_Starlight_ Winning Entry

Mystic fluttered around her eggs nervously, making sure that they were in just the right temperature. She brushed her paws over each egg; the contents inside one stirred at her touch. It wobbled every once in a while, so Mystic sat on her perch next to the nest and waited patiently.
Suddenly, the nest was ripped from the thick branch, plummeting to the ground. Her heart pounded roughly against her ribs as adrenaline shoved her off the perch and made her dive down after the falling eggs. She landed harshly on her shoulder, managing to catch a single egg, the one that was ready to hatch. The other eggs weren't so lucky. They laid splattered all around her, the contents spilled out over the ground.
Mystic began to weep.
The sound of bones crunching caught her attention before her tears could fall. She turned around quickly. An Apocalyptic Obsideon was glaring at her, his jaw working furiously to chew off his own paw. Twigs from the nest were stuck between some of his teeth.
Mystic cried out, clutching the egg close to her as she flew away from the Obsideon—it was Engel, she realized—and towards the small wooden hut. She slammed the door shut behind her, locking it securely. The hut was empty, the furniture was torn open, Blood splattered here and there. As far as she could tell, she was the only one inside.
Mystic took a peek out the window. An Apocalyptic Obsideon, Ahbruis, Anya, Gurahdi and two Kratorks...a Nightmare Anya, Haruba, Mericai and even a Kohal were approaching the hut... Realization hit her. These monsters were her friends. They had all been transformed into Nightmare and Apocalyptic versions of themselves...and they were coming after her.
Patches the Ahbruis charged at the house, ramming the front door and scraping it with his claws and Talon the Gurhadi struck the window again and again. The others followed suit; Mystic scurried to the bedroom with the egg still in her arms.
She closed and locked this door too, not sure how long it would take the monsters to get inside and find her. Oh Goddess...please, help...Mystic silently prayed.
She leaned against the door, resting her forehead on the egg. The egg began shuddering against her. It was hatching. The sides cracked and black ooze slid out. Before her eyes, a small nightmare Misticpal began crawling out, snapping its sharp teeth at her. Mystic threw the creature away from her, flying to the other side of the room. The creature seemed to be stuck in its shell.
Mystic heard a loud crack crack crack behind her; she turned to see a full-length, cracked mirror smeared with blood. She spun back around at the sound of the creature breaking free of its egg, and the bedroom door being torn off its hinges. The monsters and small creature hurled themselves at her, their jaws snapping. She threw her arms in front of her and waited. Nothing happened.
Mystic opened her eyes; the monsters were gone. They were replaced with the goddess herself. “Pandoria!” She exclaimed. The goddess smiled at her, then pointed to the mirror. Mystic turned and saw Pandoria's reflection, an Apocalyptic Braenon waiting to tear her apart. She then saw herself being morphed into an Apocalyptic Tarinooki; her feathers began to fall off, her fur turning a dead gray color, never-healing wounds opening all over her. She let out an ear-piercing screech, and the cracked mirror in front of her shattered completely, its deadly shards hurling straight at her.

Mystic jerked awake, nearly falling off her perch next to her nest. She realized she had fallen asleep watching the eggs, because she thought one was ready to hatch; but sadly, the little egg no longer shifted from side to side.
Her wings twitched nervously as her nightmare played through her mind again. She glided down from the tree where her perch and nest was, hovering above the camp-like home where the other pets were still sleeping, deep in dreams.
Palette and Silhouette were curled around each other, sleeping in a shape that resembled the Yin and Yang symbol with their Misticpals in between them. Patches slept close by them, curled up with his tail over his nose and his Misticpal perched on his shoulder. The slow-moving stream nearby was occupied by Neptune, and Mystic could see bubbles floating up to the service with each time he exhaled. Moonlight was sprawled on her back on the open windowsill of their owner's cozy wooden hut. The Kohal and Obsideon were somewhere inside the hut, she new, because they liked sleeping indoors. Spike had made the roof her territory, preferring the wide open sky above him that so much resembled the cape of Pandoria. Metaphore was sleeping standing up, as always, beneath a sheet stretched between two trees in a makeshift tent. But the newest pet of the group was missing. The Gurhadi, Talon. She searched for his nest in the tree next to hers, but it was empty. She let herself make a quiet landing down by the base of the tree as she looked for him. Then, she felt something drip on her front paw. She looked down at it. Red stained her fur as another drop fell onto her. Her head snapped upwards. Perched high in the tree was an Apocalyptic Gurhadi—Talon. Mystic's scream pierced the night.