Accursed Mark.

"I'm sorry, you want me to do what?" Starlight double checked to make sure she wasn't losing her hearing.

"You heard me crystal clear," Sour Grapes insisted, "I want you to cast the same spell that you used to remove other pony's cutie marks to remove mine. And don't try to pretend that you don't know what I'm talking about."

"I'm just having a hard time grasping as to why anypony would willingly wish to have their own cutie mark removed." Starlight explained.

"Excuse me," Sweetie Belle cautiously joined in the conversation, "but could we have a look at your cutie mark?"

Without uttering a word, Sour Grapes obliged the filly's request as he turned his flank in order to display his cutie mark which had the appearance of a pair of rotten green grapes. "I see, I think I understand what your dad meant when he said you get angry over cutie marks." Scootaloo shared her hypothesis. "It's because you're embarrassed over how your cutie mark looks, and you don't want anypony to see it in public. Am I right?"

"I don't give a buck what the cutie mark looks like!" Sour hollered at the orange filly. "Cutie marks make me angry because they make other ponies want to hurt me!"

"Ya mean ta say that you were bullied fer bein' a blank flank?" Apple Bloom put the pieces together.

"Exactly! Ever since I was a foal I, and three ponies who used to be my friends, would get bullied by the same three ponies simply for not having a cutie mark. Although having to put up with them was a pain in the flank, my friends and I promised that we would always have each other's back. I actually even helped each of my friends earn their cutie marks. But as soon as they stopped being blank flanks, they suddenly decided they wanted nothing to do with me anymore; it's as if the cutie marks made them forget about our promise to always be together. So I had to endure being bullied without having any friends by my side all the way up to ninth grade, when something in me made me snap after those flankholes pushed me too far and I had the sudden urge to use my magic to hurt them for once!"

The four ponies could sense a rising intensity of hatred in the room the more Sour Grapes related the events leading to him developing his disdain towards cutie marks. "I ended up earning my cutie mark on that same day, and after witnessing how toxic these accursed marks make ponies behave towards others, I've been dedicating every day of my life trying to find the spell you used to remove them. Only I can't find it in any scroll that the public library has to offer."

"And there's a good reason why that spell is not in any scrolls." Starlight explained. "Because it was a spell that enslaved an entire village!"

"You might've used that spell for a nefarious purpose in the past," Sour Grapes acknowledged, "but now you can use it for good and take it off of a pony who doesn't want one."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you kid, but this is a request I cannot take part in. I've completely swore off my anti-cutie mark ways ever since seeing the bleak future my grudge towards Twilight was setting up all of Equestria for; I don't think I could be able to sleep at night knowing I used such an iniquitous spell on another pony."

"Fine, if you have cold hooves over casting the spell yourself, then teach me the spell so I can cast it on my own!"

"I can't do that either! What if you become tempted to use the spell to remove the cutie marks of other ponies? Your parents would probably die of broken hearts if they saw their son turn into an even worse villain than I ever was."

"Buck them! I stopped giving a buck what Sea Worthy and Sea Breeze thought of me a long time ago!"

"You call yer own parents by their names?!" Apple Bloom took great offense to this colt's blatant disrespect towards his own mom and dad. "What could they have possibly done ta deserve bein' treated this way?!"

"It's not a matter of what they've done, it's about what they haven't done! Every day when I return home with scrapes and bruises after encountering my bullies, you would think that the two ponies who are supposed to love me the most would try to comfort me and make me feel better right? But aside from bandaging my injuries, they'd just tell me that I'd have to get used to being treated this way until I get my cutie mark. It's always 'We were bullied when we were your age, and we never complained about it,' or 'Getting picked on just motivates you to earn your cutie mark faster'! As far as I'm concerned, any parent who would throw their child to the wolves without even so much as offering that kid a warm hug afterwards has no right to be called mom or dad!"

Hearing such rancor spewing out of his muzzle fanned the flames of the intense hatred that is looming in this very room. Attempting to calm things down before things can potentially get worse, Sweetie Belle offered her own interpretation of the colt's problem. "OK, it's clear that you suffered a lot of physical and emotional pain leading up to our meeting, but maybe part of your problem stems from not fully understanding the hidden talent that your cutie mark conveys. My friends and I are known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders where we come from, and our talents involve helping other ponies discover their hidden talents and help those who already have cutie marks figure out what their mark means. From what you mentioned about you helping your friends discover their cutie marks, it sounds like you have the great potential of being a Cutie Mark Crusader yourself. I mean, have you even considered that your cutie mark suggests that you have a hidden talent for helping others?"

"There is nothing to consider you little twat!" Sour Grapes roared at the white filly. "It was plain to me since the day I got this accursed mark that my hidden talent is to spread hatred and pain to anypony who comes into contact with me, which in turn draws out the hatred and pain inside of them; your yellow friend getting upset over me referring to the two ponies I call my parents by their names is living proof of that!"

"That's enough!" Starlight found herself succumbing to the same frustration that got a hold of Apple Bloom until the pale pink mare calmed herself. "You're right, we all do feel hatred seeping out of us the more we talk to you, but that won't deter us from helping you."

"So quit stalling and strip this accursed mark from my flank already! And if you're not going to grant my simple request, then you can all get the buck out of my room right now!"

Feeling themselves becoming suffocated by the rising hatred, Starlight and the girls opted to depart from Sour Grapes room and despondently return to his parents--who were residing in the kitchen--in defeat. Starlight, Scootaloo, and Apple Bloom each had an expression of grievance after getting a taste of Sour Grapes hatred, but Sweetie Belle looked to be on the verge of tears. Unable to bear the sight of a crying filly, Sea Breeze got off her chair and wrapped Sweetie Belle into a loving hug that only a mother could give.

"I apologize if our son hurt you all in anyway." Sea Breeze attempted to atone for Sour's toxic behavior.

"Thanks, although it's also our own faults for underestimating the extent of your sons' friendship problem." Starlight said.

"I take it he explained his pre-cutie mark days to all of you?" Sea Worthy asked.

"He did, although some of us still have a hard time understanding any of it." Scootaloo confessed.

Wanting to provide the four ponies with an extra outlook, Sea Breeze took out a photo album and showed various pictures of their son when he was still a blank flank. "When he was brought into this world," Sea Breeze explained, "he had the biggest smile than any baby pony in Equestria. Which is how Sea Worthy and I came up with giving him the name Happy Grapes."

"I thought his name is Sour Grapes?" Apple Bloom voiced her confusion.

"No little one, Sour Grapes is a derogatory nickname everypony in Vanhoover dubbed him with when he lashed out at the entire school board when they tried making him apologize for hospitalizing the three bullies who made his life a living Tartarus since kindergarten." Sea Worthy answered on his wife's behalf. "And our son was more than glad to embrace his new monicker, seeing as how the pony we used to call Happy Grapes had died when he finally got his cutie mark."

Sea Breeze chose to pick up where she left off by showing more photos. "You see, there was a time when our son was the sweetest colt in Vanhoover; always eager to make ponies as happy as he was and always giving to others without ever expecting a reward in return. He also only had three friends growing up," she turned to a page containing a group photo of Happy Grapes and his former friends, "the pink earth pony filly is Lovely Smooch, the white pegasus filly is Violet Pride, and the blue earth pony colt is Blitz; they too suffered from the same harassment our son became subjugated to for being a blank flank. When each of them had earned their own cutie mark, they each abandoned him one by one until he was utterly alone."

"Since you brought it up, is it true that ponies in Vanhoover are actually encouraged to pick on blank flanks?" Starlight broached the touchy subject that only Sour was willing to divulge.

"As much as I would love to say that our city does not condone such archaic methods," Sea Breeze hesitantly answered the question, "but it has always been a tradition to haze and bully blank flanks as a means of motivating them to earn their cutie marks."

Having one of Sour Grapes' claims be proven true left the four ponies in shock, but Sweetie Belle wanted to dig deeper, "The two of you at least comforted him now and then whenever he got bullied?" The clear and present pauses that the two grown ponies elicited from the filly's question practically confirmed what the answer is. "Please tell me that your son was simply blinded by his own hatred when he said none of you provided him with emotional comfort."

"I know this seems harsh to such a gentle soul like you," Sea Worthy responded, "but it's our duty as parents to provide our son with tough love as a means of helping him grow thick skin. Shoot, I felt hurt too when I had to experience bullying when I was a colt, but I still got over it and even befriended the same ponies who gave me grief when I earned my cutie mark. How were we supposed to know that our son would have a different reaction to this city's tradition?"

"You mean you never considered that letting him be tormented on a daily basis without letting him know you cared about his wellbeing may have contributed to the hateful personality he acquired along with his cutie mark?" Starlight shot back with an armor piercing question.

"You're right, we should've been more considerate of our sons' feelings and wellbeing." Sea Breeze conceded to the pale pink unicorn. "There were many times I wanted to just hug my sweet little boy and give him the love and care that he needed, but Sea Worthy insisted that I refrain from softening him up in the hopes that he'll be able to endure his peers' cruel actions against him long enough to earn his cutie mark. And after seeing just what earning his cutie mark has done to him, I wish I could go back and give him the comfort that would have prevented him from turning into Sour Grapes.

"My husband and I heard everything our son said to you in his room, and we know he wants you to remove his cutie mark with a spell that only you know how to perform. And if stripping him of the very mark that turned him into the hateful pony can bring back my sweet little colt, I give you my full permission to cast the spell on him."

"That goes double for me." Sea Worthy second the notion. "We've had to homeschool him ever since he gotten himself expelled for what he did to his bullies, and he has no plans of apologizing for his actions so long as he has that toxic cutie mark on his flank. I thought him getting his cutie mark was the one thing I wanted most, but now I just want our son to go back to loving us and calling us mom and dad again; and it's clear the only way that'll happen is if you remove the cutie mark that's filling his heart with hate."

Starlight had hoped that his parents would attempt to dissuade her from obliging Sour Grapes' request, but seeing the pleading looks in their eyes told the mare that they want that accursed mark off of him as much as he does. "OK, I'll go cast the spell on him. But I'll need a jar."

With an empty jar in hoof, Starlight returned upstairs to find an irritated Sour reading a scroll while in bed. "I take it you've come back to convince me that I should just live out my life with a cutie mark?" Sour guessed while never removing his eyes off the scroll.

"I've actually come to relieve you of your cutie mark as you requested. Of course, if you're starting to have second thoughts..."

"Are you kidding? I've been waiting for this day a long time ago, so get to it!"

Tossing the scroll aside and bouncing back on his hooves, Sour Grapes provided Starlight with a clear view of his flank as he closed his eyes in eager anticipation of finally being rid of this accursed mark that adorned his flank. Removing the lid from the jar, Starlight gave out a nervous gulp as she closed her eyes and mentally asked Twilight Sparkle for forgiveness for what she is about to do. With a snap of her neck Starlight shot from her horn a blue aura that engulfed the teenage colt as his cutie mark was painfully ripped from his flank like a Band-Aid and was promptly locked away in the jar.

Opening her eyes, Starlight watched as Sour Grapes slowly risen back to his hooves after enduring such an excruciating spell. Trotting over to a nearby mirror, Sour discovered that the vibrant colors of his mane and coat were dilapidated into a grayish hue, but what really caught his eye was the fact that his flank is once again blank. Feeling a new sense of joy he hadn't felt in what might as well be ages for him, Sour Grapes' frown morphed into a psychotic grin as he let out a maniacal laugh that echoed throughout the entire house.

"Finally! I'd thought I'd be stuck with that accursed mark forever! This is the greatest day of my life!"

Leaving him to relish in his celebration, Starlight trotted downstairs where the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Sour's parents were waiting for her near the door. The ponies cringed in terror upon seeing the cutie mark that used to be on Sour Grapes' flank emit red sparks of lighting similar to the clouds of anger Starlight once bottled up.

"It's done." Said Starlight. "We'll return tomorrow to check up on him. Thank you for allowing us to help in any way we could, but we won't be done until our cutie marks start glowing. Now if you'll excuse us, we have more ponies to talk to."