//------------------------------//
// Chapter Eight 
// Story: Mending Souls: What's in My Heart 
// by atomicpuffin 
//------------------------------//

Kibou started to stir from a very peaceful sleep. He slowly opened his eye and saw the sun beginning to rise in the distance. He sighed and curled tighter into a ball...something soft brushed his side and his head shot up. He turned and looked down at the still sleeping Storm.

She was snuggled against his side, sleeping soundly with a small smile on her face. Kibou found himself smiling slowly as he wrapped his tail around the sleeping pony. He had forgotten about the night before when Storm had kissed him. Although neither had said the words out loud, both knew of the others feelings just from that kiss.

Kibou sighed again and lowered his head to gently nuzzle her mane. She grumbled something in her sleep and moved closer to him. He chuckled and looked around the clearing they had slept in. He frowned and turned his head towards his home.

His frown deepened when he noticed the storm clouds hanging over the castle. There wasn't a cloud anywhere in the sky except over his home and his instincts told him it was being caused by his father. Kibou remembered all that he had said to his dad the night before and his heart began to ache.

After talking to Storm, he realized his mistake in rushing to conclusions about his father's reasons for the past. Now he had to make things right between the two of them, his father had to know he didn't hate him...and that he wasn't a monster. He glanced down at Storm again and knew he couldn't just leave her. He had to thank her for everything she had said last night.

He chuckled, she had always been good at beating sense back into his head and last night hadn't been any different. He lowered his head again and nuzzled her behind her ear gently calling her name.

"Storm...Storm...come on love it's time to get up…"

She grumbled and snorted,

"Five more minutes mom…"

Kibou laughed and then returned to nudging her awake. As adorable as she was sleeping, he had to return home. She let out a small yawn and opened her eyes, when they met his her cheeks flushed pink. His smile widened and he gently kissed her nose, chuckling as her blush deepened. She smiled up at him though and stretched as she yawned again, he blushed when she rubbed against his side.

"Oh man...I didn't mean to fall asleep...mom's going to blow out my ear drums when I get home." She grumbled as she wiped the sleep from her eyes. Kibou grinned at her and used his tail to push against her back, sliding her across the grass and closer to him. He leaned in and gave her the softest kiss, enjoying the way she instantly settled against him.

He pulled away and nuzzled her ear again, chuckling at the flush to her cheeks.

"I'm glad you did...I enjoyed waking up to you snuggled against me Stormy…" He purred into her ear, she blinked then smiled again. Then she frowned just as he had when she noticed the storm clouds still hanging over his home. He sighed and stood up stretching slightly as he did. He took a deep breath and turned back to Storm, he pulled her into a tight hug and she wrapped her arms around his neck. He purred again at the sensation of holding her so close, especially now that she knew and accepted his affections.

"I have to go back now...I have to make things right again. Storm...thank you so much for everything last night. I don't know if I would have realized the truth without your help."

He whispered and she giggled, a sweet sound he hadn't heard often from her and the sound did something to his heart. He held her tighter and she sighed against his shoulder whispering to him,

"You would have realized it eventually Kib...your heart is too pure to hold rage inside for long. Go on now...Uncle Discord needs you...I'll...I'll see you later." She pulled away from him, however when she would have pulled completely away he tightened his arms. She blinked up at him confused until she noticed the fire in his eyes. She smiled and stroked his cheek, he growled lightly and pulled her to him again, placing his lips over hers.




Fluttershy sighed as she watched Flitterbee race off with Dusks Light and CheesePie. She was glad her daughter would be gone for the day with her friends, that way Fluttershy wouldn't have to explain anything. She looked up at the sky and sighed again at the dark clouds looming over.

She walked back inside and went in search of her husband. When she was about to scream in frustration she heard the softest moan and turned to the source. It was coming from inside Kibou's room and Fluttershy frowned. She walked over and peeked inside, her heart nearly broke at the sight of her husband.

He was curled in the center of Kibou's bed, his back shivering with each breath, and he was looking at a photo of him and his son. Fluttershy bit her lip to keep from breaking into sobs, he hadn't come to bed last night. Now she knew why, he had stayed in here all night, probably hoping Kibou would return. She sighed and called his name softly,

"Discord…"

No response.

"Discord...honey…"

Nothing, he just continued to lay there, almost lifeless. If she couldn't see his back rising with each breath she would have sworn he was a statue again. She sighed and took a step to enter the room, a tail wrapped around her stopping her and pulled her back. She fell against soft fur and two arms wrapped around her. She felt the tears break through as a snout buried itself into her hair and her baby's voice whispered into her ear.

"I'm so sorry mom...please forgive me…" 

She turned her head and looked into her son's beautiful eyes. She stroked his cheek and simply nodded, because she couldn't possibly talk around the lump in her throat. Kibou then turned his gaze on his father, who still hadn't budged from his current position. He sighed and smiled sadly at her, then he kissed her cheek and whispered,

"I'll make this right...I'll bring him back…"

She nodded and walked away leaving the two alone together. She turned back as she watched Kibou move silently into the room and sit in the center facing his dad. He wrapped his tail around himself and lowered his ears and his head. She smiled at the position he was taking, it was so much like her little Kibou...and so much like his father.




Discord stared blankly at the small picture and bit back another sob. All night he had lain awake in the room, praying that his son would come back and give him a second chance. It was hopeless though, Discord had ruined all hope of Kibou ever trusting him again. Maybe he deserved his son's hate. After all, it was Discord's fault that the ponies all looked at his son with such disdain. If he hadn't been so stupid in the past, things would be very different for his sweet, loving son.

All he could do now was pray that Kibou would see the truth. See that no matter the monster his father was...that didn't mean Kibou was also one. His son could never be viewed as a monster by anyone who spent time alone with him. The kid had the biggest heart and no matter whose blood he carried, Kibou was his own stallion. His little hope would grow up and do great things for Equestria...unlike Discord had…

"Dad…" It was the softest whisper, but Discord's ear twitched at the familiar sound. He slowly lifted his head, afraid this would be nothing more than a trick of his mind. He turned his head and stopped breathing. Sitting in the center of the room was his baby boy.

"Dad...I..." 

Discord cut him off as he jumped off the bed and threw his arms around his son, pulling him into a tight embrace. He felt the tears rolling down his cheeks and he sent a silent thanks to Celestia.

"Kibou...I'm so glad you're safe...son...I'm so sorry...so sorry...Nothing I saw will ever make up for my past mistakes...I know that."

He felt his son begin to shake and smiled slightly as Kibou's arms wrapped around his waist and his little one nuzzled his chest fur. The affectionate nuzzle warmed Discord's broken heart.

"I'm the one who should be apologizing...I...I…never should have called you a monster...daddy you're...you're not..." Kibou whispered and Discord felt the tears wetting his chest. He nuzzled his nose against his son's mane and tightened his hold on his baby.

"Shh...there's nothing for you to apologize for little hope. I shouldn't have tried to hide the truth from you. I just...I just wanted to forget it ever happened. I know better than to hide something that important though...your mother has taught me that much."

"No...I know why you did...why you wouldn't want me to know. It was the shock that startled me...I'm so sorry dad. I never even gave you a chance to explain...I thought that everything I had heard was the real truth...I should have known better. I know your heart is good daddy... Can you ever forgive me for what I said?"

He pulled away from his son and wiped away the tears on little hope's cheeks. He felt his heart warming, his son was still the sweetest thing he knew. Even though the fight had been Discord's fault, his son was still apologizing...how the kiddo ever thought he was a monster?

"There's nothing to forgive little one...I'm just so happy you're home and safe again…"

Discord whispered as he pulled his son to him again. The two clung to each other and Discord felt his heart repairing itself again. He looked out the window and noticed the clouds dissipating, he smiled and stroked his son's mane.

He let go of Kibou and placed his paw on his son's shoulder as he said,

"Okay...here's the deal. No more lies son. Anything you want to know about my past...just ask and I'll tell you. I'll tell you everything so you can understand who your father was then."

Kibou smiled up at him and nodded, Discord leaned down and kissed his son's forehead. They left the room and he turned to see his wife talking to a very excited Twilight.




"Discord!" Twilight shouted when she saw him walking into the living room. He frowned at why she was there and then he remembered. In all that had happened the night before, he had forgotten about the research he had asked her to do. His eyes widened and he flashed himself next to her and he picked her up. Gently though...even if she hadn't told everypony about her new foal, he could sense it. This little foal would be a very powerful alicorn in the future.

"Did you find it?" He whispered and she nodded, so he put her down. He looked back at Kibou who was walking towards the group. Discord swallowed, he had said no more lies, but he was still unsure about letting the kids know of the danger. He sighed and turned back to Twilight, she was also looking at Kibou, then she looked at Discord and he nodded.

She sighed and used her magic to levitate a book out of her saddlebag.

"I was up late last night and couldn't find anything about the creature you described...I had decided to try again in the morning. However as I was settling into sleep I heard a crash in the library...when I got into the room a pile of books was scattered around the floor."

They all turned as Kibou choked and started to blush...it didn't take the adults long to figure out why he was squirming. Discord shook his head and turned back to Twilight for her to continue.

"Well as I was placing the books back...I found this open. It's the answer to the mystery…"

She levitated the book to Discord and his eyes widened. He grabbed it and looked at the princess. He whispered as he opened to flip through a few pages.

"You...you finished it?"

Twilight nodded and took the book back from him. She began to flip through several pages as she told him,

"Yes...I finished it while you were gone...I'm just glad I had all the information before you left...but I got it published two years ago. I haven't had a chance to show you since you returned. I wanted it to be a surprise…"

The two smiled at each other and neither noticed Kibou tilting his head to read the title. Then he shouted,

"Wait! Aunt Twilight...you…you wrote that!"

They turned to him again and saw the shocked expression on his face. She smiled and nodded,

"Yes...'History of Chaos' was my idea on how to help ponies understand Discord better...I thought maybe if there was a way for them to see his past, they'd see what he had overcome to be the stallion he is today…"

Her words caused Discord to blush and Fluttershy walked over and nuzzled his chest. He smiled down at his wife and returned her affection.

Kibou was looking between the three adults, then his eyes widened and he turned to his dad.

"So...so this book...you knew about it?" He whispered to his father. Discord nodded and looked at the book that depicted his life.

"Yes. I gave Twilight as much information as I could so she could write this…"

"Then why did you use a different name?" Kibou asked his aunt and she smiled at him. She walked to Discord's side and placed a gentle hoof on his shoulder. She whispered as she smiled at her dear friend,

"Because...if ponies knew I had written it they would think the opinions and facts nothing but my bias. By writing it under a pen name, I could state the facts and make sure that ponies listened to them...It was the only way to show what kind of stallion Discord really is at heart."

The friends shared a quick hug then Twilight shook her head and shouted,

"Oh my! What am I doing? I came here for something important...Discord I found her!"

Discord frowned. Her? Twilight flipped rapidly through pages in the book and stopped when she found what she wanted. She held it up for Discord to see the picture and he felt his heart drop.

"Oh Celestia…oh please not her…" He whispered as he backed away from the book. His reaction shocked the others. They had never seen Discord back away in fear before and yet that was exactly what he had done.

"Discord...honey...who is she?" Fluttershy whispered and he looked at his wife. He swallowed, his family was in much more danger than he had first thought. This monster made Sombra and Tirek look like fluffy bunnies.

"She...she…"

Twilight frowned and turned the book back to her to read the script out loud. Every word brought back memories of his past…

Morgana...a creature that wanders the wastelands stealing the magic and life force of the earth. She has the head and upper body of an alicorn, the lower half of her is a large snake tail. She is vicious and vile, believing that everything is hers to take. When she steals magic and life forces she grows stronger and younger, making her almost immortal. If she steals a pony's life force they can be left as little more than shells of their former selves.

Twilight stopped reading and looked back at Discord to see his reaction. He was breathing heavily and sweating. He couldn't respond to her unspoken question all he could do was panic. She frowned and turned back to the book flipping to the next page.

One day however Morgana chose the wrong target for her prey. She happened upon a chimera that was turning the ground into icing and sprouting candy trees out of the ground. Most likely she was impressed with the magic this one creature displayed and wanted to possess it herself. Never had she come across something that could make anything it wished out of thin air…Morgana was about to meet the Lord of Chaos…

She stopped and frowned again and closed the book. Kibou snatched it out of her aura and shouted,

"Don't stop! What else does it say?" He began to flip through the pages and Twilight sighed and turned to Discord.

"It doesn't say anything else...Discord never told me what happened. He only told me it wasn't important and that we should move on...I think Discord...now is the time to finish your tale."

He met her eyes and looked over to his family. He nodded and said,

"Yes it is...if Morgana is responsible for all this, she'll be heading here as soon as she thinks she's gained enough power…come we should finish this at the council."

He turned to leave and the three began to follow, he stopped and held out his arm preventing Kibou from following. Kibou looked at him confused and he hated the hurt look in his eyes, he had just promised his son no more lies. However this was one thing he had to do. He turned and nodded at the two mares. They understood that he needed a minute with his son and left without a word. Discord sighed again and turned to look at his mirror image.

"Son...you need to stay here…"

"What!? No...I want to help! Dad I'm like you I have chaos magic, together we can fight this monster!"

Discord started to panic again, he had to make sure he kept Kibou as far away from that creature as possible...she couldn't know about him.

"No. You will stay here...Morgana is no normal monster...she is the worst. I can't risk you getting hurt. If she finds out about you, you'll become her new target…"

"New...wait I thought...dad what is her target?" Kibou whispered as he narrowed his eyes at his father. Discord sighed and told himself, no more lies...he had to tell Kibou the truth. Incase...incase the worst happened.

"She's after me...to finish what she failed to do thousands of years ago...son...if Morgana steals my magic and life force...nothing will stop her. Everything I love with crumble in her wake...However I have grown much more powerful than the last time we met. She may not have realized this yet...I believe I can stop her so long as she doesn't gain more power before I find her."

He stopped to see if Kibou was understanding him. Slowly his son's eyes widened and Discord was proud of how smart his son was becoming...guess those tutor sessions with a genius aunt would do that.

"So...so what you're saying is...if she knows I have chaos magic…"

"She'll come after you because you'll be an easier target. She'll steal your magic and use it to grow stronger...Kibou, you may not be at my level yet, but your magic is stronger than mine was at your age. I believe that because you are also the son of a bearer of an Element of Harmony...that magic is also in you and it is feeding your chaos magic.

"If Morgana steals your magic it may put her at my level and I won't know if I can stop her...so I need you to stay here behind the barrier and out of the way...you'll be helping me by staying safe and I'm going to send the other children here for protection...in fact I should send everypony here. Morgana can't be allowed to gain any magic that is equal to mine…"

The last was more of a thought...he realized that he had to keep every powerful source of magic here and out of Morgana's way...that meant…

He snapped his fingers and all three princesses, the bearers of elements and their children were teleported to his living room. Princess Celestia looked around then glared at Discord.

"Really what is the meaning of this Discord...I was in the middle of a council meeting to discuss…"

"This is more important Tia…" He growled and she stopped, never had he spoken to her like that and it shocked her into silence. He looked around at all the curious stares and sighed, now was the time to explain everything.

"Discord...I thought we were going to have this discussion in the council room?" Twilight asked and frowned as she pulled Dusks Light against her side.

He looked over at his wife and children and moved to curl himself around them. He nuzzled his wife gently then turned to the rest of the group.

"Plans have changed...I need all of you to stay here. Where it's safe…"

The room erupted into shouts of confusion, anger and dismay. He growled and snapped his fingers zipping all the mouths shouting at him. He chuckled lightly and continued,

"No arguments...Morgana will be coming for me. If she gains any of your magic I won't be able to stop her. All of you carry some form of powerful magic and if she gets a hold of it this land will suffer. I'm going to get her attention and bring her to me, she may believe that just with Sombra's magic she can beat me…"

They all quieted down so he unzipped their mouths and Princess Cadence was the first to speak.

"Discord...you can't face her alone...it's too dangerous."

"Wait a minute...what he says speaks truth...this creature would become too strong to fight if she takes our immortal magic…" Luna said and Celestia nodded she turned to face him and whispered,

"Are you sure this is what you want to do Discord?"

"I have to...she can absorb magic. So if you try to fight her it will only make her stronger. I'm sorry, but I have to do this alone…" He said as he curled further around his family. No matter the cost...he would protect them. He wasn't being honest with them and it hurt him to lie again. However it was the only way to keep them safe, if they knew the truth they would try and help...then they could be hurt. Morgana was after him, not them...they would be safe once she got what she wanted.

He had barely escaped her the first time they had met, she had surrounded him and taken a good portion of his magic and life. He had managed to turn the ground to ice causing her to slip, breaking her concentration.

He had used what magic he had left to teleport far away from her, it was how he had first ended up in Equestria. He had hoped to never come across the monster again...seems she wanted the rest of the power she had tasted all those years ago.

"I will meet her head on and send her to Tartarus where she belongs…" He whispered as he nuzzled his wife's ear…

Darling forgive me...but I have to protect you…

The princesses nodded at him and then surprised him by simultaneously bowing to him. His mouth fell open, as all four alicorns bowed in respect to him. He nodded and turned to leave the castle. He felt a hoof on his shoulder and turned to see Celestia staring at him, she looked back at the other ponies then whispered so only he could hear.

"Say goodbye first...you'll regret it if you don't…"

He frowned at her and wondered for a second if she had guessed his real plan. He turned to look at his family and his heart broke all over again. He held out his arms and the three of them walked over. He wrapped his children in a tight hug and whispered to them,

"Don't worry little ones...daddy will keep you safe…" At least that was the truth. He would make sure they were protected until the last second. Most of his magic would go into creating a barrier that would keep anything out...and everypony in until he couldn't hold it any longer…

He let go of his children and felt tears of pride well in his eyes. They were so beautiful and he loved them with his whole heart.

"I love you two so much...never forget that…" He whispered. Then he turned to face his heart, this would be the hardest thing he'd ever had to go through. He walked over to her and wrapped her in a desperate hug. She was his whole world...and although it would hurt her, he would keep her safe. She was the most important treasure he had ever held, never had he thought he could love somepony so deeply.

He lifted her chin and kissed her passionately, not caring that the others were looking. He needed to feel her lips before he left. To feel the love that poured from them, allowing the sensation to fill his heart. She gasped and there were tears in her eyes, she reached up and held his face in her hooves. She whispered to him and he closed his eyes at her sweet voice.

"Come back to me...I love you so much Discord...promise me you'll come home again…"

The words stabbed his heart and he kissed her again, to hide the fear in his heart. He smiled sadly at her, then stroked her cheek and pressed his forehead against hers.

"I promise...I love you my sweet Fluttershy…"

Fluttershy...forgive me my heart…I will protect all of you...no matter the cost…