Alright, let's solve this problem step by step. We have 52461 and 7781, and we're subtracting the second number from the first.

Step 1: We'll start by subtracting the digit 1 and the borrow 0 from 1 in column 1 and get 0.
0 is the first digit of our result.

Step 2: We'll start by subtracting the digit 8 and the borrow 0 from 6 in column 2 and get -2.
We add -2 to 10 and get 8 as the next digit of the result.

Step 3: We'll start by subtracting the digit 7 and the borrow 1 from 4 in column 3 and get -4.
We add -4 to 10 and get 6 as the next digit of the result.

Step 4: We'll start by subtracting the digit 7 and the borrow 1 from 2 in column 4 and get -6.
We add -6 to 10 and get 4 as the next digit of the result.

Step 5: We'll start by subtracting the digit 0 and the borrow 1 from 5 in column 5 and get 4.
4 is the next digit of our result.

So, 52461 - 7781 = 44680.