One sunny day, Misty Maid was having a lovely little walk down the road to her job. It was honest work really, cleaning the many sprawling corridors of the castle. But it was fulfilling and paid the bills more than well!
She smiled at the thought as she trotted along. Her hooves clopped lightly on the paved road while her coat felt the warming rays of the early morning sun.
Misty had plenty of things to worry about, tasks that needed to be done, a utility bill that she forgot about last week, groceries, the works. However, it’ll turn out fine, it always does. All she had to do was take one step at a time, one in front of the other as her boss would say!
She was about to pass under a sweeping arch when she heard an eerie hum trill cross the path. It almost sounded like a nursery rhyme, but not one she’d heard before. She slowly panned her gaze over to the source and froze in place at the sight.
It was a changeling! In broad daylight too! Its black chitin shone in the morning dew, and its fangs flashed a pearly white in its soft smile. Its head bobbed side to side in perfect rhythm with the song it hummed. It was like she was watching an organic clock tick away to the tune of a children’s song.
Misty shuddered as she tried to creep back, but the bug’s gaze snapped to her. She froze again, vainly hoping that it wouldn’t move if she didn’t.
Its head kept bobbing, and its voice kept humming but both it and Misty didn’t make a move to or from each other.
About a minute later the bug asked, “where might you be off to this early in the morning, miss?”
She didn’t want to answer, she really didn’t, but the words just fell from her mouth. “T-to my job, at th-the c-castle.”
The changeling hummed a bit more before shaking its head. “Oh dear, it seems that you might have an issue with that...”
Misty gulped, ready to bolt but stopped when the bug continued.
“You see, the way is blocked! You couldn’t possibly get through!”
Its smooth voice seemed so sure, so confident, yet there was nothing on the road. Nothing at all. Misty gave the changeling a strange look.
“What do you m-mean sir? There’s n-nothing there?”
It squinted at the road for a bit before sighing. “Ah, it seems it hasn’t happened yet.”
It shrugged before continuing, “I suggest you get moving then, who knows how long the road will be open?”
Misty nodded quickly and started trotting. She tried to keep a steady gait, sprinting outright might encourage it to chase. That is how predators work, right? Show too much weakness, and they’ll pounce?
So Misty kept her cool, bravely running away slowly. However, it didn’t matter how much she tried to hold in the shivers, the bug’s singing gave her the creeps.
“The Skyline bridge is…”
It was unnerving how smoothly his voice ran over the words.
“Falling down…”
It was like a spool of silk was allowed to speak.
“Falling down…”
Misty found her eyes drawn to the massive arch that hovered over the street.
“Falling down…”
Were those cracks there before?
“The Skyline bridge is falling down…”
and it did always dip ever so slightly in the middle?
“My…”
Misty’s throat went dry.
“Fair…”
She clenched her eyes shut before breaking out into a run.
“Lady…”
Screw the uniform, screw the bags, screw the job, she needed to get this to the guards, now!
Bulwark was having a nice and quiet shift. No hooligans to chase off, no graffiti to report or even clean, not even some surprise inspections! It was all going so well, then that maid came sprinting in yelling about some changeling freakin’ humming a tune on the road!
He’d thought they’d all been blasted away by the love bubble the royal couple made!
Whatever, he had a job to do.
Bulwark and a couple of his squad mates sprinted through the streets, only stopping when they turned a corner and spotted the bug. It was still gently swaying as it hummed a calm tune.
“Surrender now, and you will be given leniency, changeling!”
Bulwark was really good at yelling, he even considered doing a stint as a drill instructor because of it. But the bug was unphased.
It looked up at Bulwark and asked, “hello friends, did you come to watch the bridge fall?”
Bulwark gritted his teeth as he and his squad moved forward, ready to arrest the chitinous interloper. But the changeling kept talking.
“It killed a few of my friends you know. When that bubble burst, not all of us got lucky. Made quite the mess.”
Just as the guards were in reach, the bug yanked a string, pulling a few stones from a pillar.
The guards froze as loose rocks fell. Bulwark managed to shake his shock off and pull his comrades back a few paces, then a few more, and another few to be sure.
The bug just stood and smiled as it began to sing its haunting tune.
“The skyline bridge is…”
Huge chunks of rock dropped from the bottom of the arch.
“Falling down…”
The sounds of crashing stone echoed through the air and rocky shrapnel punched holes in nearby buildings. Luckily, one of the guards had the presence of mind to throw up a quick shield.
“Falling down…”
Clouds of dust kicked up into the air, shrouding the street in a tan haze.
“Falling down…”
The guards all stared in shock as they heard a sickening ‘crunch’ cut off the song. But they could hear the echoes of its ending in their head.
“The skyline bridge is falling down…”
The dust blew away in a passing gust.
“My…”
All they could see of the changeling was a singular hoof.
“Fair…”
Bulwark’s vision blurred at the grim sight.
“Lady.”
