I was half asleep when, by chance, I rolled over to get more comfortable. I thought I was looking at my wardrobe but something was blocking it, a dark silhouette of what looked like a pony standing on their hind legs, for some reason. My mind switched back on, somepony or something had broken into my wagon and I was in the middle of the badlands so it was more likely a something! I jumped out the bed crying out in fear and fell on the floor, the silhouette fell on the bed where I had previously been. I scrambled to my hooves and bolted out the bedroom (Again a pun with my name) I threw the wagon door open and flew up and hovered behind a tree watching the door between the branches.

The stranger pushed opened the wagon door and glanced around probably searching for me, the sun had set and it was pitch black so the change from my wagon to outside hadn’t improved the lighting much, but it was defiantly a pony silhouette. The stranger seemed to tilt their head up slightly and I noticed they had a horn, so a unicorn, then they looked towards me and continued to stare for about a minute.

“They’ve seen me, I know it, I know it!” I continued to think this until it overwhelmed me and I flew away. If the stranger had had doubts, I’d probably just confirmed their suspicions.

I stopped after flying full out for several minutes and tried to control my breathing, this place was terrifying. I sat down and continued to breath heavily, I was exhausted, both in terms of sleep and from flying around like a maniac. I lay down on my back spreading my hooves to the side, snow angle style and watched the night sky, the place where I’d stopped offered a glance at the night sky, at least there was something familiar here. My ears perked up at the sound of a few twigs snapping and I sat up turning around, the unicorn had followed me. How? I’d got plenty of distance from my wagon, why couldn’t I lose this pony?

I spread my wings with the intent of putting more distance before thinking of a plan when the stranger tugged down on my tail with magic, as I set off into the air, bringing me down to the ground again. I pulled my head out of the snow and spat out a ball of melted slush and glanced up, then whimpered. With the stars and moon in full view, bathing the area in Luna’s light, I could finally see the pony for real.

It was a unicorn alright, a mare as well. Her coat was a slightly dark white, close to grey but still bright enough to be called white, she had a deep red mane that fell down behind her head and down to the bottom of her neck before stopping in a slightly choppy fashion, as if she’d cut it with very shaky hooves or safety scissors. Her eyes were a bright purple and were regarding me with curiosity and slight amusement, but they had a dark black slit in the middle instead of a regular pupil. This is where the normalness (Is that even a word?) ended. Waist down the pony... well to say she looked different would be an understatement. Where her back hooves and tail should’ve been was a long serpentine tail, the belly was a deep red matching her mane whilst the top side matched her coat perfectly and, if not for the little lines between her scales, you couldn’t tell the difference between the change of scale to fur or vice versa. Around the area where her flank would be, if she were a normal pony, was a red ruby made entirely of snake scales, her cutie mark. Looking at it in the dark it seemed to be reflecting blacks, greys and other dark colours, it made me slightly dizzy looking at it directly for some reason.

I looked back up at the snake-pony hybrid’s face gulping, then rolled over and tried to gallop away. She probably didn’t even blink as her tail wrapped up my back right leg, she dragged me slowly back toward her, while I tried to claw away crying out in fear. I felt tears prickling against my eyes.

“Let me go!” I cried she didn’t respond to my request, or maybe she did by not letting go. I felt my body leave the ground and the mare appeared back in my vision, with the ground as the sky. My mind managed to come up with the cheerful thought of,

“Snake’s constrict and swallow their prey whole, sometimes alive.”

“Please don’t eat me,” I whispered the mare raised an eyebrow, okay good sign she can understand me. She promptly lifted me up over her head and grinned, I shivered in fear “Please...” I begged the snake-pony stared up at me then, slowly, she lowered me back to the ground. I started to cry tears of relief and managed a croaky “Thank you” and smiled as she placed me on the ground. I rolled over and stood back up, I glanced sideways wondering if I should run for it but unsure if it was the best idea.

“Are you going to run or not?” her voice was strangely normal and sweet (If voices could be sweet) like she could almost sing the words in a gentle lullaby.

“Would you let me go, just like that?” I asked shifting my hooves nervously, the mare smirked.

“No.” I gulped okay still in the danger zone.

The mare began to circle slowly around me, when she’d formed a circle with her tail she brought the end towards my face, I backed up slightly and stared at her then tilted my head down in defeat. If I moved too far back I’d fall over her tail, if I took to the air and got away from her tail fast enough her magic would get me and running, if I managed to jump her tail, she’d just tackle me. Anyway I’d choose I’d lose, she might be more merciful if I didn’t resist... might be.

The snake-pony looped her tail around the back of my neck in a C shape towards herself, she then pulled me back towards her. When I was close she tilted my head up with the end of her tail so I could look at her.

“Are you scared?” she asked I nodded the snake-pony smirked “Tell you what I’ll make you a deal and I won’t eat you,” she said.

“What sort of deal?” I asked then I remembered the neck gripping coil that could probably kill me in a single movement, probably shouldn’t talk back, but, thankfully, she didn’t seem to mind.

“Simple, I want to travel with you.” she said, not the words I were expecting.

I shifted my hooves trying to ignore the weight of her coil on my neck, which wasn’t helping me concentrate. It wasn’t uncomfortable, actually it was quite nice but it was still terrifying.

“I don’t want to be rude but-” I began before she broke in.

“Why should you let me go with you when I broke into your wagon in the dead of night?” I nodded “Simple... I’m not the only thing out here,” she whispered “But if you want to travel on your own I won’t...”

“Wait-Wait...!” The snake- pony smirked again “...Okay you-you win... you can come with me.”

“And I get to sleep in the wagon with you since it’s warmer inside.” she said.

“Okay.” I mumbled.

“Chin up, it’s not as bad as you think.” she said tilting my head up again before turning and tugging on my neck slightly to get me moving before uncoiling me, I felt like a dog.

I followed behind the snake-pony for a few minutes, seemed I’d gone further than I’d originally thought.

“So… what’s your name?” The snake-pony asked

“Huh? Oh, it’s Boltblood Thundercloud, but Bolt is fine,” I said softly.

“Well I’m Ruby Scales, nice to meet you, Bolt.” Ruby said as the wagon appeared in view, it was a slight comfort to know she was at least telling me her name, might mean she had no intentions of harming me, and again might being a loose term.

I pushed open the door and waited for Ruby to get her tail inside, since closing it on her tail would likely have dire consequences. She stared around the room, her tail taking up a great portion, how she ever hid in my room without me noticing was a mystery to me. I waited for her to move, then realised, she wasn’t going too.

“Em, Ruby, excuse me I need to get to the bedroom please.” I said.

“Hmm can’t you reach it?” she asked.

“No your tail is... sort of in the way.” I said my voice trailing away towards the end, Ruby grinned.

“Then I guess you’ll have to climb over.” Okay definite trick here, but I saw no other option.

I placed my right front hoof on Ruby’s tail and watched her, to see if she did anything. She just gestured for me to continue, I climbed on top of her tail. It felt strangely nice to stand on a living scaly carpet. I made slow progress, not wanting to fall and I watched Ruby as I passed her by, but she didn’t do anything, simply smiled like she was enjoying it. I pushed open the bedroom door and stepped off Ruby’s tail, she followed me inside as I walked over to the wardrobe.

“What are you doing, the bed’s already made?” Ruby asked.

“Yeah, you take that, I’m going to sleep on the couch in the kitchen.” I said taking out a pillow and blanket.

“Oh no you don’t,” Ruby said coiling around my waist binding my wings against my sides.

“Hay, stop that, what are you doing?” I cried dropping the pillow and covers and thrashing about.

“Stay still,” Ruby grumbled “Part of the deal, remember? I get to sleep with you because you’re warm. I’m cold blooded, meaning I like to have somepony or something to keep me warm. You’re more readily available.” Ruby said as more of her tail climbed around my body, she couldn’t be serious about this could she?

“Wait you meant sleep in the wagon with me as in actually with me!?” I cried.

“Don’t shout,” Ruby mumbled “And yes I did.” she said grinning and covering my mouth with her tail.

Ruby climbed under my bed covers then pulled me in with her, she began pulling coils of her tail towards me, binding my front hooves to my sides and my back below. Her tail coiled further around the rest of my body up to my neck. Finally when I could hardly shift in my prison Ruby stopped and lay me down resting a hoof atop the pile of coils she’d made.

“I-I can’t sleep like this.” I whispered Ruby’s gag gone. Ruby grinned and squeezed me, gently, it wasn’t painful but it was a strange sensation having the air gently push out, almost relaxing. She copied the motion repeatedly and I began to feel my eyelids grow heavy.

“I’d say you could,” Ruby whispered “Night Bolt, sweet dreams.” With that I closed my eyes and I drifted away to sleep.

Author's Notes:

Well ladies and gentlemen... er fillies and gentlecolts, WHICHEVER! Chapter two introduces Ruby, oh she's also a Lamia (Half human half snake or in this case half pony) so there's that... Enjoy! :)