Greyhoof looked into the fireplace. The scorched wood popped and cracked as the flames engulfed the dry logs, fresh from the woodpile. The fire was warm and inviting, but despite its warm glow, he somehow had this feeling of sadness which seemed to pollute his every thought. He was still excited about the party, or at least he thought he was. It was disappointing that Roneo had lost Starlet’s gift, but no one was particularly surprised by it. Roneo was nothing if not forgetful. No, something else was bugging the grey pony tonight, but try as he might, he couldn’t put his hoof on it. If he could only talk to Zecora...

        “Daddy!”

        Greyhoof’s mood got a temporary lift as Ruby bounded into the living room with a smile on her face. “Hiya, sweetheart,” he said as he scooped up the grey filly, and gave her a big squeeze. With his free hoof, he proceeded to tousle her blonde mane, causing his tiny victim to squeal out in mock terror. “What have you been up to tonight?” He allowed her to slip out of his grasp, after which he noticed that she was wearing her winter cloak. “You been playing dress up?”

        She shook her head furiously, but kept the huge grin on her face throughout. “Nope! Something much better!”

        “Well, why don’t you tell me?”

        “You know how Mommy reads me those detective stories?”

        “What, like Forelock Holmes?”

        Ruby made a face. “Nah, he’s too old. Plus, he has a stupid hat. I like the private eyes better. Always close on the tail of the bad guys, looking for clues, but ready for trouble in a moment’s notice.” Her yellow eyes darted back and forth, as if looking out for an invisible quarry. Greyhoof laughed.

        “I do hope she’s not reading you anything with too much fighting,” he said, with only slight concern in his voice. After all these years, he knew Zecora well enough to not be worried about her parenting skills. They didn’t always agree, and the living situation sometimes complicated things, but both ultimately wanted the best for their daughter.

        “She always skips the good parts.” Ruby stuck out of her tongue, obviously displeased to miss out on the more hardscrabble aspects of the life of a detective pony.

        “Even so, when you become a famous detective, I hope you’ll steer clear of the really dangerous ponies. You’re still my little princess.”

        She smiled and blushed a little at the compliment, but shook her head with determination. “I’m sorry, daddy, but I’m not a princess anymore. I’m officially a detective!”

        “Oh really?” he said, raising his brow. “How do you figure?”

        “Because your little princess found Roneo’s present and saved the day!” She finished with a dramatic flourish of her hooves and puffed out her chest proudly.

        Her moment of quiet dignity was short lived, as her father swooped her up in his forelegs with a broad grin on his face. “That’s wonderful, sweetie! You saved your dad’s party, you wonderful little filly!” He gave her a flurry of kisses that left her in a giggling fit as she struggled to free herself from the hug.

        As she tried to wiggle her way out of his grasp, she said “That’s actually not the big news, Daddy.”

        “There’s more?”

        She nodded. “Its why I’m wearing my coat right now. I wanted to surprise you!” Upon being released by her father, she trotted a few steps away, and lifted the cloak from her left side. On her flank was the image of a magnifying glass.

        Greyhoof stared, then blinked, then stared some more. It couldn’t be.

        Sensitive to the sudden silence and concerned by the strange look on her father’s face, Ruby spoke up. “Is it ugly?”

        Greyhoof shook himself out of his stupor to address his child. “No, its not that, Ruby.” He wanted to face her, but he couldn’t stop looking at that mark. Her cutie mark. A cutie mark in Sunny Town. Oh goddess.

        “Then what is it?” she asked, her voice getting softer, more uncomfortable.

        As his thoughts raced for answers to the questions appearing in his mind, he stumbled across a potential course of action. He did his best to force out a natural-looking smile. “Its great, sweetie...now...how would you like to go stay with your mom tonight?”

        The filly’s face brightened. “You want me to show this to her, too?” But when Greyhoof nodded, her expression changed to one of concern. “But what about the party? Don’t you want me to be there?”

        He shrugged and tried to sound as apathetic as he could about what was probably the biggest party he had ever planned in his new home. “Its probably going to be boring, anyway. I’d much rather you got to have some fun with your mother and show off your...” his voice trailed off. He couldn’t say it.

        Thankfully, the spectacle of his hesitation was lost on the excited little pony. Mommy would get to see her cutie mark! She hopped around in a little circle, ignorant of the anxiety building in her father with every passing moment. “When do we leave?”

        “The sooner, the better, I think! Go grab your bag and we’ll leave right away!”

        “Yay!” shouted Ruby, and she ran off into her bedroom to pack a few things for her big sleepover.

        Greyhoof wiped his brow. How could he have been so stupid? Somehow he had managed to delude himself for years. The hope was that if he didn’t talk about cutie marks, and surrounded Ruby with other ponies who didn’t have them, she wouldn’t feel like she was missing anything. But of course, there was always her mother.

        To the best of his knowledge, Zecora did not go out of her way to teach Ruby about the cutie mark, but it was impossible for her not to notice just how different Mommy was than Daddy. It wasn’t just about physical appearance, or being of a different species. Though Ruby was small, she was perceptive. And she could see that there was something in her mother that her father was never quite able to attain: a true sense of purpose. What child wouldn’t want to know that she truly belonged? Greyhoof snorted and reared back, ready to buck the wire screen into the fireplace.

        “Hey, Greyhoof!” an orange muzzle appeared in the doorway.

        He started at the familiar voice. “What?”

“We’re coming in, okay?”

        “NO!”

        The door swung open, revealing Roneo and Starlet, the latter of whom was nuzzling her face into the orange pony’s mane. The colt laughed off Greyhoof’s protest. “Easy there, buddy. I know it’s late, and I’m really sorry to be stopping in at this hour. I just wanted to make sure you knew what your little girl had done.” He turned to Starlet and made kissy faces at her. She giggled.

        Greyhoof felt a panic start to seize his whole body. “She hasn’t done anything! She’s just fine!”

        The lovers looked back at him, amusement now mixed with confusion. “She’s not in trouble, Greyhoof. I just wanted to let you know that she found my gift to Starlet. She’s a hero. You should be proud of her.” Roneo took a step towards the nervous stallion. “Is everything alright, Greyhoof?”

        “Everything’s fine!” He narrowed his eyes. “You just stay away from her!”

        Roneo gulped and looked back towards Starlet, who was beginning to look genuinely frightened. “Alright, man. I guess we caught you at a bad time. Get some sleep, okay?” He began backing his way towards the door when a small form scampered into the room.

        “Daddy, I can’t find my pack. Do you know where it is?”

        Ruby heard a gasp come from the doorway, and when she turned she saw a couple of familiar faces. “Oh, hi, guys!” she called cheerfully. But when they didn’t respond to her greeting, she took a better look, and saw the expressions of horror on their faces. She turned and looked to her father, who looked as if he was close to tears. “What’s going on, Daddy?”

        “SHE HAS THE MARK!”

        As Starlet sprinted out the door, Greyhoof sprang to chase after her, but found his exit blocked by a furious-looking Roneo. “She has the mark, Greyhoof. The town has to be told.”

        “No they don’t!” the grey stallion pleaded. “I’ll take her away tonight! I’ll go tonight! You’ll never see either of us again! The town is safe!”

        Roneo turned an icy glare on Greyhoof. “You can’t promise us that. This will be the beginning of our end if we don’t stop it now.”

        “Please, please, Roneo... just let us by! You can say I overpowered you! No one will blame you!”

        He shook his head. “I cannot allow you to leave.” With this, he turned his gaze to the filly in the middle of the room, who was now shaking with fear. “I am very sorry for this, Ruby. But there is no other way.” From behind Roneo came the sound of approaching hooves, with angry voices not quite lost in the din. The village was here to see the one with the mark.

        Greyhoof stood petrified, his eyes darting back and forth between his daughter and the pony blocking his escape. He could overpower Roneo, and both of them could escape the house, but getting out of town was something else. Even if he could run past the crowd, Ruby wouldn’t be able to keep up. They weren’t after him, anyway.

        Ruby ran up to her father and wrapped a hoof around his hind leg. “What’s happening, daddy?”

        He fought the tears as he tried to put on a strong face for his daughter. “Just stay close to me, sweetheart. We’re going to get through this.”

        “There they are!” yelled Starlet to the crowd of murmuring ponies that followed her. As they approached, Greyhoof could see three more notable faces in their number. Ruby’s tutor, Mitta, hung near the outskirts of the crowd, one of the few without a noticeable scowl on her face. Behind Startlet was an orange stallion named Gladstone who had the honorary position of the town’s law enforcement. And next to him was his boss, the green mare known as Three Leaf. She was Sunny Town’s mayor, and the look in her eyes said she would protect her home, whatever the cost. Greyhoof sat back on his haunches and hugged Ruby close.

        “Let us see it, Greyhoof,” said Three Leaf. It was not a request.

        “No.”

        “Either you show it to us, or we take her from you.”

        Wordlessly, Greyhoof looked back at his daughter, and felt his heart break as he saw the fear in her widened eyes. He wanted to say something, anything that would console her, but he couldn’t even think of a believable lie. He would have been hurt more to know that the main reason for her terror was that no matter how hard he attempted to hide it, she could still see the fear in his own eyes. He gave her a silent nod, and she nodded back solemnly, before allowing herself to let go of her father, giving the crowd a clear view of her cutie mark.

        This time, the gasp was louder, and the already thick feeling of tension in the room turned to one of palpable rage as ponies began shouting at each other. Ruby quickly retreated back to the perceived safety of her father’s leg as the angry ponies loomed over them.

        Gladstone was the first to speak out. “Greyhoof. She has the mark.”

        Greyhoof closed his eyes, and hugged his daughter against him. “We won’t stay. I’ll take her away from here. We’ll never set hoof in Sunny Town again.”

        “You know its too late for that,” he said, something resembling sympathy hiding in his voice.

        “If we don’t do something now, this could turn into something bigger.” Three Leaf leaned forward, examining the child. “We have to stop it now.” The crowd murmured in agreement.

        Mitta stepped out of the throng, visibly distressed. “What are you talking about doing? He says he’ll take her away! If she goes to live with her mother, there won’t be anything to fear!” She attempted to approach Greyhoof, but he pulled back.

        Three Leaf turned on the teacher. “You have eyes just like us, Mitta. You can’t tell me that you don’t see it. That you don’t see the danger.” She pointed her hoof accusingly at the little filly. “You know that it won’t stop here! It will spread!”

        “But maybe it won’t!”

        “Don’t forget that she is not the only child you have taught. What about my foals?” she snarled. “What about Gladstone’s colt? Are you willing to put all of our offspring at risk on the basis of a maybe?”

        Mitta stammered. “I-I...”

        Three Leaf turned her attention from the shrinking tutor and towards the crowd. “The child must be disposed of!” As the crowd cheered their consensus, Gladstone leaned down to take hold of the foal.

        “No!” Greyhoof snarled, and snapped out at Gladstone with his jaws. The officer jumped back, his look less of fear and more surprise. The grey stallion clutched his child tighter, as she began to sob.

        “You know what will happen, Greyhoof!” said Three Leaf.

        “No, I don’t!” he yelled, then scanned the rest of the angry crowd. “None of you do! You’ve already decided that this is some curse that she’s been blighted with! But it’s not! It’s completely natural!”

        “There’s nothing natural about it!”

        “You don’t know ANYTHING about it! They’re nothing to be afraid of!”

        “Why don’t you have one, Greyhoof?” asked Gladstone.

        “Yeah, Greyhoof,” said Three Leaf. “If they’re so natural, why don’t you have one? You’re the filly’s father!”

        Greyhoof stammered, unsure as to how to answer. He didn’t know why he never got one, and he’d been happy to be rid of the stigma that had made him feel like an outcast outside of Sunny Town. “I...I...”

        “Maybe the reason she has the mark,” said Three Leaf, as a devilish grin spread across her face, “is because you’re not really her father. Did your precious zebra have a stallion on the side?”

        Three Leaf’s plan to shake up Greyhoof proved successful, as the stallion leaped to his hooves and dove at the mayor, hooves aimed at her face. But Roneo and Gladstone were waiting, and they grabbed the angry pony some distance before he could connect. As Greyhoof struggled to get free, Starlet pounced on young Ruby.

        While he was able to derive some satisfaction from watching Ruby kick Starlet in the muzzle, the bigger mare quickly subdued the filly and held her fast. Both Greyhoof and Ruby were incapacitated, and he could do nothing but glare at the mayor with hatred in his eyes. Surprisingly, Three Leaf’s gaze softened upon looking at the stallion.

        “Greyhoof, I know this isn’t easy for you.”

        “Buck you.”

        Gladstone moved to deliver a blow to Greyhoof’s abdomen, but Three Leaf stopped him. “I understand you’re upset. And I know she’s your daughter. But she has the mark, and we have to stop it before it spreads. Otherwise, it will destroy us all.”

        Greyhoof’s anger melted into tears. “The mark doesn’t destroy! Even if it spreads, you don’t know that-”

        “Know that it rots you from the inside out? That it destroys harmony and love? Look at yourself, Greyhoof! Why do you and your daughter not live with your mate?”

        The words cut deep into Greyhoof. Him and Zecora had been such a good couple at the beginning, but as Ruby had aged, his fear of the mark had increased. That fear put a wedge between the two that seemed to grow with every visit. “But...but...she loves Ruby!”

        “She only wants her so she can spread her disease! So she can infect us! Infect you!” As the ponies holding his forelegs released him, Greyhoof collapsed to the floor in sobs. Three Leaf understood more than he had imagined. She lowered herself to his eye level. “What did you call Sunny Town when you found us? Do you remember, Greyhoof?”

        He sniffed, thinking back on that beautiful day. “Perfection.”

        “Perfection,” she repeated, a small smile on her face. “That’s what we’ve attained here, Greyhoof. You’re not a blank flank here. You’re not an outsider. You’re one of the community, and that’s your purpose. To be a member of the community.”

        He tried to shift his head to check on his daughter, but Three Leaf took his head in her hooves and forced him to look at her.

        “You go back out into the world, you know what will happen. You’ll be a pony without a purpose. You’ll be alone. And every day, ponies will remind you just how alone you really are.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “I know that what we’re asking for is a tremendous sacrifice for you. But it is nothing compared to what will happen if we let her go. You know that, don’t you?”

        Greyhoof could feel the heaviness in his heart, but no tears would come. He was cried out. He again tried to make eye contact with his struggling daughter, but Three Leaf held his head tightly. After a silence that seemed to last for hours, he looked her in the eyes and nodded.

        “NO!!” Ruby’s piercing cry shattered the silence. “Daddy, please! Don’t let them hurt me!” As Three Leaf moved to the side, his daughter resumed her struggling, this time with a new intensity, spurred on by her increased panic.

        As she screamed for him to intervene, he tried his best to shut her voice out. His eyes bloodshot from crying, he turned back to Three Leaf. “Can you please just make it quick?”

        Three Leaf closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m afraid there’s only one way to be completely sure. She has to be completely purified.” Upon opening her eyes, her glance turned towards the fireplace.

        Greyhoof felt a sensation akin to cold needles running up his spine. “Oh Celestia, no.” He stared past the wire screen, into the flames, and to the black logs slowly being roasted into ash. “We can’t! We just...”

        “It is the only way.”

        “Why?” Greyhoof screamed. “Why does she have to suffer? Can’t we just...” his mouth refused to use the word that he knew was most apt.

        “Can’t we just keep her from suffering?” yelled Mitta. She attempted to push her way back through the crowd, but Three Leaf’s icy glare pushed her back.

        “Fine, Greyhoof! You have all the answers! You put her down!” Three Leaf snatched the squirming filly out of Starlet’s grasp and threw her to the floor in front of her father. Greyhoof stared down at Ruby, no longer screaming or thrashing, just shivering as tears poured out of her. He slowly lifted his strongest hoof, on his right foreleg, and placed it on the side of his little filly’s head, right below her ear. She closed her eyes tight, and waited.

        But the blow never came. “I can’t do it,” Greyhoof said as he removed his hoof, and turned his head, disgusted by his own cowardice.

        Three Leaf just scoffed. “Of course. Gladstone! Roneo!” At her words, the two stallions flanking Greyhoof each moved into position. Gladstone scooped up the young filly into his forelegs as the orange stallion shifted the heavy grate to the side, opening the fireplace to the room.

        Later, after all was done, Gladstone would remember that walk to the fireplace stretching for an eternity. He remembered wanting to sing Ruby a lullaby to put her to sleep, and he searched his mind desperately for the tune his mother sang to him when he was a small colt. But the only thing that came to his mind, and then out of his lips were “hush now. It’ll all be over soon.”

        And he threw the child into the fire.

        Nopony can give a completely accurate account of the rest of that night. Most of them chose to find another point of focus. They looked at each other to see that validation that they desperately wanted. They looked at Roneo and Starlet, clutching each other so tightly that it must have been painful for both of them. They looked at Mitta, huddled in the corner, her hooves covering her ears. Or they looked at Gladstone, unmoving, unflinching in the firelight, standing next to Three Leaf, expressionless, with her eyes shrouded in darkness.

         No one wanted to look at Greyhoof, the other pony in the room affected by the sound of the screaming, drowned out by the frenzied beating against the wire grate. As another sound, a more subtle sound began to intrude, the smell of burning hair was replaced with another scent, no less pungent but thicker, and nauseating. With time, the pounding against the grate weakened, and the screaming became more shallow, until it ceased entirely, and nothing was distinguishable from the original flames.

        Greyhoof looked not at the flames, nor at the smoldering remains, but past them. He wasn’t focused on the once red bricks of the fireplace, now black with soot. He was looking through it, through the cabin, and beyond the Everfree outside. His eyes sought out Zecora, but there was nothing to see. No Zecora, no Ruby, and no future to speak of.

        They left him in the cabin that night, staring into the fireplace, long after the flames had burned out for lack of fuel. As the ponies in the crowd walked back towards Sunny Town, they looked back. On the ground, they saw their hoofprints in the thin layer of ash leading from the cabin, whose chimney still spun the last lazy trail of smoke.