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// Chapter 102: In the Tomb of The Well 
// Story: Marshmallow Dreams 
// by Halira 
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It takes a lot for me to go this far, but I think I would rather be drinking skim milk instead of spending time in the Well of Shade.

It was dark, there were dead bodies everywhere, it smelled like rot, and the shadows constantly rippled and whispered. It was a place of nightmares. This place would not be on my recommend-to-visit list after this trip was over. 

Blanche seemed unperturbed by the atmosphere as she stepped into the hallway. "Keep close. Don't worry about the bodies. They haven't moved in over a thousand years. They aren't going to move now."

I floated behind, and Sunflower gulped and followed so close to Blanche that she might trip the human. 

The torches burned with that eerie blue light. I wondered if they were motion-activated or if it was activated by something else. There wasn't any mage down here to turn them on or off. Magic was supposed to fade over time if no one was powering it. How did they work after all this time? Were the shadows powering them?

"Giggle at the ghosties…." Sunflower half-sang. The rest was too low for me to hear.

"You need to be quiet!" Blanche hissed, batting Sunflower on the head. 

"She's just doing what calms her. She wasn't even being that loud. You're louder," I fussed in defense of Sunflower. I floated in front of Blanche and gave her my best angry face. "I know you went through a bunch of stuff due to Discord, but you haven't been very nice to anyone since then. You went from serious to seriously mean. We're your friends. You need to be nicer, especially to Sunflower."

Sunflower lifted a wing timidly. "She did get back less than twelve hours ago. It seems like she was away for a short time, but for her, it was a long time. She hasn't had time to adjust to being back."

I gave Sunflower a long look. "I'm trying to defend your dignity; work with me here."

Blanche grit her teeth. "You both need to be quieter. This is not me being mean. This isn't a game. There is something dangerous enough to bring all the heavy hitters down here. I'm trying to do a scout of what's going on as a favor for Roger, but scouts need to be quiet."

"I thought we were rescuing Roger's mom," Sunflower said in confusion. 

"No, we are scouting to find out what is going on," Blanche whispered in a condescending tone. "What are the three of us going to accomplish that all the others who are already here couldn't? By all rights, we should have stayed at Mountain Shade, but Roger was about to do something stupid, and the rest of you were going to follow. I'm keeping you safe. Forgive me for being a little annoyed that you are all putting yourselves in needless danger, and I'm having to do it right after going through a hellish experience."

My not quite all-there ears sagged. "Sorry, when you put it like that…."

"I think I heard voices back this way."

"We've been hearing whispers since we got into this place, darling. Are you sure it wasn't just that?"

All three of us whipped our heads around to see who had just said that. Unfortunately, these catacombs carried sound well, and whoever it was wasn't in sight. They were somewhere beyond the hallway. 

"Maybe the big bad changeling queen is talking to herself. I do that sometimes, but don't say anything to me about it."

Sunflower perked up. "I'm ninety-nine percent sure that was Pinkie Pie!"

"Oooohhh, the changeling queen knows my name!" the same voice happily rattled off. 

"That's not a good thing, Pinkie," another voice said despairingly. 

Blanche sighed. "And this is where we get caught. Oh well, I can deal with a lecture and getting kicked out."

"Um, what's a changeling queen?" I asked in concern.

"Hold on! I know those voices," a voice that clearly belonged to Wild Growth called out. 

I faded to invisible. "Aww, busted."

"Don't you run away now!" Blanche scolded. 

"I'm not. I'm just hiding," I assured her. 

"Don't hide! Turn visible and face the music," Blanche snapped. 

The Element Bearers, Wild Growth, and Dreamwarden's bodyguards stepped into the hall. Twilight Sparkle was the one to step forward. 

"What are you three doing here?" she asked in confusion. Then she frowned and lit her horn. "Hold still; I need to scan you to confirm you are who you appear to be."

I spread my now visible limbs wide as I continued to float. "Um, I'm not actually here. I'm just a projection. I'm not sure there's anything to scan."

She eyed me. "There will still be a definite pony magic signature. That's a complex piece of magic. How far away is your body?"

I pointed upward. "Just outside the entrance to this place. Two of our friends are there with me."

An earth pony wearing a cowboy hat gave me a dubious look. "Is she safe from all those shadow things we've been seein' and hearin'?"

Twilight sighed. "From what I can tell, they can't do anything without a consenting host. If she refuses, she is as safe as the rest of us, at least from the shadows; Bursa is another matter, but I think she might be safer from Bursa than we are. Let me scan to confirm that none of them are Bursa, some other changeling, or infected by the shadows."

Twilight lit her horn, and my friends and I glowed briefly before she released her power. 

"They all check out. They are who they say they are," Twilight announced, looking relieved. "Now—"

A pink pony suddenly jumped through me. "Whoop!" Then jumped through me again. "Whoop!" And again. "Whoopie! Haha!"

Twilight gave the pony a flat look. "Pinkie…what are you doing?"

Pinkie stopped jumping and smiled. "Giggling at the ghostie!"

"She's not a ghost; she's a projection. Please, stop doing that," Twilight said in a long-suffering tone. 

Pinkie looked a little put out. "Alright, party-pooper." She then took notice of Sunflower. "Hey! I know you! Sunflower Smiles! Right? I always liked that name."

Sunflower was taken aback. "Yeah… you remember me?"

Pinkie went over and nuggied her. "Course I do, silly! You've gotten much bigger since I last saw you, but I can still recognize you. Wow, I must be getting old! Anyway, this place is tinsy bit scarier than a bunch of fields, but you still remember what I taught ya, right?"

Sunflower gave an honest smile and nodded. "I never forgot."

"Good!" Pinkie exclaimed happily. "Everything will be alright. We've taken down much bigger bads than some crazy spider changeling."

"She isn't technically a spider, despite having more legs than a typical changeling," Twilight said instructionally. "However, we still need to be our guard. Despite being less of a magical threat than Chrysalis, she presents a much more effective physical threat than other changelings, including Chrysalis."

"Should you all be making this much noise?" Blanche questioned. "And what exactly is Bursa, and what did she do with Roger's mother?"

Twilight's ears sagged. "Bursa is an unfortunate victim of magical experimentation that we tried to help, but she is more determined to go home to Earth than anything else. I'm sorry to say; we can't allow that. She can change shape to imitate anypony she's met, well, anyone or anything. Her true form is much larger and more arthropod in nature. We believe she foalnapped the pony in question with intent to take her place and sneak through the portal to Earth."

"And she hears crazy good! So she can probably hear us clearly no matter how quiet we try to be," the rainbow-maned pegasus added in. "No point in even trying to be quiet."

"She also isn't evil. She's homesick and desperate, and that is driving her to do unreasonable things," Wild Growth added in. "Our goal is to free the prisoner and try to capture Bursa and return her to the changelings so they can continue to try to help her. We don't want to hurt her."

"Speak for yourself," Ulysses said with a chuckle. "If that thing tries to put any holes in me, I'm going to put more holes in it than there already are."

"She's a person, not a thing," Wild said in a tone that brokered no argument. 

"Still going to get stabbed if they put up a fight," Ulysses replied. 

The cowboy hat pony pointed at us. "What are we doin' about them?" 

Twilight shook her head. "They'll need to stay with us. They are too vulnerable going off on their own. Rarity, Applejack, I'm going to need to send you two back to the entrance. Rarity can test the ones there to make sure they are who they say they are, and the two of you can help protect them and make sure Bursa doesn't try to escape. Applejack, you're the only one here other than Wild Growth who can overpower Bursa in a physical confrontation. I hate dividing our forces, but we can't leave those three exposed."

"Uh…they said two friends were back at the entrance," Rainbow said in confusion. 

Twilight pointed at me. "Rebecca is back there too, at least her body is. She wouldn't even know she needed to run if Bursa attacked. We can use her projection here as a scout, but her body needs to be guarded."

My eyes widened. "Yeah, my body has some moves, but it's a little dumb."

Wild Growth glared at me. "The fact that you five are here is a little dumb. What the heck were you all thinking?"

Blanche answered before Sunflower and I could. "Roger was going to take off no matter what to save his mother; we couldn't let him go off by himself."

"And I'm assuming you tracked us?" Ulysses asked Blanche snidely. 

Blanche balled up a fist. "Actually, Rebecca did."

Ulysses spat on a skeleton. "Figures that you'd have to rely on someone else. You were always a lousy tracker. I couldn't teach you to track to save your life. All fight and no survival skills."

"Don't let him get under your skin. He's just trying to rile you up," I warned Blanche. "We know you are better than that."

Apple jack looked between us and Ulysses. "Do ya'll have some sort of history?"

Twilight sighed. "This doesn't leave us, but they're possible Dreamwarden candidates. So make sure they stay safe. The Dreamwardens will be mad if they get hurt."

"I'm actually withdrawing my candidacy when we return home," Blanche said quickly. That shocked me enough that I almost went back to my body. 

Sunflower gasped. "Why? You're so smart and capable!"

Blanche shook her head. "I'll tell you about it later."

"She doesn't want the responsibility," Ulysses snarked. 

Crystal, who had been standing quietly to the side, gave her a sympathetic look. "Don't feel bad. It's like carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. I see what it does to Phobia. It isn't for everyone. I know I'd never take it."

"I never knew where I ranked, but I told them to remove me from candidacy before, so I fully understand," Wild Growth added in.

Rarity flipped her mane. "I'm glad you did, darling. I have a hard enough time keeping up with your reputation as it is without you having that extra title to contend with."

Rainbow smirked. "Rarity, are you jealous? Or even better yet, being competitive about the whole generosity title?" 

Rarity's eyes bulged. "No! Of course not! It's just a little discouraging that I have had the title longer and have participated in so many world saving events, yet Miss Growth is the one who is a household name, even in Equestria where she's never done anything."

"So…totally jealous then?" Rainbow said with a chortle. Rarity lifted her nose and sniffed in response. 

Applejack walked past us and gestured for Rarity to follow her. "Coke on, Rares, can't leave those ponies sitting outside alone."

"Jonathan is human," I corrected. 

"Those folks then," Applejack amended. 

Rarity sighed and followed. "Very well. I don't like the idea of us going off on our own, but I'll be happy to get out of this dingy tomb. It's doing a number on my mane." She turned to look at Twilight. "Are you sure it is a good idea to divide us up? If we need to use the elements we need to be in one place."

"We won't be using the elements on her," Twilight replied. "I'm not sure what effect they might have on her, and I don't want to accidentally turn her to stone or worse.  Instead, were going to capture her, rescue who she captured, and take her back to Thorax."

Rarity pointed at a corner. "What about the very definite evil shadows, darling?"

Twilight shrugged. "None of us are going to agree to be a host to them, and they are only interested in ponies, so Bursa isn't going to host them either. They're a little creepy, yeah, but harmless."

Rarity gave the shadows in the corner another look and shivered. "If you say so, dear. I'll just be happy to put this place behind us. It is entirely unpleasant and dirty; at least Sombra and his shadows were clean." Applejack and Rarity then promptly trotted off towards the entrance.

Twilight turned her attention back to us. "Keep close together; it will make it harder for Bursa to pick us off. Keep your ears and eyes open for any movement or anything that looks out of place. If you see anything that looks like red crystal, immediately get my attention. Bursa's resin is blood red. Her natural form is big, black, and has some red hair. She has six legs, and she has holes in all of them, but she'll probably be camouflaged or disguised."

Big black and red spider thing. We had a word for that growing up—a black widow. I gulped. I did not want to go hunting a giant black widow…

"Rebecca, go ahead and scout," Twilight instructed. 

…but it seemed like I was going to have to.