The dungeon door opened with a low, metallic creak. Chrysalis stepped forward and gazed inside. The dungeon was dark, save for the lit candles that lined the walls and the air was filled with a faint, musty smell. She smiled wickedly as her eyes fell upon Celestia, Luna, and Cadance who were chained to the back wall of the corridor.

"How are they holding up, Cercus?" she asked, turning to the Changeling standing at the dungeon door.

"The same as usual, my Queen: not saying a word."

"As I suspected. I will make them talk if it's the last thing I do," the Changeling queen grumbled to herself. "My whip, please."

"As you wish, Your Highness," Cercus answered, bowing. He turned around and levitated a large whip hanging on the wall over to Chrysalis. Taking it in her magic, she smirked.

"Thank you. Close and lock the door, please."

Cercus bowed once more as he closed the heavy door behind Chrysalis. Facing forward, she began slowly trotting down the dimly lit corridor. Looking from cell to cell, she could see the looks of hopelessness and sorrow on the faces of Princess Twilight's friends, and it filled her with such joy. She stopped in front of the back wall where the three alicorns were shackled, their backs facing her. Slowly unraveling her whip, she cackled softly.

"Well, well, well. You three still won't talk, will you? I could've easily killed you all when I captured you. But I need you alive. I won't be able to find the Elements if you're dead."

"If... if you think you can intimidate us into... talking," Luna began, breathing heavily. "Well, you're wrong. It... won't work."

"Aww, what a shame," Chrysalis said, slowly raising her whip. "Well, I'll make you talk one way or another."

*CRACK!*

The whip struck the blue alicorn's back, ripping into her skin. Raising it again, the queen struck hard blows to the backs of Celestia and Cadance. The queen forced Celestia to meet her gaze.

"Where are the Elements?!" No answer. She struck the princess of the sun again.

"WHERE?! ARE?! THE ELEMENTS?!?! ANSWER ME!!!"

Celestia narrowed her eyes and remained silent.

"You really think... she's gonna answer you?" Cadance said as blood began dripping down her back.

"Well, maybe you didn't hear what I just said!" Chrysalis hissed, striking the pink alicorn's back with her hoof. "WHERE ARE THE ELEMENTS?!?!?!"

"I don't... I don't know. But if I did,... I'd take my own life before... I'd tell you!"

"Is that so?" the Queen replied, smirking. "Well, your life will end sooner than you think."

"HEY!!!! GET YOUR FILTHY HOOVES OFF HER!!!!"

Chrysalis whipped around at the sudden voice. Looking towards one of the cells, she saw Rainbow Dash with both front hooves gripping the cell door, a look of pure rage on her face.

"What did you say?" the queen hissed, glaring at the blue Pegasus.

"I said, get away from her!!! And get this through your head, you bug-eyed freak! You can try all you want, but we will NEVER tell you where the Elements are!!! You wanna know so badly?! You can pry the answer from our cold, dead hooves!!!"

"You dare raise your voice to me, the queen of the Changelings?!" Chrysalis shot back, walking over to Rainbow Dash's cell.

"Yeah! I dare!" Rainbow growled, pounding the cell door. "One of these days, we WILL get out of here! And when we do, we're gonna wipe your face on the floor!!!"

Channeling her magic, Chrysalis grabbed the mare by the throat, forcing her to look her in the eyes.

"I'm keeping you all alive until I have those Elements and your little princess friend, too! And mark my words, once I've achieved my goal, you all will perish!!!" And with this, she threw Rainbow Dash up against the back wall of her cell.

"We'll never... tell you. Besides... you don't... scare me," Rainbow said, struggling to get back up.

"Well, fortunately for all of you, I'm feeling rather generous today. So, I'll let up on torturing you worthless ponies today. But, don't expect any more mercy after this." Chrysalis replied, rolling up her whip. "I'm going to make sure all of you tell me where those Elements are, even if I have to skin you all alive to get an answer!"

She trotted back towards the dungeon door.

"Cercus," she said. "Open up, please."

Cercus quickly unlocked and opened the dungeon door. Chrysalis stepped out and hung the whip back on its hook.

"Enjoy the rest of your day," she mocked as the door closed behind her.

"Keep trying. You'll never break us," Rainbow Dash mumbled, finally managing to stand up.

"Are- are you okay, Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy asked meekly.

"Yeah, I'm okay."

"Don't worry, Fluttershy," Celestia said. "We'll get out of here soon enough."

"I wish I knew where Twilight was," Cadance said, trying to ignore the blood slowly running down her back. "She could try and help us."

"Me, too," Rarity answered.

"How do we know she's even coming to help us?" Rainbow Dash asked. "It's been months since she escaped. She's probably not even coming."

"Don't talk like that, sugarcube," Applejack said. "Twilight's our friend. She would never abandon us. Ah'm sure she's gonna try and help us somehow. We just have to have hope."

"I really hope you're right, AJ," Spike answered. "If this keeps up, I'm gonna lose it."

"We must stay strong, Spike," Celestia said. "We can't let her have the Elements."

"I know, I know," the little dragon answered. "I just want out of here."

"You okay, Pinkie?" Rainbow asked, looking at the cell where her pink friend was. Her mane was completely straight, a clear sign that she was REALLY upset. She looked up at her rainbow haired friend and simply nodded.

"I'll... take that as a 'no,'" Rainbow answered, sitting down on her cell bunk.

"I... I don't wanna die," Pinkie uttered softly, tears welling up in her eyes.

"We ain't gonna die, sugarcube," Applejack answered. "And we can't keep thinkin' about things like that. We gotta stay strong, stay calm, and keep our heads up. Twilight is coming to help us. Ah just know it."

Author's Note

Looks like Twilight's friends aren't doing so well. Little do they know that their purple alicorn friend and her student are coming, but will they make it in time? The story continues in Chapter 6!