//------------------------------//
// Prologue 
// Story: All an Illusion 
// by D Historian 
//------------------------------//

  Prologue: 
Shadows’ Scent; Fear
The snake-like creature paced forward, purposefully. His mismatched limbs moved rhythmically, walking through the dense green foliage. He was on his unequal hind legs, his reptilian claw clacking as it pushed down into the damp earth he was striding through, making horizontal grooves when he walked. 
The light that filtered through uneven brambles and blackened leaves was a hue of purples and crimsons, creating a vast array of vibrant colour that painted the sky in brilliant shades. The dying light faded softly, the colours melting into a midnight blue decorated with silver sprinkles that dotted the sky. The creature glanced about nervously, his eyes adjusting to the ever growing darkness quickly. He frowned at the fading light and the shadows that stalked his paces, creating eerie shapes that seemed to move on their own. He continued his purposeful pacing, a sixth sense tugging him in a specific direction that he followed constantly.
His mind drifted idly, thinking about his normal day until the strange sensation he had. His vermillion and golden eyes glowed as he peered around him at the creeping darkness, his predatory vision enhancing his night sight. He could not shake off the sense of overwhelming uneasiness he had. His taupe equine like ears pricked as he concentrated, listening hard. Nothing.

Maybe it had been a false alarm. He turned carefully, his uneven front limbs swaying as he took a careful step away from the ominous clearing he had found himself in. Almost immediately, a shuddering tremor shook his serpentine body and he dropped to the muddy ground, teeth bared, predator like, his hackles rising as he growled throatily. His previously sheathed claws shot out of his lion paw on instinct. He paused. Nothing.
He got up slowly, warily. He wanted nothing more than to head back. But he knew his chaotic mind would get no rest if something lurked near the ones he loved. He sighed and stretched, his eagle claw reaching to tug at his bristly black mane as he often did when he was frustrated. If his mate had been there, she would have laughed and called it his "tuggy" mood.
His lips quirked up at the thought of her. She surely would be sleeping by now. The sky was dark and he could tell it was around midnight. She slept more than she used to, these days. It was still too early to tell, but he could guess why her eating habits had become erratic and her temper volatile. Then there would be another. Someone to keep his little abomination company. He could hardly wait. His thoughts swirled and he smiled.
Deep in the foliage, a pair of eyes watched. He could see the look on the oblivious draconequus's face. Distracted. Pressing closer, the creature revealed a pair of impressive canines as it smiled when the mismatch creature did not notice it. It crept closer, pushing its luck. The creature's massive claws caught momentarily around the roots of a tree.
The creature's evident prey noticed a slight creaking as he banished his thoughts. He balled his eagle claw into a fist. His heart accelerated, pounding faster in fear. His eyes adjusted in the dark and his breathing became irregular at the scene in front of him.
He had no chance.
Large pulsing roots shot out, knocking the creature off his feet. The mismatch leapt to his feet, floating inches above the ground, against the laws of gravity. Two talons came together, out of habit, about to snap.
A blackened root wrapped around him, constricting him and he struggled, for escape and air. The foul rotting and earthy stench filled his nostrils before the ache of oxygen deprivation bit his lungs. His magic did not work and the echo of the snapping sound drifted about the now nearly silent clearing. Another ebony root wrapped around his mouth, still having bits of leaves and shrubbery from when it had been viciously pulled out from the foliage, directed by an invisible force. His eyes being the only thing uncovered. The salty metallic taste that flooded his tongue alerted him that he had bit it. The tendrils entrapping him pulsed with a wrongness to it, like dark magic. Which it was. He was completely paralyzed, unable to move or even wriggle, his snake like body having been knotted cleverly to prevent escape attempts. His abdomen ached and his head spun from the lack of air. He tried to inhale, but only smelled the foul taste of the vine muffling his snout. His eyes, flashing red and gold, gleamed in the dark, staring in shock at the creature that moved out of the foliage. Its arm was held expertly in a position a puppeteer does, the limb poised, invisible strings pulling it down. A throaty chuckle reverberated the creature's vocal chords as it gazed at its helpless prey. Its lips stretched in a smile that exposed massive canines.
"Hello Discord......"
Discord writhed in a pathetic attempt to escape, his burgundy tail thrashing, having escaped the pulsing vines. He felt something he had not felt for the longest time. Physical pain. He could feel it, a searing agony wherever the vines contacted. The lack of chaos magic was also evident. He could feel an emptiness, a deep hole, trying to swallow him. The vines constricted tighter, dragging the draconequus into the dense foliage, tail first. The crimson and yellow eyes were wide in panic and fear. He tried to thrash.
Escape! Must... Escape!
Darkness was the last thing that Discord saw.
The creature laughed at his helplessness, an echoing cackle that broke the once again silence of the EverFree forest. It angled its newly cloaked head towards the direction it knew the prey’s family lived, thinking of the bewildered mate of the prey, waking in a panic, lights turned on somewhere where the creature could not see. It breathed in, lungs heaving, an aroma of emotions leaving a taste that tingled its tongue. It smiled again, teeth glittering, its smirk widening at the ever-increasing scent and taste that assaulted its senses. The scent was stronger than ever. 
The creature laughed.
It was fear.