Accursed Mark.

Starlight Glimmer, once again, found herself in a dream that took place in Vanhoover High school, only she was now standing in the gymnasium which has been set up for a PTA meeting. At the end stood a long table where Principal Schulz and the rest of school staff sat, and rows of chairs littered the rest of gym where parents and their children sat upon where their collective gazes were all turned to Sour Gropes, who stood right in the center in front of a microphone stand with his mom and dad covering him from both sides.

"I'd like to thank everypony for appearing at tonight's PTA meeting." Principal Schulz announced through his microphone. "I'm certain that all of you are more than aware of how Firecracker, Cherry Bomb, and Peony became seriously injured by the young pony standing before us who responded to the same relatively harmless bullying that all of us had to endure at his age by inflicting disproportionate retribution on his bullies. To help ease your minds, I first want to announce that the three students shall live to walk the streets of Vanhoover once more--after they've made a full recovery, of course. Lastly, I shall grant Happy Grapes permission to speak in front of everypony, so he can tell us what he's been needing to say since that horrific day."

With the principal's speech finally over, all eyes turned towards a resentful Happy Grapes, who maintained a frown and furrowed brows as he spoke just two words into the microphone. "I'm sorry."

While his mom and dad were sighing in relief, the principal responded with, "That's a great start, Happy; you're taking the first steps in taking responsibility for your actions. Now would you kindly specify to everypony just what it is you're apologizing for?"

Without missing a beat, Happy elaborated. "I'm sorry that you're all a bunch of flankholes." Everyponies' moods were instantly changing as he continued. "I'm sorry that you're more concerned about the wellbeing of bullies than you are about their victims. And most of all, I am deeply sorry that you willingly allowed yourselves to believe that making a pony's life miserable for simply not having a cutie mark is somehow the right thing to do. Did I specify that clearly to all of you?"

Sensing that the parents in attendance were getting closer to turning into an outrage mob, Principal Schulz chuckled nervously before saying, "Happy, I must remind you that the reason you were permitted to step hoof on school grounds was you could apologize for what you did to your three classmates. If you refuse accept responsibility for your actions, then I'll have no choice but to expel you and not provide you with any more chances to repent."

"And I would remind you that those three flankholes who got what they deserved were the ones who brought it on themselves by constantly bullying me for being blank flank, while on school grounds and under teacher's supervision on a daily basis. I give them a taste of their own medicine after ten years of taking their abuse and you all act like I'm the one who started all of this. Why is it OK for them to hurt me and wrong for me to hurt them?"

"They were just following our town's tradition!" Firecracker's dad rose up. "They were just providing you with the proper motivation you needed to earn your cutie mark, just like I've done when I was Firecracker's age, and what my dad did when he was a colt! It's not their fault that you were born with paper-thin skin and take everything personally!"

"Oh blow it out your flank!" Happy shouted back. "You and every other adult have been throwing that same hokum at my face like it's this grand thing, hurting blank flanks so they can get cutie marks! Normal ponies don't even consider hurting others! Much less those same ponies having to put up with it because tradition dictates so! The only reason all of you buckers keep encouraging such a cancerous tradition is because of cutie marks!

"It's because of cutie marks why my so-called friends abandoned me when I needed them the most! And why bullies think it's OK to hurt ponies who don't have cutie marks! And why parents refuse to give their kids the love and care that they shouldn't have to earn from them! And it's thanks to this bucking mark on my flank why I feel nothing but absolute hate for everypony in this building! I would gladly rip this accursed mark off of my flank if it means I don't have to become like the rest of you flankholes!"

"Don't you dare compare us to the likes of you, you little brat!" Firecracker's dad shouted some more. "Your parents should've named you Sour Grapes, considering how determined you all to spoil our moods with your drama! I have half a mind to march over there and give you the whooping your parents should've given you a long time ago!"

"I just put three ponies in a hospital like it was foals play, what makes you think you could fare any better against me?! I'd like to see you try and give me an excuse to unleash the same rage that enabled me to break the legs and spine of that piece of trash you call Firecrackers!"

Hearing the name of his son come out of that colt's muzzle was the last straw for the infuriated father. If this colt wanted a fight with him then he'd be more than happy to oblige as he shoved anypony who blocked his path as he galloped towards this problem foal, until he was held back by the magic of other parents and could only shout curses at the wretched colt, while said colt cursed him back while being dragged away by his parents before he could injure anypony else.

"Happy Grapes," Principal Schulz announced with authority, "you are hereby expelled from Van Hoover High School, and forbidden from ever setting hoof on these grounds again!"

"Go ahead, anything's better than having to see any of your bucking faces again!" The newly christened Sour Grapes roared back. "You can all rot in Tartarus for all I care!"

"Not a pleasant dream you're having, I see."

The sound of that voice was enough to startle Starlight into taking her mind off the events that unfolded; she was soon pleasantly surprised when she witnessed the form of Princess Luna materialized before her. "Princess Luna, I could use your help."

"The girls said the same thing," the princess of the night replied, "follow me, they are waiting for us."

A single flash from Luna's horn was their ticket into the dream realm. Glimpses of other ponies' dreams sped by with the speed of light as Starlight Princess Luna walked forward before stopping at a door leading to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Stepping through the doorway, Starlight found herself back in the suite she's been sharing with the girls (who were currently partaking in a pillow fight while jumping on the bed). Upon spotting Princess Luna, the girls let of their pillows and got off the bed in order to give the princess of the night a hug.

"Are you gonna help us with Sour Grapes?" Apple Bloom asked.

"In a manner of speaking." Princess Luna answered. "I've been keeping a close watch over the four of you since last night; when I saw each of your nightmares, as well as Sour Grapes', I had an inkling you could be in need of my assistance. Are you experiencing any problems with helping this young colt?"

Each of the ponies looked upon each other with a forlorn gaze before Scootaloo worked up the courage to admit before the princess, "When we first met Sour Grapes, he requested Starlight to remove his cutie mark, which she did--reluctantly. When we came back to check on him this morning, he showed no violent urges but still held onto the hate he harbors at the ponies who wronged him."

"So I decided that it might be best to just cut our loses and return to Ponyville." Starlight explained further. "I mean, at least we don't have to worry about him wanting to harm himself or other ponies in his current state. What's the worst that could happen?"

As if answering her question, Luna enlightened her horn to magically transport the four ponies in front of Sour Grapes' home in the black of night. "Why did you bring us here Princess Luna?" Sweetie requested context.

"I'm showing the four of you events which will transpire should you quit your mission. In a few months from now the pony known as Firecracker will recover from his injuries. But bullies such as him cannot go about his life until he has landed the final punch against the one who bested him, which he shall succeed in carrying out, as you will all see."

Watching closely with keen eyes, the four ponies observed as Firecracker--who had a wheelchair cart tied around him just so he can walk--was sneaking up to Sour Grapes' home with gasoline canisters being levitated over his head. The four ponies then watched with horror as Firecracker proceeded to pour each canister all over the house until each one was empty and then ignited the puddles with a spark from his horn as he galloped away and maniacally laughed to himself, while the flames consumed the house of his victim.

Sparing the three fillies from having to witness this act of arson any further, Luna transport them to the cemetery in front of Sour Grapes'--and his parents'--grave. "As you can see, Firecracker's vengeance will end up claiming the lives of Sour Grapes and his family. And since most of the ponies in Vanhoover held the young colt in contempt, an investigation into his murder will never unfold and everypony will continue to hold onto their tradition of bullying blank flanks and assume nothing ever happened. Of course, there are even worse fates that could've occurred had you done things differently."

Luna brought the four ponies back to Sour Grapes' room, where he and Starlight were seen conversing. "This is what would've happened had Starlight chose to teach him her cutie mark removal spell rather than perform it on him. He learns quickly and manages to pull off the spell on the first try, but he is content with simply removing his own cutie mark. Feeling empowered by pulling off the spell so easily, he dedicates his time to perfecting it until he is able find a way to disintegrate cutie marks once they've been removed. First, he destroys his cutie mark, then the cutie marks of his parents, and then he'll go on to annihilate the cutie marks of his classmates and teachers, before turning his sights on irradicating the cutie marks of everypony in Equestria (which will make him a greater threat than Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow combined).

"There are millions of other alternate fates even worse than the two I showed you, but there is one glimmer of hope beneath such gloom." The ponies were now brought back to Vanhoover park, where they saw Sour Grapes hanging out with his friends, only his cutie mark was nowhere in sight. "What you're seeing is a timeline where Sour Grapes and his companions were never bullied for being blank flanks; because his friends never felt peer pressured into forsaking him, he never spent years of his life bottling up hatred for any of them and thus remained Happy Grapes. In addition to this, Happy and Lovely Smooch will eventually grow up to marry each other and raise a family of their own; but more importantly, Happy shall grow up to be advocate against the mistreatment of blanks flanks, which will inspire many more blank flanks like him to speak out rather than cower in silence. Which is why you four must travel to when he and his friends first attended kindergarten and bring about this timeline."

Starlight Glimmer did a doubletake before saying, "I'm sorry, but you actually want us to alter his future?"

"I understand why you'd be wary over the prospect of using time travel as a means to solving a friendship problem." Luna responded. "But the fact of the matter is that Sour Grapes is too consumed by hatred to forgive those who wronged him, and most of the ponies in Vanhoover are too blinded by pride to realize that mistreating blank flanks is wrong. You're not just trying to restore happiness in the life of a pony who has been treated unjustly since he was a foal, you're also trying to plant the seeds of reform to a city in desperate need of change. And the only way to bring about that change is to ensure that Happy Grapes never earns his cutie mark."

"Wait a minute!" Everypony flinched when Sweetie Belle shrieked. "We're Cutie Mark Crusaders; our whole purpose in life is to help others discover their hidden talents. And you're telling us the only way to solve Sour Grapes' friendship problem is to make him a blank flank forever? Couldn't we try to see if his talent could be used for something else, or maybe convince him and his parents to move to Ponyville and have him be enrolled in the School of Friendship?"

"There are no alternatives." Luna killed Sweetie's hopes in its crib. "In most of the timelines Sour Grapes' refuse to consider moving to Ponyville due to viewing Vanhoover as the permanent home of their forebearers and also seeing a move to a new location as too much to get used to; in other timelines my sister and I send the Royal Guard to essentially force Sour Grapes out of their custody, but having their own child taken from them would succumb the two ponies into a depression that would lead to suicide, and Sour Grapes would still be hampered by his cutie mark to be able to understand and utilize the values that the School of Friendship has to offer.

"You must understand that everypony has been destined with a specific skill the moment they are born; you possess a great singing voice, Scootaloo is talented with performing tricks on her scooter, and Apple Bloom is natural at brewing potions with Zecora, but there is a reason why your cutie marks are specifically tied to helping others discover their talents. And the hard truth is that some ponies hidden talents were always intended for evil; Cozy Glow and the Flim Flam Brothers are living proof of this, and Sour Grapes is no exception. His talent has always been the spreading of pain and hatred to anypony he comes across, and he lost his chance at a happy life the second he discovered that talent."

Noticing the dejected expression on the filly's face, Luna gently cupped her chin with a comforting hoof before saying, "I understand why you don't feel comfortable with having to resort to a tough decision. You are a kind, gentle pony who sees good in everypony, and you do not wish to see others suffer. But there are many ponies who were not blessed with the privileges of living in communities that value friendship, and Sour Grapes is one of those ponies. Hark closely, Sweetie Belle, going against your cutie mark is never wrong if it's being done for the right reasons. You care for him as much as your friends, Starlight Glimmer, and I do, and it's because you care about him so much that you must prevent him from ever earning his cutie mark. Do you understand?"

After receiving a tearful nod from the crestfallen filly, Princess Luna went about going other the necessary steps when they partake in their journey to Sour Grapes' past. As Starlight knew from her experience in tampering with the past, any change she made in preventing Rainbow Dash's sonic rainboom resulted in different futures. Hence why Luna spent the entire night repeating every specific step the ponies must take to ensure the alternate future where Sour Grapes remained Happy Grapes will be triggered, and any slight deviation from just one of those steps could end up bringing about an even worse fate than the one he's currently destined for. When the four ponies had finally memorized every step without struggling to remember, Luna informer them that she'll have Spike deliver a scroll containing a time travel spell that she, Celestia, and Starswirl had worked on.

...

No sooner had each of the ponies awoken did the aforementioned scroll materialized and plopped onto the bed. Gathering their belongings and checking out of the hotel, the four ponies trotted to the center of town and stopped in front of the fountain. Taking a few seconds to breathe in order to calm herself, Starlight unfolded the scroll to follow the instructions as she lit up her horn to cast yet another spell she had hoped to never cast again: time travel.