I didn't know exactly what time it was, but judging by the light shining through the high up circular windows, it looked to be around morning.

I was fairly sure we had set sail by now, and that meant that unless there were life boats stashed away somewhere, there was no escaping the ship.

So much for a quick getaway, not that it would've worked, but hey, you never know.

I was still wary of what my immediate future held in store for me, but for the most part, I had gotten used to my current situation. I walked over to the bars of my cell and took a look around.

It looked as though the other prisoners had arrived while I was asleep, and to my dismay they were all exactly as downtrodden and defeated looking as I imagined they'd be.

This... wasn't going to be easy.

"Hey... Rarity," I whispered loudly over to the cell next to mine, "Rarity, you awake?"

"If yer talkin' about the mare, she ain't here."

The gruff yet feminine voice caught me off guard and I snapped my gaze towards the cell on my other side. I went to reply, but the voice elaborated before I could ask what she meant.

"The Captain and his little piggy took her out of her cell sometime last night," the voice explained. It gained a tone of amusement, "the big pussy cat seemed ta fancy the mare far as I could tell."

"Okay, setting that aside," I replied with a grimace, "do you know if we've already set sail?" I paused for half a second, "oh, the name's Salvatore by the way."

"Lassie," the voice replied, "and aye, we've already shoved off for much darker waters."

Lassie? Really?

"With a name like that, I take it you're a diamond dog?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Aye," came the curt reply, "and I've no idea what ta make of a name like Salvatore. Tell me, lad, what kind of creature do ya call yerself?"

"Human," I replied, "though I doubt you've heard of my race, we're not a very well known bunch around here."

Or anywhere in this world for that matter...

The diamond dog in the next cell over was quiet for a moment. I heard her hum to herself in thought before giving a short grunt of defeat.

"Nope, can't say I've heard of yer kind before, lad," she finally replied, "interestin' considerin' I been all over the world and downed a pint or three with just about every sapient race there is."

Oh my god, she's a fucking pirate isn't she?

Had this been any other circumstance I probably would've cursed my luck... or Discord again, but in this situation it took everything I had not to giggle like a madman.

This... was exactly what I needed right now.

I wasn't a hundred percent sure she was a pirate, but if she was, this would make my plan a lot easier... hopefully. Still, I didn't think it'd be a good idea to just straight up ask if she was a pirate... or maybe it didn't matter?

"Hey, can I ask you a question?"

"Ya just did, lad," the voice snarked, "but go on, ask yer second question if ya must."

"Thanks," I deadpanned, "anyway, I don't really have a delicate way of asking this, so I'll just ask it... are you a pirate?"

The diamond dog laughed out loud at that. She laughed a loud booming laugh that made me rather nervous with how loud it was. Eventually her laughter died down into chuckles and she cleared her throat before answering.

"Believe me, lad," she replied with another small chuckle, "ya wouldn't be the first to assume that, and I doubt you'll be the last... but no. I may be a sea dog, but I ain't no pirate."

Naturally.

I sighed and was about to respond when Lassie spoke again.

"My father on the other paw," she continued, "now he was a true scourge of the sea. Feared in nearly every coastal city this side of Abyssinia."

Daughter of a diamond dog pirate... I think I can work with this.

It might not have been the long shot I had thought it would be after all. She may not have been a pirate, but she was a hell of a lot more spirited than everyone else here.

That was good, I needed spirit if I was gonna make this work.

A few questions still nagged at me, though, and I decided to voice them, if for no other reason than that there was nothing else to do at the moment—at least until the Captain came back.

"Aren't diamond dogs native to Equestria?" I asked curiously, "why were you and your dad in Abyssinia?"

"Bah, we diamond dogs live wherever we want, boy," Lassie replied with a snort, "it's true most of us prefer a nice hole in the ground, but not all dogs like ta live that way. My pa had a love fer the sea, as did his pa before him an' his ma before him."

"So... your family's lived in Abyssinia for generations?"

"Aye," she replied proudly, "'ain't no better place ta be if ya wanna make a livin on the sea' me gramps would always say."

"Huh," I replied with a small nod, "I can respect that. But there was something else you said earlier that's bugging me."

"Oh?"

"Yeah," I responded, furrowing my brow as I leaned against the bars of my cell, "you said something about us heading into 'darker waters', what exactly did you mean?"

"Ah... that," Lassie replied with a huff. I could practically hear the frown in her voice, "the Captain is a damned fool if he thinks we're gonna just breeze our way to Katzcandi."

"What... wait, don't tell me..." I grimaced as a thought occurred to me, causing a feeling of dread rising up in my stomach, "there's some kind of sea monster between here and Katzcandi, isn't there?"

"Got it in one, lad," Lassie replied gravely, confirming my fears, "the waters ahead are home ta the dreaded Charybdis. A monster so massive, it's giant gaping maw causes deadly whirlpools half a mile wide."

"You're shitting me," I muttered, staring at the wall to the next cell in disbelief, "you've got to be shitting me..."

That... was much bigger than the Charybdis from the stories I was familiar with.

"If that pussy cat was any sort of real captain, he'd have avoided this entire area like the plague," Lassie growled, "now we're all gonna die because of his stupidity."

"Then we need to do something... now," I replied with a renewed sense of urgency, "I can't see that well in here, do you know if any of the crew are guarding the cells down here?"

"Far as I can tell, there's one vulture guardin' the door," Lassie replied after a moment, "but the birdbrain's out cold. From the smell of it, the fool couldn't handle his liquor."

"Do you know how many there are in the crew altogether?"

"About half as many as the prisoners, so I'd say around thirty paws on deck or so," Lassie replied warily, "what are you plannin', lad?"

"A rebellion," I replied quietly, "at this point, it's the only way we're getting out of this alive. I had already planned on it before, but the whole Charybdis thing just pushed my plans way up on the priority list."

"A rebellion, eh?" Lassie repeated thoughtfully, "you know what, lad? I think I'll join you in yer endeavor, after all, if it fails, we're all doomed anyway."

"Nice," I replied, "now I just need an opportunity..."

Things were going well... very well.

Too well.

Somehow I got the feeling the Charybdis wasn't the other shoe that was supposed to drop. I felt as though there was something else that was going to wreck my day, but until then, the only thing I could do was pray that I got somewhere with all of this.

And I was also worried about Rarity and the other Elements aboard that other ship.

It looked like the Captain had already made his move, and I could only leave the rest in Rarity's hooves on that end. I was hoping I could get a chance to talk to her away from the Captain.

I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do about the other ship. I didn't know how far ahead of us it was, or even if it was headed in the same direction. Sure, there was a chance that someone was starting their own rebellion aboard that ship, but I wasn't about to get my hopes up on that one.

Still, maybe Twilight and the remaining Elements would pull through somehow...

No use in worrying about it right now. If we can't take this ship, we won't be able to get to the other ship.

I let out a deep breath and sat down against the back wall once more. I folded my arms and thought on what I'd do from here now that I actually had someone who was willing to help.

"Oi... Salvatore." came Lassie's quiet voice, "listen up, lad, I think I might have an idea."

"Hmm?" I replied, straightening up, "I'm listening."

"That bird's gotta have a key on him," she whispered, "if I can get him close, I can knock em' out quick an' clean, an' nab the key."

"Oh, sweet," I whispered back, "so... we just wait for him to wake up, and lure him over."

"Aye, an' when he's close enough..."

"You take him out," I finished with a nod, "okay... okay this is good. We've got the beginning of a plan, but we need more."

"What did ya have in mind, boy?" Lassie asked.

"I don't know yet," I replied uncertainly, "but I'll... think of something. I kinda have to or we're all screwed."

We had a first step, now we needed more. I tried to quash my rising optimism back down and remind myself that we were far from being in a good position right now.

Still, things could be worse... I just hoped they didn't get any worse.

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