Darkness. That was all that could be seen around him. An oppressive, endless black that surrounded and pressed into him, like an unwanted blanket. Had anypony else been placed in such a situation for as long as he had, they may have been driven mad. But then, this was not a pony. Let's see now. Day three-hundred-and-sixty-five-thousand, two-hundred and...oh, what was it? Oh yes, seventy three. Could've sworn it was seventy-two, but heck, what do I know? A mental sigh escaped the creature as that thought began to sink in. Okay then, what shall we do today? I feel it should be something special. I know I kind of missed out on the official anniversary of my oh-so glorious imprisonment, but then, missing out on stuff is really the only variation in routine I have to give myself. Ugh, listen to me! Pointing out the blatantly obvious like I'm trying to explain things to an audience that isn't there. Well...maybe they are there and I just don't know it. Or, just maybe, I'm convincing myself of it as some means of staving off boredom. Just like I've done every...single...day.

An unspoken laugh escaped unmoving lips. My dear and precious thoughts. They're all I have now. Trapped within this uncaring stone...such a cruel punishment. I mean, sure, I turned a few...thousand lives upside down. And yes, I may have attempted to claim the world and everypony in it as my personal plaything. And yes I may have eliminated the concept of gravity itself on one or two occasions, but is that really so bad? Those ponies simply don't understand a good thing when it happens to them. I mean, it was hilarious! All those beasts I summoned forth from the darkest depths of their nightmares were such entertaining things, even if they did try and eat the ponies occasionally. Ugh, they're all such sticks-in-the-mud. Still, no point dwelling on it. Best keep my mind on other things. I have an eternity to pass and precious little to do it in. Maybe I can strain my eyes and check out all of the little bumps and irregularities on the stone again? A mental groan came afterwards. Oh joy, I've begun to look forward to staring at rocks now. Perfect. If I wasn't crazy before, I certainly will be after all this.

Still...I guess I don't have anything better to do today. So, let's see now. Um...okay, I think I spot a little bit of elevation there...and a tiny bump there...and I think that patch is slightly less grey than all the other patches around it. Huh...don't think I'd have noticed that one in utter darkness, but then, the light coming from that little crack down there is probably helping. So, anyway...wait...did I say crack? Elation gripped his heart as his free eye darted back to what was seen before. Sure enough, the tiniest sliver of light was seen, the signs of a small gap in the stone. If he could move his lips into a smile, he would have done. Can...can it be? After all these centuries? Do I finally have an out? Okay, Discord, don't get ahead of yourself. Maybe you really have lost your mind and this is all some trick your insanity is playing on you. But...then again...when has that ever stopped me? For the first time in centuries, limbs began to move, struggling against the stone surroundings. His eyes darted left and right, and from within, he began to feel just the tiniest jolt of something that had not been felt in over a millennium. Magic. My magic! Oh, old friend, How I've missed you!

And thus, after one thousand years of imprisonment, the spirit of chaos himself broke free from his bondage. With an almighty push, he tore at the stone, shattering it into a million pieces and scattering the remains all around himself. A massive yawn escaped him before he smiled wickedly, laughing out loud to any who could hear him.

"Ah! After one thousand years, I'm free! It's time to conquer...wait...where is everypony?"

As the ancient spirit finally began to take stock of his surroundings, he saw, to his surprise, that what greeted him here was not some verdant lush garden, but instead a grey drab dungeon interior, with only simply candles here and there to light the way. No windows, and only a single wooden door at one end. The walls around him looked ancient, though not as much as he was, but above all else, what seemed to bother him the most was that there was nopony here with him.

"Huh...I'd have expected dear Celestia to prepare a better welcome for me than this. But, then again, she always did have a rather drab sense of humour. This place actually suits her tastes, now that I think about it."

As he raised a single claw to scratch the side of his face, he was taken aback by the sudden appearance of a bright red glow all around him. A wailing sound, like that of a wounded animal, howled all around him, prompting him to place both hands over his hears.

"By almighty Faust! What is that racket?!"

Though no answer came, something did occur soon afterwards. The walls themselves began to glow that same red, as ancient runes and symbols could now be seen written on their surface. The chaotic spirit looked on with curiosity as, without warning, dozens of bolts of magical lightning poured forth from the walls, striking him and surrounding him, like ethereal chains. They wrapped all around him, holding him tightly and weighing him down to the ground. Now, under these circumstances, many would think this would be cause for distress. However, Discord merely looked at his new bindings with what could only be described as disappointment.

"Really, Celestia? A magical electric binding spell? I thought you were smarter than that. Well...okay, I didn't, but even so, this is pitiful."

Before he could do anything else, however, he was drawn to the door of the chamber, watching as it suddenly burst forth with over a dozen unicorn guards storming in, aiming their horns at him in an aggressive manner. Despite that, this display only managed to cause Discord to smile.

"Ah! Ponies! I never thought I'd miss you guys so much. Do feel free to come over and let me out of here, won't you?"

But instead of obeying that command, one of the stallions turned, looking right at a younger guard behind him before speaking up in a gruff and commanding voice.

"Inform the Princesses! Discord has broken free!"

The other guard gave a dutiful salute before charging off, no doubt to fulfil that task. However, this entire exchange left Discord himself more amused than intimidated.

"Oh, it will be so wonderful to see my old friends again! Well, when I say "friends", I really mean the constant thorns in my side. But as pleasant as it will be to see them..."

The chaotic spirit began to open his mouth, starting to inhale massive quantities of air, all while the stallions watched. They stood there as Discord began to swell up like a balloon, thus forcing his magical bonds to become more and more strained. Eventually, those bonds broke, their magic dissipating almost immediately. Now free of them, Discord let out all the air in his lungs, creating a gust of wind that knocked back a good many of the stallions. As some of them got back to their hooves, the spirit chuckled and tried looking innocent.

"Whoopsie! I do so apologise for that!"

The lead stallion narrowed his eyes at this display.

"GUARDS!!! ATTACK!!!"

On that command, the collection of stallions immediately unleashed a barrage of magical blasts at the spirit, who simply stayed in place and took each and every blow. More and more spells were thrown at him, and so powerful was their impact that, eventually, a cloud of steam had begun to form around their target. Seeing this, the commander raised a hoof, causing all of the others to stop shooting. They watched, waiting for the steam to finally clear, but when it did, their eyes widened. For Discord was still there, looking completely disinterested in what had just occurred. There were singes on his body, where the magic had hit him, but a single brush-down by his claw made it look like it was nothing to him, like somepony wiping dust off a suit.

"Well, this has been fun, but after a thousand years of solitary isolation, I feel the need to...get back into my routines a bit."

The lead stallion stamped his hoof in an intimidating fashion.

"You're not going anywhere, monster!"

In stark contrast to how he'd been before, Discord now glared angrily at the guard, and all the rest of them once they began to follow their leader's example. A sly grin began to form on Discord's face, and he raised a single claw, snapping his fingers. There was a bright flash of light and, within moments, all of the stallions had been changed. Now, they were as Discord himself had been mere minutes ago; statues. Now completely unchallenged, Discord hovered over to his now-imprisoned foes and patted their commander's head slightly.

"On the contrary, unicorn. It's you that's not going anywhere!"

Floating right past them, Discord looked left and right after he'd exited the door, seeing nopony there.

"Hmmm...probably a dungeon somewhere. How common."

An idea formed in his mind as he turned his head upwards. Once again, he raised a claw and snapped his fingers, this time surrounding himself in a bright light. An instant passed, and when it did, Discord was now elsewhere, high in the sky above Canterlot. Taking in a deep breath of fresh air, he let out a contented sigh.

"Ah! Now this is more like it!"

Looking, he gazed at the city before him, with its pristine white marble and golden spires. While most would have been in awe at such a sight, Discord merely scoffed.

"Ugh! So clean! So prim and proper! So...so very Celestia!"

Thinking on that, Discord placed his hands on his hips and looked around, seeing nothing but empty sky around him.

"Hmmm...no sign of her yet. Or Luna for that matter. Probably busy trying to undo my handiwork down below. Oh, what I wouldn't give to see the looks on their faces!"

However, it was not long before his expression become somewhat more serious.

"Still...they'll probably still have those bothersome Elements at their disposal. If I'm going to ensure my freedom this time, I'll have to..."

But, he was stopped form continuing as a slight shiver passed through his spine. His whole body practically vibrated from the feeling, causing a look of great discomfort to cross his face.

"Ooh! What...what is that?! It feels...as if Equestria is...off, somehow. I mean...I've felt some magical imbalances in my time...mostly because of me, I'll admit. But this is...different."

He looked around, trying to see the source of the disturbance, but still found nothing but sky.

"It couldn't possibly be a pony doing this...could it? I know they can get into plenty of trouble even when I'm not here, but still..."

As he dwelt on that, the same sly grin from before finally returned.

"Well well...perhaps we have a new player on the board."

A chuckle passed his lips as he once more snapped his fingers, causing a deck-chair to appear out of nowhere. Taking his place on it, he and the chair continued to float in the sky while he mused on present circumstances.

"Just a matter of time. Whoever's causing this will find me eventually. And oh, what a moment that'll be!"

As he continued to laugh at that, his smile faded somewhat.

"Ugh! Still talking to myself. I've got to stop doing that. Well...when I feel like it anyway."

Author's Notes:

I just want to apologise in advance to those among my readers who have taken issue with the inner monologues I've put in my chapters. I knew as I was writing this one that it was going to have quite a lot of it at the start, so I'm sorry if that keeps you from enjoying this chapter.