. Summoned four scamps that always came back every time they died. Very intricate in design.

Comments

[DemonRykuKyuubi]

Here's chapter 1! I never this to my proofreader, so there may be some mistakes here and there. Tell me if you spot any. I'm trying to update as frequently as I can, but writer's block is a pain in the flank sometimes, ya know? As always, please comment!

[SomeBrony]

Awesome! Some Scamps are never too bad..for targets. Good chapter as usual.

[Mr Popo]

Oh dear god don't tell me Sheogorath's in Equestria!

[Oryutzen]

...I think I know who this mysterious figure is, but I won't spoil it.

[Azzazel]

Sheogorath ? Great something tells me the douche will reenact that stupid little prophecy you had to make come true so you can get Wabjack !

[Brownbear96]

By Azura, by Azura, by Azura! A worshipper of Sheogorath is all up in Equestria! This will be interesting.

[Sparklight]

I once dug a pit and I filled it full of clouds... or was it clowns? Eh, no matter, didn't even slow him down! In fact, all it did was start to smell. Hmm, must have been clowns. Clouds don't smell, they taste of butter... and tears.

I think a certain Prince of Madness is taking a vacation in Equestria. I supose it beats the mind of a deceased, homicidal Emperor.

CHEESE FOR EVERYPONY!