Grand Master Oogway of the Jade Temple of the Valley of Peace was not an easy tortoise to shock. He'd seen many things in his long life, unraveled mysteries others could only guess at and plumbed the depths of both the physical and spiritual worlds for answers to life's questions, most of which he'd found. As such, he was only mildly surprised when, one pre-dawn morning as he approached The Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom to meditate, he found that its shade was already occupied.
His visitor's massive wings, one of the few things he could see of her (she had a graceful presence that a man simply could not match) explained how she'd managed to get up here without alerting Master Shifu. Her shimmering mane and tail blew in a spiritual breeze rather than an actual one, suggesting that if she wasn't a spirit, she at least had a strong spiritual presence, and the discarded ornamentation lying against the base of the ancient tree implied a high social status. All in all, Oogway had the feeling he should already know who she was, and was lightly annoyed that this wasn't the case. Then her entire massive form shuddered in a sob and the feeling vanished, replaced by the gentle concern he felt for his students.
He walked up next to her slowly, tapping his staff against the ground to announce his presence. Following her gaze now that could see her face, a visage of regal beauty and eyes far too old for their owner streaming tears down her cheeks, he saw that she was staring up at the moon, then blinked as he realized the mistress of the night had gained a new, rather interesting looking mark. One that matched the horned and winged horse's profile.
"Please," she said suddenly, "Leave me." Her voice was cracked, broken, and she didn't seem to be able to summon the energy to say anything else as her head dropped onto her fore-hooves.
"If you truly wish me to leave," Oogway said with a small smile, "Then I will leave. However, I believe you need someone to talk to, and besides," he stepped under a branch just as it dropped a ripe peach into his open, waiting palm, which he then offered to her, "This is my tree."
The horse sniffled and ruffled her wings, turning to face him for the first time. To be honest, she looked like she had been through a war. Her muzzle was scratched in multiple places and the bags under her eyes were so deep Oogway could have used them as a hammock. Her pristine white coat was splattered with stains and burn marks, and a bandage had been wrapped around her right-rear hoof. She glanced at the peach in confusion, then her horn glowed a soft gold as the fruit lifted out of his hands surrounded by a matching aura. She didn't take a bite, though, instead placing the tree's bounty on the ground beside her and saying, "My apologies, then. I did not mean to intrude."
"Oh, it's no intrusion," Oogway said amiably, "If you were not meant to be here, you would not be here," she shot him a funny look at this while he continued, "So, why are you upset?"
She sighed, a long gust of air that scattered the blossoms on the ground as she went back to staring at the moon, "I failed," she said simply, her voice almost too quiet to make out, "I failed my ponies, I failed ou-my kingdom, and," she shuddered as if the words were attacking her from the inside, "I failed my sister."
Oogway said nothing, instead taking a seat on the edge of the cliff and listening patiently. He had a feeling this was going to take a while.
"I should have seen it coming," the pony continued, her voice gaining strength as she spoke, "The constant moping, the smile she plastered on whenever we had company, the arguments, the frustration, everything. But noooo, I ignored anything that wasn't shoved in front of my muzzle, dismissing her complaints out of hoof and turning a blind eye to her misery, and now," her voice caught, "Now it's cost me everything."
"Everything?" Oogway said, "That is a lot to lose. And yet you have your health, and your clothes, and your freedom. Are those not something?"
"I meant everything important," she growled, twisting her head around to glare at him. After a moment her expression softened, and she said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you."
"I've had worse," Oogway replied with a smile, remembering one of Master Shifu's more difficult lessons. To this day he could still make out the scorch marks on floor of the kwoon from that little escapade.
"Of course you have," she muttered as she went back to looking at the moon, "It all came to a head yesterday. Luna confronted me in our throne room and demanded that she be allowed to let the night last for a day so our subjects could appreciate her work. I said no, and started to give her a list of reasons why that wouldn't be feasible, but she wouldn't hear of it. She stormed out, and it wasn't two hours later that her moon was blocking out the sun. Then she came back, and she'd... changed. I might have been able to pull her back from the brink before, but now..." she let let an unamused chuckle, "It was all I could do to keep her from destroying the city in our fight, and she still managed to ravage the palace. She'd lost herself to the darkness, and... and was trying to..." she trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.
Oogway winced. Just saying those words had hurt, and that hurt was all too personal for both him and master Shifu. He considered prompting her to continue, but dismissed it as unhelpful. She needed to say this on her own.
"I had no choice," she said despairingly, "I was forced to use my most powerful artifacts, the Elements of Harmony, against her. Now she's up there," she nodded towards the moon, "banished. With one mistake, I lost both my sister and my subjects trust. And why should they trust me when I can let such a dangerous problem fester for so long?" She looked like she was about to cry again.
"We all make mistakes," Oogway said calmly, "They will forgive you if you simply give them time. That's is what happened here, in the Valley of Peace." When the pony turned to look at him in tearful confusion, he elaborated, "Shifu, my prize student, once had a student named Tai Lung, but he was much more than that. Abandoned on the steps of the Jade Palace as a cub, Shifu took him in and raised him as his own, training him in the art of kung fu when he showed potential," Oogway smiled fondly as the memories bubbled to the surface, "He was a born prodigy, mastering the thousand scrolls in record time and becoming one of the greatest warriors in history. However, he wasn't satisfied with merely being one of the best.
"He wanted the dragon scroll, a source of limitless power, and when I would not give it to him because he was not ready for it, because the darkness in his heart would consume him and everyone in his path, he tried to take it by force after laying waste to the valley in a whirlwind of rage. I, too, had no choice but to stop him, for Shifu could not: how could any father hurt his own son? Now Tai Lung is imprisoned far away from here, where he can no longer hurt anyone. I visit him frequently, checking to see if he has repented of his sins and is ready to return to us. So far, nothing has changed, but that does not still my hope that one day, he may return to the valley not as a criminal, but the hero he was always meant to be."
As he spoke, the pony's grief faded, drifting away on the current of his words. Oogway laid a hand on her shoulder and said gently, "So you, too, must hope for your sister. She will return, in time, and when she does you must be ready to welcome her back. Do not despair just because you are too focused on what you have lost. Think of what you have, and what you might gain in the future. Remember," he leaned in closer and whispered, "There are no accidents."
"THERE ARE NO ACCIDENTS!?" she roared, "Why would you say that, that it was fate that our closest family would turn on us because of our own mistakes? What possible reason could there be that would justify it?"
"I don't know," Oogway said with a plaintive shrug, "I am just a tortoise. What I know is what I see, and what I see is that even that which might hurt us in the present can actually turn out to be a source of much happiness, if things are allowed to take their course." Here the wind stirred, carrying a stream of blossoms behind him, "Just because you and I cannot see the reasons behind the choices of fate does not mean no reasons exist. It is possible that sealing Tai Lung away will bring out a good greater than any I can imagine, and I believe that the same applies to you and your sister."
"The Elements have been getting less responsive to us..." the pony admitted reluctantly, lowering her gaze to stare out across the valley below. She pondered his words for over a minute before slowly nodding to herself, "Thank you for your patience, and your advice. While I'm still not sold on the idea of a 'divine purpose,' I really did need somepony to talk too."
"You'd be surprised how often that is all we need," Oogway said, then frowned at the horizon, "Shouldn't the sun be up by now?"
The pony blinked, then blushed, "Oh, sorry," she said sheepishly. Her horn started to glow a brilliant, blinding white, and the sun inched over the horizon as the moon dropped out of sight, "I forgot." She stood and stretched, shaking all over the loosen her muscles up.
"I suppose I must be going now," she continued, "I do have a kingdom to rule, after all. They must be in a panic after I disappeared last night. Would it be too much of a bother to know the name of pon-er, person who showed me such kindness?"
"Only if I can know your name as well," Oogway said with a sly grin.
She smiled in return, the first smile he'd seen on her face all evening, "Of course. I am Celestia."
"And I am Oogway," he replied, then said, "You don't mean Princess Celestia?" It would explain a lot if that was the case.
"For you, it's just Celestia."
Oogway nodded sagely, then said, "Very well, then, Celestia. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavors. Oh, and you almost forgot," he twirled his staff and snatched up the peach, "I've found a good breakfast makes for a much better morning."
Celestia nodded, grasped the fruit in her aura, and took a bite. She smiled gently and said, "Thank you. This is quite nice."
"Of course it is," Oogway said, grinning ruefully, "It's my peach."
Celestia just smiled and, after putting her regalia back on, took off, a single flap of her wings sending her soaring across the sky. It was a truly majestic sight in Oogway's opinion, and he quite doubted anyone would disagree with him on that point. As he watched her go he heard footsteps on the path behind him, announcing Master Shifu just before he came into sight.
"Master Oogway," he panted, "Who was that? An intruder?"
"No, my friend," Oogway said fondly, his eyes still on the receding figure, "Just a lost soul in need of a patient ear and some friendly guidance."
He turned and started the long walk back to the palace while scooping up two more peaches, one each for Shifu and himself, and changed the subject, "I believe you wanted to show me the new students today?"
"Students?" Shifu sputtered, catching the fruit tossed at him purely on reflex, "Oh, yes, them. I noticed five in particular seem to have exceptional talent..."
Author's Note
This is what happens when I read Kung Fu Panda fanfics while replaying "Lullaby for a Princess" in my head. Leave a note in the comments about whether or not I should stop doing that.
