Baa-Ram-Ewe!

by Darkonshadows

16. Relatively affable meeting.

-Jade Palace District, Mr. Ping’s Noodle Restaurant, a few days later, Pom-

I sighed, as I sat down. Mr. Ping didn’t kid around with his business, then again the guy did raise and feed a panda for a son and was actually a very kind hearted person. You just had to look beyond his ambition to be the best noodle soup seller around.

Shanty was learning a lot and I taught her a few things that weren’t about defending herself. I taught her how to hold a job, how to be frugal with money and how to take care of herself better.

Smolder didn’t mind the attention she was getting from the locals, just so long as it wasn’t anything that she was uncomfortable with.

Ocellus was, thankfully enough, sliding to being a bit more neutral towards me. She was attracting as much attention as Smolder, but mostly because people haven’t seen anything quite like her.

We have made a small sum of money working here, we would need every last bit of it and would be using said money to find our way out of this world. Ocellus and Smolder also wanted some stuff aside from food and board that Mr. Ping was so graciously lending us with his home, I told them to only small souvenirs they could carry easily in packs. Shanty just wanted my attention more than anything and I was quite willing to give it.

I was still trying to think about how we were going to get out of this world. Magic and mysticism were a known capacity, but it seemed rare and hard to find here. We had to find something that had the right kind of magic that will open a gateway to other worlds, or at least a gateway to get between worlds so we can find a way home.

“Excuse me.” An old, rather kindly sounding, voice from out of nowhere made me flinch and flail to almost fall out of my seat. A staff quickly hooked itself around me and sat me back up, I looked to the person who interrupted my break. “Sorry for frightening you, might I know your name?”

It was an old tortoise with a staff, he was sitting near me and giving me an overly curious gaze. It was as if he has seen a lot of things and lived for a long time. Given that he was a tortoise, he most likely has.

The more he looked into me, the more I looked back into him. His smile was friendly and there was an air of intrigue surrounding him.

“My name is Pom.” To me he seemed to be incredibly ancient. Like Celestia or Luna levels of ancient, but he wasn’t a god. I just had this… feeling. “I know this might seem weird of me to ask, but… how old are you exactly?”

“My name is Oogway and some would say I’m far too old, they would mostly be right in that.” Oogway chuckled lightly at the thought and considered me calmly. “I’ve been alive for a very, very long time Pom. My life is soon to be at an end and it will come shortly after the Dragon Warrior is found, they will appear at the tournament we are holding up at the Jade Palace soon and will come out of the sky in a great ball of fire.”

“Yes, but what does that have to do with you approaching me?” I don’t believe for a second that Oogway singled me out of my group to talk to for no discernable reason. “I can understand curiosity, but yours doesn’t seem like the normal kind.”

“I’ve been hearing rumors of four interesting beings. The dragon who is not truly holy or a disguised demon. The strange magical creature who shares her emotions freely and is sustained by being around others in turn. The little goat who can eat more than her own body’s weight and never get any bigger.” In turn as he spoke of them, Oogway looked at Smolder, Ocellus and Shanty. He soon returned his soft gaze to me. “All interesting, yes, but many strange legends I’ve hear about surrounding the last visitor have me most intrigued. That would be you Pom, The guard of a mystical place unheard of by anyone, even me, called ‘Huoshan’. A guard of the people from wherever they roam and is currently quite far from their home.”

“That still doesn’t explain the interest in me specifically.” What could be so interesting about me? Sure I helped save the world once and then became a guard of a place that has a fairly competent guard under the banner of the Dragon Lands. “If anything my companions are far more interesting than I am.”

“Says the one who has been helping people all around this district with small things, Tigress really has been running herself spare with trying to find problems to solve. Only you have almost beaten her to them at every turn, if entirely by accident.” Oogway looked out towards the street. “She hides her heart well and you might know of her soon enough if you stick around, especially if you keep taking on all the odd jobs she is known to do for money to help the orphanage. She really wants to be the Dragon Warrior, but it is not meant to be.”

“If you’re going to suggest that one of my friends or I happen to be this ‘Dragon Warrior’, then I’m taking my friends and running as fast and as far away from here as possible.” I was not going to be some legendary warrior for a place that didn’t know I existed until a few days ago. “I’m not going to be stuck here, because I have a family and a home to return to eventually. Once we can finally find our way from here that is.”

“No, no, calm down.” He motioned at me gently while shaking his head, I noticed that he barely glanced at Po. The large panda was currently trying to get Shanty to balance various odd things on her body at once in a playful manner. Smolder was egging them on with Ocellus trying to get them to stop. It was still technically part of Shanty’s training as much as it was fun to watch. “I can tell you that you are not the Dragon Warrior and are most certainly not the one I'm looking for.”

“It’s him isn’t it?” I stated flatly, while taking a slight glance at Po too.

Given that Po was an orphan raised from humble beginnings in a noodle shop by a goose as nice as Mr. Ping is, yeah he was definitely the one Oogway was going to declare the Dragon Warrior. This was not going to surprise me in the slightest when it inevitably happened.

Po was excited about kung fu and wanted to watch the tournament to discover the Dragon Warrior, oh was he ever in for a wakeup call. Usually people with a love for something tended to excel at it like nothing else in some way, shape or form. Some would say he’s too fat, wouldn’t be very agile and that he would be clearly unteachable because he was somewhat clumsy, a lack of skill at the start of learning something new does not mean a lack of ability to gain said skill.

A good teacher in any subject can work with just about anyone and not just someone with all the talent in the world where they only needed to do half the work. A good teacher will always impart at least one bit of wisdom, even if it was not necessarily what they wished to initially teach.

“I am curious, are you going to enter the tournament where I will announce the Dragon Warrior?” Oogway was deflecting heavily onto the tournament to discover the Dragon Warrior, but he already knew who it was so why all this subterfuge?

Oh wait, didn’t he just say he was going to die after… oh… ohhh… he doesn’t exactly have very long to live does he?

“No and I have several reason for that. One, I’m not a master of any style of combat, even the one taught in the place I currently call home. Two, I’m a guard and not a warrior. Three, I don’t like fighting all too much and will only do so if I absolutely have to or when necessary.” I look Oogway in the eyes. “Four, I have absolutely nothing to prove to you or anyone and I’m not competitive enough to fall for goading.”

I heard some loud sounds and looked to Smolder, Shanty and Ocellus, all of them were looking Po with a wok covering his head and a number of dirty dishes on his arms with one precariously balanced on his belly. Shanty was giggling up a storm, from likely having put him in this situation.

“Five, I have those three to protect with my very life and they need me to be ready at any time.” I gave Oogway a suspicious look. “Po will need a lot of help, as whoever will have to train him won’t be able to see far beyond their own uplifted nose. Po has already learned much from just working here, he just doesn’t realize that yet.”

“I fear you are correct in more ways than one, but that’s not what I am here to discuss.” Oogway leaned against the table with smile showing his clear interest in me. “Tell me about your life and your home, I likely won’t be able to see it in my lifetime if it is as far away as I think it is. I wish to hear of a place I’ve never seen before.”

“Farther than even we can reach at the moment Oogway, but we’re not giving up hope despite the previous setback that led to us being here in The Valley of Peace. As for Huoshan, it’s a mountain that is the body of a dragon that has long since passed away. The spirit of Huoshan watches over the longma who live there in the city they built with their own hooves and a number of them are direct descendants. The longma are powerful fire controlling beings with calm demeanors, having a strong sense of duty and stoicism in the face of danger. They have wings, manes and tails that burn hot when angry and when calm they flicker like a candle on a nice moonlit night. Huoshan is in the Dragon Lands and Smolder is from there, I guess I am too as it has become my home and… I am kind of homesick right now. I always simply helped anyone who needed it when I went on patrol, it's a habit now. I'm not an active member of the guard, just a reserve member. Huoshan is consistently warm year round, but being a volcano that makes sense and the heat in the spring or summer is a little bit bothersome.” I looked at him sadly while thinking about how he knows who the Dragon Warrior is and how short his life will be from this moment of just taking his time to talk to me. “Huoshan has three tiers, all lined with buildings, business and places of entertainment. The lower tier is for the merchants, the middle tier is for residents of the city and the upper tier is for administration. The city, despite being so vast, is protected by the Huoshan Guard. Said guard will protect those who are visiting and those who stay. The longma don’t judge by appearance, race or gender, but on the actions of the individual… How long do you have and have you actually told anybody about it Oogway?”

“Do not be sad for me Pom, though I appreciate the sentiment of your kind heart. I have lived a long fruitful life and it will just be my time. I’m over a thousand years old and can’t really sustain myself like this much longer.” He said solemnly with a smile. “I created kung fu to protect people. I am originally from some far off islands and found my way to living here in peace, for the most part. I helped build up what you see around us. I have made my mistakes, I have had many victories and more importantly have had just as many defeats. I’ve had experiences of more lifetimes than anyone else living around here. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery and today is a gift, that is why it is called the present. I don’t have too many tomorrows left in me, but you and your strange friends still do and your presence means far more than even one as wise as I can possibly imagine.”

“Huh… was there anything else you wanted to know Oogway?” I found myself wanting to get to know him more, I wonder if he had an autobiography that I could read.

“Huoshan sounds like quite a nice place with the way you speak of it with such reverence, but no. There is something that I wanted you to know though.” He grinned at me. “Nothing is impossible, you are living proof that this is true. Just by being here and being yourself, you can alter the course of everything around you.”

“Uh… do I really want to do that though?” I rubbed my at my chin with my right hoof and Oogway chuckled.

“It is your choice in whether you decide to help or not, but the Dragon Warrior will still meet their destiny regardless and you have already unknowingly interfered. I do not know if it’s for the better or not that you have already started to change things, but it sure is interesting to see odd changes being set in motion by some people outside of any context I have ever known or will ever know.” Oogway closed his eyes and inhaled slowly. “When it comes to the Dragon Warrior’s destiny personally… I don’t think anyone would mind there being a little ‘outside’ help.”

“That over there is Shanty, what do you make of her?” I wanted to make use of Oogway’s wisdom. “I want you to give me an outsider’s perspective on her from your position.”

“She is young and spry, willing to learn and is in great need of attention. I think you are teaching her quite well, her heart is flexible and her soul is as innocent as yours is.” Not even going to ask Oogway how he knew that I was teaching her. “She is also strong in mind, but her body will need time to catch up with the rest of her. She knows of terrible loss and the world has tried to break her on more than one occasion, that she still has a good heart and can trust someone like you to help her is simply amazing in and of itself.”

“Since you teach kung fu and are the grand master and creator of it here, does that mean that you have taught many others strength of mind and body?” I received a questioning look, but Oogway still nodded. “So did you also teach them strength of heart and soul while you were at it? It’s something a Huoshan Guard learns in training when it comes to their particular fighting style, being balanced and knowing exactly when not to be.”

“The answer to that… has caused many failings on my part as much as those of my students.” Oogway looked far older when he said that and was staring off into the distance with a slight frown. “I can teach anybody to be strong in body, I can teach most beings to be strong in mind, but teaching someone to be strong in their heart or soul? Those are not as easy to fix or teach if broken down as with the body, it has led to many problems unless you were already quite strong in those qualities.”

“Like what kind of problems?” I wanted some clarification here. “What am I looking out for and who might I have to help Po with exactly?”

“A snow leopard named Tai Lung…” Oogway had a haunted and sad look in his eyes. “Tai Lung is one of the greatest warriors this world will ever know, but he let darkness fill his heart. He was led to believe he was to be the Dragon Warrior…”

“You didn’t exactly stop that kind of thinking as soon as it started I take it? This Tai Lung built his entire world around this one thing and he had his heart set on it didn’t he?” I couldn’t see the look in Oogway’s eyes as they were pointed anywhere except at me in this moment. “Please tell me this guy didn’t kill anyone when you eventually told him that he wasn’t this Dragon Warrior. He’ll likely become even worse when he finds out who is.”

“That is the one thing that left me curious, he never did actually kill anyone. He only incapacitated and proved his incredible prowess in combat, but has never ever actually struck to kill. Even when I had to stop his rampage from hurting the villagers that live here in The Valley of Peace. He never seriously hurt anyone to the point of permanent harm, but he did come fairly close numerous times before he was stopped.” Oogway was taking this conversation a bit roughly now judging by the sound of his voice. “I sometimes wondered if he would have been better off had I intervened sooner, but it was ultimately up to my pupil Shifu to train him. As such it was my failing as much as his that I had to lock Tai Lung, Shifu’s adopted son, away. I sometimes consider that locking Tai Lung away might have been the wrong choice, he has been in Chorh-Gom prison for the last twenty years stewing in his resentment. So yes, I fear he will be quite upset when he eventually hears who the Dragon Warrior is and I believe this is where you can be of help.”

“Huh?” I tilted my head at him.

“If Tai Lung is to heal, he needs to be broken of his arrogance and to be given a new purpose that does not demean all that he has worked towards.” Was Oogway telling me that he expected this Tai Lung guy to break free of that chore-gum prison place?

“This is starting to sound suspiciously familiar… is he going to break free of his prison?” It wasn’t hard for me to guess as to what might become a major problem in my near future. This sounds like Equestria’s 'thousand year' problem, where something dangerous is always guaranteed to come back after a set period of time.

“I would suggest you get plenty of exercise and be ready for the possibility, for I know you will protect the people.” With that Oogway stood up and smiled at me. “If you could accompany me back to the Jade Palace, I would appreciate it greatly. I also have something that I dearly wish to show to you.”

“Of course, let me tell my friends where I’m going first.” Once I got the nod that he accepted, I went over to Smolder, Ocellus, Shanty and Po still having fun while doing what amounted to chores.

“Smolder, Ocellus, Shanty, I’m going to be gone for a while and I’ll be back soon. An elderly person wants me to walk them home.” They shrugged me off and simply went back to what they were doing, for Shanty it was learning to juggle bowls filled with dumplings without dropping any or catching them in other bowls. I shook my head and made my way back over to Oogway. “Okay, lead the way.”

-A minute or two later-

“My cabbages!” Someone yelled in despair and we soon passed a cabbage cart that sent cabbages bouncing, rolling and flying everywhere, with a wailing owner crying over their spilled cabbages.

“Aren’t you going to stop to help that poor person?” I asked of Oogway as we made our way to the stairs leading up to the Jade Palace.

“There is no helping cabbage carts, I have learned this lesson after the first hundred thousand.” Oogway said while completely ignoring the destroyed cabbage cart. “Cabbages taste good, but not ‘that’ good. It is the one thing I will no longer respond to.”

“Huh… kind of reminds me of every cabbage cart that has ever been destroyed in Huoshan.” I sometimes wondered if there was some odd conspiracy surrounding cabbage carts.

“It is a secret that nobody has been able to figure out, I suppose it will remain one of the world’s greatest mystery as to why horrible things happen to them.” We soon started up the one thousand steps leading to the Jade Palace.

-Five minutes later-

“Master it is nice to see that you have returned.” The little red panda bowed his head to Oogway, then he noticed me following Oogway. “Who is this?”

“Someone I’ve had a quite delightful and somewhat morose chat with Shifu, do not worry or concern yourself about her presence.” Oogway was as calm and collected as he has been since I’ve met him. “I will personally be seeing her out when we are finished here, I will be seeing you and the others at dinner. Do not wait for me.”

“Of course master!” The little red panda named Shifu bowed and then set off.

“He seems a bit… uptight.” I was trying to find the right word to not be insulting.

“He is strict and disciplined, but he has a good heart if you can find it.” Oogway stated with a smile on his face. “He has lived a hard life and I have watched him grow, but he still needs more room. When I inevitably perish… that will give him the room he needs to grow into a truly great teacher. I will not mince words, right now he’s quite stuffy and is still heartbroken by many various things that has happened throughout his life, one of those things was Tai Lung. Teaching Po will be a good lesson for all those who live here, also a reminder that those from humble beginnings should always remember their roots.”

“Will Po be teaching him as much as he teaches Po?” I asked, Oogway just grinned without a word.

This makes me wonder what I have taught Tianhuo when she was teaching me.

Oogway brought me into a room with a fountain and a dragon head sculpture on the ceiling that had a scroll its mouth.

“I have brought you here to ask for your opinion on something. I have worked for years to make something unique, yet simple and easy to understand by those who are not entirely blinded by their pride.” He started to dance with his staff and eventually sent some blossom petals flowing towards the mouth and then caught the scroll with his staff when it fell out. He held it out to me. “I have not shown this to anyone else, but it is the secret to kung fu and all anyone truly needs to know.”

“Um, okay… thanks I guess?” I stated in a confused tone as I took the red and green scroll into my left hoof from the staff, Oogway looked at me expectantly.

I looked over the scroll and eventually figured out how to open it. When I eventually did open it, I saw a gleaming sheet with only one thing on it and it took me a moment to figure it out.

“You’re a crazy person Oogway.” I nodded, closed the scroll and gave it back to a widely grinning Oogway.

“I will soon be here in spirit... mostly to see the punchline.” Oogway stated merrily.

Author's Note:

Now Pom will find herself involved in a bit of combat, mostly because there is no way she can avoid going to the tournament unless she's willing to absolutely abandon her charges.

Comments

[Shadowshame]

Well one I wonder how the firework scene will play out and two I saw a display case in the EB games that is in Traralgon here in Australia that had MLP toys in it but heres the twist the toys were a crossover with Dungeons and Dragons

[SuperSaiyanDiclonius]

The Avatar's curse is omniversal. All cabbages must die.