“Lavender! What happened to your eye?” Rarity stared in shock at her daughter’s black eye as the same trotted in through the door, home from school.

The purple dracony gave a exasperated sigh as she put down her books, then paused for a moment as she searched for words.

“Oh, we were just playing catch and one of the other ponies accidentally punched me in the face when I pounced her”, she lied, avoiding Rarity’s gaze.

Her mother’s eyes hardened.

“Lavender”, she said. “Look at me.”

Rarity’s daughter looked up.

“You know I love you. You’re the most precious gemstone I could ever own and there isn’t much that we, as a family, couldn’t handle. But if you decide to insult me by lying to my face, I’d rather you didn’t speak to me at all.”

Lavender looked at her mother’s face, a mix of shock, hurt and anger mirroring her own emotions. She turned away and walked towards her room.

“Ok, mom”, she said.