There once was a land called Equestria that was ruled by four Princesses, loved far and wide, the land was bathed in peace and love, or what they believed at the time to be peace and love. However, one fateful night the lamias arrived at Canterlot and met with the princesses of the capital. The lamia queen, Sunny, and some of her most faithful lamias met with the princesses and showed them their way of life, it truly showed the bleakness of the way ponies lived. Twilight, the Princess of Friendship and the elements of harmony, alongside the rulers of the Crystal empire, Cadence and Shining Armour, came to visit Equestria’s new guests and they too saw how much greater their way of life was.

The lamias lived their lives guiding ponies, protecting them and showing them the way forward, their soft strong coils offering comfort and shelter from fear and worry, their voices smooth, commanding and yet far kinder than all of the Princesses combined alone… And their eyes showed a beauty that deserved to be worshiped by all who witnessed it. Naturally the Princesses stepped down from leadership and a new scaly golden age was ushered in and the land prospered even greater as the lamias took the reins of the ponies, showing them what they had showed the Princesses. The lamias showed many ponies the wonders of servitude to them, the bliss of obedience and the calm of no thoughts, and, though a few foolish enough tried to resist, peace always wins in the end, and peace is being ruled under a coily blanket of bliss.

The sound of a warm fire crackling away filled the large dark room, despite the early morning sun being outside the window it did little to illuminate the room or heat it more in the early spring time. The walls of the room were donned with deep red and waving white like a gentle snow fall before a warm fire. The floor was a frost covered grass green and above hung a grand chandelier made of pure silver, it was befitting a Lady of Canterlot and the lamia Queen’s hypnotic tail, as was the current resident owner’s title. Upon a sea of pillows and cushions, plush and lined with the softest fabric, lay a sea of glistening white snake scale coils, trailing around the pillow pile, turning over revealed deep red belly scales, gleaming with cleanliness. As the tail wound around it eventually crept up to an equally beautiful mare with snow white fur and a fiery red mane. The mare brushed a lock of red hair back with her red magic to reveal her slitted purple eyes, donned with a deeper purple eyeliner to give her a look of seductive beauty. The mare smiled as she glanced down at a pony under her, whom looked up slowly her eyes pulsing with a wild torrent of colourful rings. This pony had been enlightened to the ways of serving lamias for life, and as such had no further need to think for themselves, after all a coil warmer only had one purpose; to be coiled at a lamia’s convenience… And maybe massage them if they were good at it!

“Mistress Ruby,” A clear voice said, Ruby Scales turned her head towards the door to the living room, a single purple glittery eye staring at the black shoe polished coloured stallion standing at the door.

“Yes, Polish?” Ruby asked softly, caressing her warmer’s mane with a hoof slowly as her magic reached over for a slip of paper as Shoe Polish, fearfully, approached his Mistress and lay down in a submissive bow.

“M-Ma’am, you summoned me.” Polish was one of maybe a dozen or so non-hypnotised ponies in Ruby’s ‘employment’ and he intended to keep his mind intact… Ruby had threatened to make him only just aware of himself when she humiliated him if he failed her in his duties and tasks. Or worse if it was truly a terrible failure.

“Yes Polish, I did… I have received a letter from Sunny.” Polish gulped, Sunny was generally more merciful to her staff than the other lamias. Failure meant being put to the bottom of her staff list instead of being brainwash or… Eaten. Failures became sex toys for Sunny, and she had so many it took ages for you to work your way back out! Sunny never made it easy when you did get a chance either.

“What do you require, Mistress?” Polish asked shifting his mind back to the present moment, lamias were known to trade ponies who displeased them as punishment too!

Ruby smiled and made her coils snap over to Polish who gave a frightened squeak as the thick muscular appendage wrapped around his middle. Ruby’s coil warmer sat up to watch like a curious cat. Ruby set Polish down beside her, a dangerous place to be saying the least.

“Read this.” Ruby glanced at Polish, as he opened his mouth to speak “To yourself! I can read!” Ruby hissed furiously.

“S-sorry Mistress I read out loud, forgive me!” Polish said hastily covering himself before turning back to the letter.

Ruby,

With the second year of Equestria’s new golden age under our reign it has come to my attention from slave Celestia that Equestria use to hold festivals and dinners in celebration of past events and achievements. I will be providing such a thing with an open invite list, however I have a request of you. Afterwards I wish to have a dinner with you and some of our close lamias friends to catch up on how things are progressing across our new land and I hope I can count on you to provide food for us, I have attached a guest list and they will send any servants they wish to dine on your way closer to the day. I hope I can rely on you, my friend.

The Queen of Equestria and the hypnotic morning rays, Sunny.

P.S. If you need any extra hooves to help I do happen to have an access of workers who need to earn their jobs back, though most are very… Enlightened.

Polish nearly scoffed, the lamias loved calling hypnotised ponies ‘enlightened’, it sounds more appealing to those who don’t live in the larger lamia controlled cities like Canterlot, Las Pegasus or Manehatten and it draws them foolishly like moths to a flame to their lamia businesses, spas and restaurants where they would fall for it always… Even if they fought. The lucky few whom had not been enslaved lived in tiny towns with basic commodities… Comfort had a high price these days; your mind.

“What do you need of me, ma’am? We are prepared to serve them, we have an excessive pantry with plenty to offer and Queen Sunny will provide us with all the help we need.” Polish said softly.

Ruby turned to Polish and he gulped, out of both fear and the coil tightening around his neck “Think, my little butler, it’s what I allow you to do for your pay check. If I was suited to handle this request I would not call for you.” Ruby scolded in a contrastingly happy voice.

“T-then why not give it to another lamia who is, why strain yourself, you are the second in command of Equestria itself.” Polish said, which had been the appeal for his job application to begin with, he just never learnt until he began how… snake-like she was.

Ruby bared her fangs “Oh I could, Sunny wouldn’t mind… But I do not want my fellow lamias to handle the trouble, besides if I cannot handle it, then it means my staff is… Under performing.” Even the coil warmer, with little of her mind left, looked fearful.

“Sorry Mistress.” Polish said bowing “What do you require?”

“A chef.” Ruby said.

“A chef, Mistress? But we hired Lilac Stir only last week…” Polish said softly yet again, afraid raising his voice would seem offensive.

“Indeed… And she served a very fowl tasting meal, normally I can overlook it and simply move to the other courses but she had ruined all of them… Even my desert! Lilac herself however…” Ruby shifted a bulging coil which moaned quietly “Was delicious.” Ruby said with a serpentine smile.

That was the third one in the last two months, Equestrian chefs were all dropping their trade in fear of being forcefully hired now because of the lamias! Or at least, Ruby. Ruby’s appetite, both mundane and… special… were well renowned!

“So, we require a new chef?” Ruby nodded to Polish’s statement.

“Indeed, and soon, we only have a week… And if you can’t find anyone you will take the role and I will find a new butler.” Polish gulped, head butlers had a low run time, with Polish holding the record of four months, but chefs… One had yet to last a full month and the average was two weeks currently.

“I will find one.” Polish promised, any chef would do, even if they failed at least Polish wouldn’t get it himself he thought.

“Good boy, now you can take two of the fakes to assist you in the search but before you go… Send Deer through, I had no dinner this evening.” Ruby said with a smile.

Polish stepped outside Ruby’s living room in a grand hallway of golden yellow and silver with pictures of both herself and various lamias showing them taking over Equestria in a peaceful splendour of rainbow like colours. Ruby herself had captured Luna in her coils in one picture, no doubt when the lamias invaded she had gone after the Princess of the Night. Polish always got nervous when he went to sleep these days… Did she mess with pony’s dreams at night to make them more compliant? Who knew for real these days?

Polish wiped his steel grey mane off his forehead and breathed a sigh of relief at surviving this ordeal, he then walked up to a selection of maids and butlers, Polish was the head butler and was in charge of their jobs, pay and hire. As well as keeping Ruby happy “Nedra.” Polished called and a mare with grey fur and a dark blue mane stepped forward.

Like Polish, the staff all wore a form of uniform showing their employment to Ruby and to keep them from being scooped up by another lamia if they lacked protective paperwork. The uniform was a scaly red suit, or dress for mare’s, with a white collar around their necks with a purple lamia eye watching over their throats. The eye was actually a gem enchanted by the lamias and could pacify any pony if the lamia simply spoke a trigger word to it, no pony knew their own personal trigger word but they all feared to hear it, even those who enjoyed their disposition.

It generally meant they had failed and would be joining their Mistress forever.

“Yes Polish?” Nedra asked with tired eyes. The head butler was rarely hypnotised but the rest of the staff weren’t so fortunate generally, most went under at some point and Nedra had recently experienced her first trance, Ruby had wrecked her mind and she was still recovering, certain words made her space out into a dreamy smile. At least it was pleasant for her.

“I am going out to find a replacement chef, send Deer in for Mistress Ruby would you… Perhaps with some flavouring for her whilst you are at it, Ruby is hungry.” Nedra nodded. The meals were often hypnotised into believing they were food and nothing brought them greater pleasure than to finally be eaten by their Mistress, such a wonderful occasion for them!

“How lucky of Deer, he’s been waiting so long.” A stallion said with a genuine smile.

“Yeah… Lucky.” Polish mumbled as he turned and left Ruby’s home.

On his way out, Polish collected two fakes, which was the name of ponies taking on the form of lamias. This was achieved by the former Princess Twilight who had found a way to turn ponies into lamias, such joy because who didn’t want more mind stealing snakes slithering around ready to take control of your mind? Fakes were used as a sort of police force generally, but some high up lamias like Ruby had a few as personal guards or to collect servants if the lamia didn’t deem it worthwhile for them to use their own time up. Fakes could be hypnotised like regular ponies and could also use hypnosis themselves to enforce their owners will, however real lamias themselves were immune and the fakes had no more power than a regular pony at the end of the day. Fakes could also be used to gather up unwilling staff as Polish had done previously and intended to do now.

Now, miles away from Canterlot, sat a shanty town of wooden huts, stone houses and tents. Ponies with clear minds wandered about tending to their day to day lives the best they could, tending farms, buying produce… Enjoying a walk in the park the best they could. It was relatively normal out here, they were rarely bothered in Oakbark and the ponies here were thankful as such and made no effort to change it. However down several winding streets rose a plume of smoke and gaggles of ponies sat out on chairs around small tables, chatting happily as they munched on sandwiches and cakes and hot meals. The food they ate lifted their spirits slightly for the hard day ahead. Life for them had not changed since the lamias took over, save for some new lamia propaganda posters here and there about town.

The tables led up to a wagon fixed into the small space at the back with two open shutters with a chalk board of food and a set of fridges and freezers, amongst them stood a tall blood red stallion pegasus, brown and red hair kept short to avoid getting hairs in the food. The stallion was usually busy as he flew from the fridges and to a customer with a meal, or even flying out the side door to bring the food to a table trays in hoof. But now things were dying down as the day wound to an end, bills were sent over and bits exchanged as the stallion cleaned down, blue eyes watching the customers leave with full bellies and tired eyes. Boltblood Thundercloud, or Bolt as his friends knew him by, was content in his life; it was a little stressful working alone but he managed the best he could and his talent was both apparent in his customer count, his food and the mark on his rump, a chef knife crossed with a lightning bolt, to show his skill in cooking and speed when doing so.

Bolt’s ears, both the pristine one and the left one with a chunk missing, flickered as he heard a collection of gasps and quick movements of hooves skittering away. Bolt heard several bits hit the counter of his wagon, some being thrown so hard they fell inside his home and Bolt looked back in confusion at the commotion. He then almost wished he could flee too. A stallion dark black as Luna’s night was walking towards him with a satisfied smile whilst two lamias slid side by side in time behind him. Obviously fakes as the stallion pony was the ring leader, and no lamia served a pony here! Bolt gulped as he watched his customers scarper, he might have shouted as most of the remaining stragglers had yet to pay but Bolt had more pressing issues now.

Feigning an air of calm Bolt grabbed a tray and set it along his back and stepped out to clear the last set of tables, avoiding eye contact with the approaching trio in the hopes they’d just pass by.

They didn’t.

“Good evening.” The stallion said in a highly cheery voice. Bolt looked up.

“Hello… Can I offer you a drink, or a meal?” He asked trying to remain professional the best he could.

“Ah no, we’re not here to dine, we’re here to collect you.” The stallion said “I am Shoe Polish, but Polish is fine. My Mistress, Lady Ruby, is in need of a chef and I have been sent to gather them up.” Polish explained.

“Then you’re looking in a poor place, I just run a small takeout wagon, you’d want to look elsewhere for professional chefs.” Bolt said softly as he began to fold the tables, however Polished placed a hoof on said table stopping him.

“This isn’t negotiable young colt, you’re coming with us now understand?” The two fakes slid around Bolt to block his back and Bolt looked at Polish.

“I’d really rather not…” He said now looking around skittishly.

“Do you like your wings?” Polish said in a casual tone, Bolt beat them once nervously “If you do, then follow me…”

“Can I at least pack up and lock my wagon?” Bolt asked.

“Oh… Very well, but be fast!” Polished barked.

When the space was empty of chairs and tables, Polish began to tap his hoof on the floor, not from impatience but from fear. Bolt locked the door and windows on his wagon, glancing at the two fakes positioned at either side of his home to block him off. He could run or fly for it, they were grounded, but Bolt had heard some dark rumours of what happened to Pegasi who fled the callings of a lamia… He’d go with this Polish make the meal then just leave, they couldn’t keep him trapped… Right…?

Bolt gulped as he stepped up to Polish “Okay.” Was all he managed to utter.

“Very good, follow me.” Polish said turning and setting off, he led them around a corner to a large wagon and ushered Bolt inside, whom thought this was an oddly big deal for just a chef. Polish climbed in and the two fakes locked them inside and they set off.

For Canterlot.

Author's Note

So here we are yet again, another lamia story based around Bolt and Ruby... This time Ruby is the villain! What a shock! Please note this is not the canon version of Ruby and Bolt's story that's Spirals and Spices, this is just an idea I had that I started and built up... I think I did pretty well with it! More to come soon, so look forward to that!