A Tale of Hunters, Wanderers, Hucksters and Monsters.

Bon Bon quietly hummed to herself as she entered the empty house and looked around before sighing sadly, ever since Lyra went on that trip to Hoofington, the house felt so empty that she was half tempted to pay Pinkie Pie for a party just so she could have some music, some laughter, anything to make this place feel less empty!

But Lyra had promised to return after five weeks and tomorrow was the day she came back to Ponyville and Bon Bon could go back to rolling her eyes at Lyra's tall tales about humans and places beyond Equestria while she played the lyre and still managed to pay large amounts of money even though she never seemed to work.

Bon Bon glanced at the stair and bit her bottom lip, thinking about the locked door at the top of the stairs that blocked entry to Lyra's room. She shook her head, they had a good friendship but Lyra had made one thing clear, and that was The Rule.

Never enter Lyra's room.

It sounded so simple, a request for a private place, and for six years Bon Bon had been happy to stick to that Rule, mainly because every time she joked about breaking it, Lyra would place a hoof around her neck and hug her. Every time, hard enough to be painful, with a smiling expression that could best be described as empty.

Bon Bon stopped joking after the third year, because then Lyra had deliberately nicked her with a kitchen knife, and The Rule remained unbroken. But now...

Now it was so tempting. For all of Lyra's strangeness and friendliness, Bon Bon had no knowledge about her past after a certain point before the unicorn mare walked into her parent's candy store in Baltimare and purchased a crate of Chocolate-covered Caramel Bon Bons. Lyra would happily talk about her foalhood, life growing up, but there was a four year period that remained blank because she never spoke about it.

But there had to be clues, a diary perhaps? Treasured trinkets hidden in a small chest? If she could just go and take a peek...Bon Bon shook her head. What was she thinking? This was The Rule, no-one broke The Rule. Before they came to Ponyville, the pair had lived in Manehatten and Lyra started seeing a nice colt. Then he tried to break into her room because he was curious and Lyra simply broke his legs without so much as a flinch.

Lyra had hurt ponies in the past, that much Bon Bon had figured out. Especially when she maimed a mugger the next day with a spray of magical crystals that had shredded the stallion's legs and sides. Bon Bon shivered, that mugger had powerful friends so leaving to Ponyville was the only option, it was close enough to Canterlot that she could use some of her family's influence, and far enough that she could still have some peace.

Even so...there was such a thing as too much peace, and Bon Bon was going crazy! She nodded to herself and marched over to the stairs. She was going to do something nice for Lyra!

And if that meant breaking The Rule, then so be it!

Trotting up the stairs and pausing in front of Lyra's room, Bon Bon realised just how intimidating her house mate and best friend made the door by carving strange patterns in the wood. It was another quirk, every door in every place they lived, Lyra would always carve the same patterns into the door to her room, along with installing a large lock, but after so long living together, she had foregone the lock for their new home in Ponyville but carved the pattern regardless.

Bon Bon shrugged and opened the door.

Golden eyes snapped open as her alarm wards screamed in her mind, "No...no, no, no no nononononononononononoNONONONONONONONOOOOO!" She shot up out of the comfortable first-class bed and immediately opened one of her bags, pulling out a crystal that would help identify her intruder.

Lyra paled as she recognised the pattern of colours, "Bonnie! No!" She slammed her head into the floor of her room and spat curses in Zebrican, Griffish and the Black Tongue, the lights in the room flickering as her horn glowed, before she took a deep shuddering breath and tried to calm down.

"Okay...maybe it's not so bad. She was always curious before, maybe this is a good thing? Maybe it's time I let her know about that time before I met her. Maybe I can introduce her to the others? Yeah, maybe...maybe it's for the best."

Shuddering slightly, she tried to get back to sleep, before grunting in annoyance and leaving the room to find the bar.

"I need a fucking drink."

Bon Bon looked around and felt her nose crinkle as she took in the scent of Lyra's room. There was Lyra's scent of course, sharp and yet sweet, but she could smell other scents as well, the faint copper tang of blood, and another smell. It was a thick, cloying scent that made her want to sneeze, rich and musty like aged liquorice.

She looked around and noted that the room was covered in patterns, painted in a dark red like fine wine, but the patterns were so complicated that Bon Bon realised she had started whimpering and shook her head to clear her mind.

Moving her gaze from the patterns to the rest of the room, Bon Bon approached Lyra's bed and noticed that it was higher than a pony bed, with a set of drawers on the bottom. Compact, clean and neat. Bon Bon shrugged and opened one before rearing back with a shocked whinny.

Inside were bottles, vials and phlasks and while Bon Bon was no doctor, she knew enough about chemicals to know that they were all drugs and poisons! Many of them were illegal as well! Bon Bon closed the drawer with a shiver, and glanced at the next one before opening it and gaping at the sight.

Inside were sheathed knives and large heavy blades she had recognised as Griffon Machetes, along with strange throwing daggers and a sword that she had no idea where it came from but it looked incredibly sharp and dangerous even in it's sheath.

She closed the drawer and took a deep breath, "Okay Bon Bon, your best friend and house mate stores blades and enough poisons and drugs to make half of Equestria high and the other half dead. Leave it alone, you're going to be in enough trouble."

She looked over to a corner and noticed the only other thing in the room, a set of large boxes fitted with magi-locks. Bon Bon grimaced, "Probably got Griffon Kingdom rifles in there for all I know, or Diamond Dog throwing glaives. Better not try to force them, no telling what sort of protection Lyra has on them."

She turned her attention the other object in the room, hanging from a coat hanger on a wall hook, "A hoodie?"

It was a black hoodie, and it looked like it had seen a lot of action, but Bon Bon knew that was impossible since that particular piece of clothing had only started showing up in Equestria three years ago. And yet this one looked far older, especially as it seemed to have been modified. Extensively.

There tears in the soft cloth and on the inside Bon Bon could see what looked like, "Sand Viper leather..." She whispered. That was rare and expensive because of how aggressive the creatures could be and the fact that they lived in the deepest parts of the desert, near the mountainous border to the Badlands and Far Country.

But it was worth it, Sand Viper leather could turn aside all but heavily enchanted blades and even then could heal from the damage. It regulated temperature and was comfortable to wear, making it suitable to put inside armour like that of the Royal Guard, Zebras and Griffons were known to wear Sand Viper leather armour because they knew that Ponies had only barely scratched the surface of the new 'guns' that both kingdoms had introduced in their latest border skirmishes and still relied on crossbows, spears, hoof-mounted swords and wing-blades.

To have that sewn into a hoodie...that would have taken a lot of money, more than what even Bon Bon would be willing to spend on a luxury item and yet this was not a luxury item. There were places where straps and holsters could be fitted, the pockets were deep and the lining between the Sand Viper leather and fabric was the strange mesh worn as armoured clothing by the ponies of the Cursed Isles to protect against predators.

Bon Bon shook her head as she traced a blood spatter on the left sleeve and noted that it was paint. Not only old but silk-screened as well? She sighed, before her nose crinkled as she realised that the scent that permeated the room was strongest on the hoodie.

It couldn't be dirty; apart from the rips it was clean and pristine, so perhaps it had maintenance spells on it? It would explain the strong smell, unless the garment or object was absolutely spotless and clean the spells would maintain even the scents that were on it unless it was washed with powerful detergents like those easily available to ponies or a cleaning spell, which Bon Bon was confident Lyra knew, it was a basic spell for everyday living after all.

Lyra obviously cleaned this, but not with normal detergents, perhaps hoof-washed with soap? Shaking her head, Bon Bon carefully took down the hoodie and draped it over her back before leaving the room, she would take it to Twilight to have a look at it and perhaps use a cleaning spell to get rid of the smell, before paying Rarity to patch it up.

That should make Lyra happy.

Twilight Sparkle hummed to herself as she sorted some books on the shelves when there was a knock at the door. Trotting over to open it, she blinked and smiled, "Bon Bon! Nice to see you! I haven't gotten that new chocolate cooking book you wanted yet though..."

Bon Bon shook her head, "That's fine, I know you'll find it. I need you to take a look at this hoodie for me."

Twilight blinked before nodding, her horn glowing to wrap it in her magic when she suddenly shrieked as if scalded, prompting Bon Bon to jerk backwards, "Twilight! What's wrong!"

Twilight took a shaky breath, "I'm okay...I'm okay. It's just..." She looked at the hoodie with a serious expression, "Can you lay it on the table for me? I need to catch my breath." Bon Bon nodded and quickly placed the black garment on the table as Twilight regained her composure, "Okay, that shriek I made? It was because this hoodie is loaded with protective enchantments. Alarm wards, anti-magic sigils, and I narrowly avoided setting off a series of trap spells. Not only that, it's packed with military-grade shielding spells layered over each other, what appears to be a chemical sealing enchantment, weapon summoning spells linked to a large number of weapons, dimensional pockets...Bon Bon, this hoodie has had more spellwork done on it than most Royal Guard armour! And it's being fed by an ambient thaumatic condensor framework!"

"Look on the inside of it and underneath the tears, there's Sand Viper leather and Cursed Isle mesh sewn into it." Bon Bon stated and watched as Twilight carefully opened the hoodie to view the leather, using a ruler to probe the tears.

"Hmm, Cursed Isle mesh alright, used to defend against predator attacks and only the ponies who live there know how to make it. This combined with the Sand Viper leather and the enchantments...Bon Bon, has Lyra ever travelled far?"

Bon Bon nodded, "She takes yearly trips to Hoofington and Stalliongrad to visit relatives, usually its a few weeks like now, but sometimes it takes months."

Twilight frowned, "That doesn't explain these enchantments and modifications, nor this damage. Bon Bon, is there anything unusual about your friendship with Lyra, if that's okay." She quickly added as Bon Bon frowned slightly, "I think Lyra is hiding something."

"She is." Bon Bon answered, before she sighed, "Lyra is a wonderful friend, but there are two things that make it a less than normal friendship. One is something she calls The Rule, and it simply is a rule to never enter her room under any circumstances. The second is that there's a four year period of her life before we became friends that she never talks about."

"Four years...I remember you said you became friends six years ago. So ten years ago, Lyra was doing something for four years that required...this." She waved a hoof at the hoodie, "Which makes this thing impossible because hoodies only started appearing three years ago, and this thing is at least twenty years old!"

"There's also the smell." Bon Bon stated and Twilight blinked before taking a curious sniff of the hoodie before she recoiled with a sneeze.

"Ack! What was that? Doesn't Lyra wash this thing?" Bon Bon nodded.

"She does, but I think it's hoof-washed with a mild soap, just to get dirt out of it. Her room smells of this thing as well, it even overpowers her own scent."

"Hmm..." Twilight considered, before nodding, "The defences shouldn't go off if I use a cleaning spell, but I still have to be careful..." She trailed off as her horn glowed and the hoodie glowed the same violet colour before the spell faded and Twilight sniffed it, "Okay, that worked! I can do the same to Lyra's room as well Bon Bon."

Bon Bon nodded, "Be careful, she has these patterns painted on every part of the walls and ceiling, wierd ones that made my eyes hurt and there's all sorts of poisons and drugs under her bed!"

Twilight clucked her tongue, "I'll have to send a letter to Princess Celestia asking my brother to send some guards down then, but only after Lyra explains herself. In the meantime..." She draped the hoodie over her shoulders, "Let's see if Rarity can patch this up."

As someone who was familiar with clients wanting some minor protections on their clothes, Rarity's reaction to Twilight's warning was to cast a simple scanning spell, at which point she raised an eyebrow and vanished into the basement before returning with a white sheet that she laid on the floor, "Place the garment here please."

She indicated the center of the sheet and after Twilight did so, made some adjustments to its position and then cast a spell. Immediately the room darkened as a complicated series lines and runes appeared as Rarity studied the patterns before nodding, "Well, you certainly find the most interesting things darling. Did your brother send you this as a gift?"

Twilight shook her head, "It belongs to Lyra." Rarity paused, before turning slightly.

"Are you absolutely certain Twilight? Because if you are joking its in poor taste. This garment is a literal fortress of defensive and offensive enchantments, why would it belong to a mare who plays in the park for spare change?"

Bon Bon stepped forward, "It belongs to Lyra, I found it in her room, along with a lot of other stuff."

Rarity made a thoughtful noise, "Hmm, did you try to use a spell on it by any chance Twilight?" At her nod, Rarity made another noise, "I thought so. You see this part here?" Rarity indicated a section with her magic and continued at Twilight's nod, "This records the magical signature of everypony that has ever cast a spell on this hoodie, so its defensive enchantments can be raised without the wearer having to focus on activating them. According to this, it's seen a lot of use over a four-year period, yours is merely the latest signature in several thousand."

She prodded it with a hoof, "The age is also interesting. I can tell that it's been worn heavily before, at least for twenty years, but the enchantments are only ten years old, which means somepony wore it before it became enchanted and so heavily modified."

"Can you repair the tears?" Twilight asked, mind trying to find an answer to the questions in her head as Rarity nodded.

"So long as I work carefully, many of these enchantments have a distinct hair-trigger, but if I start now I can have it done late afternoon."

Twilight nodded, "That's fine Rarity. I'm going to check out Lyra's room, we'll be back later to pick it up." Rarity nodded absent-mindedly as she carefully used her hoof to pick up a needle and picked out some black thread so she could begin her work.

Once they were gone, the seamstress sighed, "And here I thought we were due to have a break from excitement after that wedding."

Twilight stood in front of Lyra's closed door and grimaced, "Bon Bon, I think Lyra knows you've been in here." The other pony cocked her head quizzically as Twilight indicated the pattern carved on the door, "This is a Griffon alarm ward, carved into the entrances of their homes and places of great importance to alert guards and occupants of visitors or intruders by sounding an alarm in the mind of the one linked to the ward. Lyra probably thinks somepony's broken into her room."

Bon Bon winced, "And here I just wanted to do something nice for her."

Twilight smiled, "Don't worry Bon Bon, you've been Lyra's friend for six years, I'm sure she'll forgive you if we explain the situation calmly." She trotted into the room, "Now let's seeeeEEEEEEK!" She back-pedalled out, ears flat against her skull, eyes wide as she turned to Bon Bon, "You said she painted patterns right?"

Bon Bon nodded, confused and frightened by the way Twilight was acting as she stared at visible lines on the walls of the room from beyond the doorway, "Those aren't just patterns, its a death sigil! Bon Bon, Lyra's sleeping in a room with a spell that can annihilate anypony who walks in! Unless she has a way to identify who enters her room, she could have killed you with a thought!"

Bon Bon had tears in her eyes, "Twilight, I'm scared. What if all this is related to what she did ten years ago? What if she told me to stay out because she wanted to protect me!" She started crying, "I'm a fool! I shouldn't have broken The Rule! I should have trusted her! And now she's probably going to kill me to keep her secret!"

Twilight immediately hugged the distraught mare, "Shhh, it's okay. It's okay." She soothed, "Lyra isn't going to kill you. The death sigil is inactive, that means she knows you went in but allowed you to see it. That means she must want you to know, because she thinks you're ready to know."

Bon Bon sniffled, "You think so?" Twilight nodded and her expression became resolute, "Then let's go! I need to show you what she has inside!"

She moved inside and opened the drawers to show Twilight their contents, "See!"

Twilight swallowed as she picked up a bottle with her magic and inspected the label, "This...this is serious. Bon Bon, regardless of Lyra's reasons, I need to tell Princess Celestia about this."

Bon Bon nodded, "I understand. I just hope Lyra understands."

"I hope so too, someone who has this kind of supplies...it's shows that no matter how much you know a person, they'll always have secrets." She inspected the boxes, "Military transport crates with magi-locks. We shouldn't try and tamper with these. If Lyra has a death sigil in here, who knows what these will set off."

She sniffed the air, "You were right about the scent, I can only barely make out Lyra's in here."

Bon Bon nodded, "I don't know why she sleeps with this scent. It's disgusting!" She coughed, "Ah, I can taste it!"

Twilight nodded, "I should be able to clean out the scent from here." Her horn glowed and the pair found that they could breath easier as the scent vanished, "There. With Rarity repairing the hoodie, I think Lyra will be happy, I mean, there's no way she could have been comfortable sleeping with that scent everywhere.

Lyra felt her eye twitching as she settled down in the train connecting to Ponyville and tried to relax, but sleep wasn't coming easily as her mind tried to find a way to tell Bon Bon the full story without freaking her out.

Still, she would be back in Ponyville and she could take a long nap in her bed, in her room, inhaling that wonderful scent, and losing herself in her memories.

Everything would feel better once she returned home.