ERHMAHGERD! UPDATE!

Another chapter for you! Thanks to you awesome people who have read and left reviews/ favourited/ subscribed. I have only one more exam until I'm free from uni! So... Yeah. Awesome. There maaay be a update for 'On a wing and a rainbow' (OAWAAR from now on.) sometime this week, but don't count on it, I have to urge to roll out a small chunk of it at a time rather than go chapter by chapter.

Also we have a cover image now! Thank you very kindly to Omgklint (Deviantart) for allowing me to use his vector.

Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter and without further ado, I shall end this A/N

Disclaimer: Does anyone even read this? Yes? Well I don't own this stuff. Hasbro does okay?

Cover Image owned by Omgklint

Now, read on!

Chapter 3: Secrets and Lies

"Camping! Camping! Camping!" Star bubbled enthusiastically. He bounded in circles around Dash as they walked through the marketplace together.

"That's great Star, you can say camping." Dash said, resisting the urge to bind and gag her hyperactive son.

"Aren't you excited mummy?" he said. "We can stay up late, tell scary stories and roast Rarities over the fire!"

Dash did a double take at the last one. "Wait what?" she said stopping mid stride.

"Can't we toast Rarities?" he asked innocently.

"We don't toast other ponies champ. That's just wrong."

He pulled a disgusted face. "Eww, why would we want eat other ponies. That's disgusting mum, why would you think of that?"

"You said toasting Rarity! Rarity is a pony. Rarity is one of my friends!" Dash said flustered.

Star stared blankly off into space for a moment before looking confused. "Isn't that a rarity?" he said pointing at a bag of marshmallows on display at a nearby candy stall.

Dash blinked twice. "That's a bag of marshmallows Star." She said bluntly. She leaned in close. "I can see how you'd confuse the two though." she whispered in a conspirative manner.

Star giggled.

Returning back to the task at hand, Dash pulled a crumpled sheet out of her saddlebag and read down the list of supplies they required. After a few hours of shopping, she and Star had managed to purchase almost everything they needed. "Just need a thermos for you and we're done" Rainbow announced in a pleased manner. Shopping was not something she enjoyed. As she jostled through the crowd she felt as she was being followed. A flash of crimson in the corner of her eye gave her follower away. Turning around, she was met with the sight of Scar about to pounce on her. His eyes widened slightly as he realised he'd been caught. He flashed an innocent smile.

"Hey Dash." He said innocently.

"Scar." She said curtly. "You weren't about to surprise me now were you?"

He looked around. "Me? Surprise you? Never."

"How many times do I have to tell not to do that?" She asked, remembering too late that he would take it literally.

"Well if I remember correctly… 568 times. It has been eight years so… give or take one or two."

Dash groaned.

"And who's this?" Scar said, craning his neck down to look at Star. Who by now, was cautiously peering out from behind Rainbow's legs.

Rainbow flashed red for a moment. "This is my son, Shooting Star." She looked away as Scar's eye's bulged. "Star this is my old friend Scar."

"Nice to meet you." Star said timidly from behind his mother. Scar looked with fascination at the young colt.

"Hey Star how about you go grab yourself something yummy, I want to have a chat with your mum." Scar said fishing a few bits out of his own coin bag. Star glanced at the shiny coins cautiously before looking up at Dash with a mixture of confusion and excitement.

"Go on, take em." Dash said. "Get yourself something nice. You deserve it."

"Thanks mister." Star chirped. He took the few bits and galloped off.

Scar watched him disappear into the crowd. "You didn't say you had a son." He remarked.

"You didn't tell me you were alive." Dash shot back.

Scar deflated slightly. "Sorry…"

"It's alright, just don't do it again." Dash remarked sardonically

An awkward silence passed between the two.

"So… What's going on?" Scar said in an attempt to end the painful gap in the conversation.

"Shopping."

"For?"

"Camping trip."

"Am I invited?"

"N- Actually…" Dash trailed off as a gear in her mind started turning. 'Soarin can't go, why not have Scar come along. It would be good opportunity to catch-up with him.' She thought

'But what about if he tri-.' Another voice said

'He's a friend, nothing more' she assured herself.

"Actually… why not. It should be fun and it would be a good opportunity to catch up."

Scar's eyes lit up. "When and where?"

"Tomorrow afternoon near the schoolhouse. There will quite a few of us so good luck missing the crowd."

"I'll see you then" Scar said "I should go get my stuff sorted out, see you tomorrow."

He took off in a blur before Dash could even say goodbye.

Come on mum! We'll be late!" Star yelled as he galloped ahead of Dash. Even laden down by a pack nearly the size of himself, he still moved surprising fast.

"Not on my watch!" Dash yelled. Taking flight she quickly caught up to her son and plucked him off the ground and whizzed through the clear sky. Flying several meters off the ground with her son grasped between her fore hooves, Rainbow Dash sped through the town, electing a few cries of surprise from ponies below. Adjusting her speed so as not to miss the approaching target, Dash scanned the small crowd for familiar faces. Not seeing any particularly familiar faces, she flared her wings bringing her to a complete stop a small distance away from the group. Dropping the windswept Star from under her, she softly touched down.

"See, told you we wouldn't be late." She boasted.

"That was awesome mum!" Star cried. "Can we do it again?"

"Not now champ, need to conserve my energy. Besides, you can fly pretty well yourself."

"Yeah, but not as good as you."

"Practice makes perfect." Dash said ruffling his mane. He pulled back before she could ruin his miraculously still sleek mane.

"Mum!" he whined

"Yeah mum, don't do that." A voice came from behind her cheekily.

"I'm not your mother Scar." Dash said without turning.

"Yeah, she's not your mummy." Star said looking suspiciously at Scar. "How does Mum know you? She said you were an old friend. But how old?"

"I would have been your daddy kid, but the dog beat me over the fence." Scar said raising an eyebrow at Dash.

"Huh?" Star said, his small face wrinkled up in confusion.

"It's a joke Star." Dash said quickly.

"I don't get it."

"Good, now run along and tell Ms. Cheerilee we're here."

"Um, okay." He said, rolling his heavy pack his back off before setting off to find his teacher.

"Not funny Scar." Dash snapped after Star was out of earshot.

"Sorry." He muttered. Any further conversation was made impossible by Cheerilee clambering on top of a small box and ringing a small bell to gain everyponys attention.

"Fillies, Colts and parents. Thank you for being here. Now that everypony is here, if we could get started. Firstly I wish all of you campers to have a fun, safe and enjoyable time out there this weekend. Secondly, I would like to thank the parents who have volunteered their time to take the children out on this trip; we all appreciate your commitment." There was a light smattering of stomping. "Now without further ado, let's get underway, I'm sure you're all so excited to get started!" She hopped down from the crate and put her own pack on. She turned from the crowd and trotted out of town. "Follow me everypony!" she called out. A small group of colts and fillies trailed after her, the vast majority of the parents only there to see them off.

"Hey mum, what's up with his flank? It looks all funny." Star asked appearing next to Rainbow Dash. He struggled to put his heavy pack back on.

"I don't know. I saw it the other day but I didn't bother asking." Dash said, helping Star with his pack.

"Oh… Ok." He finally managed to remount his pack. "Come on Mum!" Star said excitedly, his curiosity about Scar's flank vanishing in a flash. "Let's go!" he ran after the group, jostling with Midnight to get to the front of the small column.

"I suppose we'd better get after him." Dash said turning around to face Scar. Much to her surprise the crimson stallion was nowhere to be seen. Looking ahead she noticed somehow he had gotten to the centre of the group and was already talking animatedly with a few children she didn't recognise. Shrugging she hefted her pack and set off after him.

"And then I said, well I didn't know he played the violin!" Scar finished. The small group of children walking around him let out a collective giggle at Scar's wit. Dash smirked as she walked alongside, listening to the somewhat exaggerated story. Being prone to exaggerating her own tales of awesomeness, she was very good at spotting such things in stories that other ponies told. She decided to let Scar have his fun though. His story had grabbed the attention of most of the campers and had taken their minds off how heavy their packs were and how much their legs hurt after hours of walking.

"Umm…Scar…" One of the colts nervously asked. "I was kind of w-wondering… If you don't mind telling… What happened to your cutie mark?"

A sudden hush descended upon the group. While all of them had noticed his flank when he had joined them, nopony had gotten the nerve to ask about it. Dash's ears pricked up curiously. She too, had instantly noticed when she had first run into him but hadn't wanted to ask.

"A war wound," Scar said solemnly "from fighting a fight that shouldn't have even happened in the first place." He turned his head to flash a quick look across at Dash. "A fight that cost me the best thing in my life."

Dash blushed lightly and looked away. 'Just a friend, just a friend, just a friend…' she thought in her head.

"C-can I touch it?" the colt asked again.

"If you want to." Scar said back. "Won't hurt too much, most of the nerves are dead."

The colt nervously reached a hoof out to touch his flank but withdrew it at the last moment.

"Actually, I think I'll be fine…" he drew away slightly from Scar but kept flashing looks at the stallions flank.

"It's not something I think you kids would want to know about." Scar said.

A few quiet murmurs or agreement came from the assembled children.

Dash kicked the ground in disappointment and made a mental note to ask him about it later. She sighed and looked around, taking in the scenery. The wide open fields that surrounded Ponyville had given way to the somewhat dense deciduous forest that was Whitetail Woods. She could hear the faint gurgling of a stream in the distance and guessed that were probably not far from the campsite. Her assumptions proved correct when the forest suddenly stopped and she stepped into a circular clearing about fifty meters wide. A few large logs were arranged around a well-used fire pit and the stream she had been hearing cut into the far edge of the clearing. Although she was not normally one to appreciate the natural world, she thought the site was quite serene.

"Alright everypony, we're here!" Cheerilee said from the front of the group. "We've only got a couple of hours of daylight left so if I can get all of you setting up your tents first please?" The twenty odd campers spread out and starting erecting their shelters. Dash, Scar, Cheerilee and the other three parents went around and helped the children set up first before moving onto their own tents. By the time all the tents had been set up and all the gear moved inside, Orange and pink streaks had started to appear as Celestia's sun moved towards the horizon.

"Dash, Scar, would you two mind collecting some firewood?" Cheerilee asked as they finished laying their gear out.

"Sure thing" Scar said back, crawling out of his forest green tent. He trotted towards the tree line. "Coming Dash?"

She threw a subtle glare at the back of Cheerilee's head before she clambered gracefully out her tent. "Yeah on my way."

Trying to ignore Scar's happy face, the pair set off towards the forest.

Silence sudden fell as the two entered the forest; the trees seemed to soak all the noise from the campsite up.

"So…" Dash said as she picked up a few dry sticks. "What happened?"

"Huh?" Scar asked, stopping mid stride. He ruffled his feathers as light breeze suddenly blew through the copse of trees they were in.

"To your cutie mark." Dash added, gesturing at his flank.

Scar looked her seriously. "Dash, I'd rather not tell. It's a bit… Jarring."

"Look Scar." She said with a hint of anger. "Whatever it was, I'm sure I can deal with it."

"Really?" he scoffed.

"I was abducted, raped and beaten by a Wonderbolt with a split personality a few years ago. Beat that."

Scar's jaw flopped open. He wordlessly worked it up and down for a moment. "I'm sorry." He managed.

"Don't be, you had nothing to do with it."

"I could have been there. I could have stopped it."

"But you chickened out." Dash shot back.

"I didn't chicken out." He snapped back. "I did it for our good."

Dash scoffed. "Our good? I hardly see how it did me any good." She threw her fore hooves in the air, sending a small shower of sticks back into the undergrowth. Now are you going to tell me what happened? That's quite a war wound."

Scar huffed in irritation before relenting. "Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you."

He threw another stick on a pile he had made.

"It happened the day I left. It is what prompted me to actually fake my death." He smiled ruefully "Wasn't too hard to do…"

The speed of the text reaches 88 miles per hour, sending the reader back into the past.

Scar wheeled a large cloudbank and scanned the sky. 'I think I lost them' he thought. Looking around he saw no trace of his pursuers. He had been on a routine delivery from his parent's shop to one of the families outlying properties when a trio of Pegasi had appeared and start harassing him. Suddenly a large shape appeared from above and behind him and smashed into him, sending him hurtling towards the ground. He swore loudly, again he had forgotten to check his blind spot.

Splaying his wings out, he managed to regain control of his chaotic descent. A pair of pegasi shot past him, not expecting him to recover so rapidly from his stall. He felt like he was missing something as he watched the two attackers pull out of their dives and then regain altitude. 'Damn there's a third one!' he reminded himself just before he was hurled violently into a large cloud by his final opponent.

Coughing violently, he tried to get up but was pinned under the hoof of his third assailant.

"So… Scar. We finally meet." He said in a smooth yet dangerous voice. "You're the one who wants all this to end." he chuckled. "We have a special connection… from this feud of course, but one that is perhaps a bit deeper." He pressed down harder. "We want the same thing. Do you know that?"

"We do?" Scar asked back confused.

"I want this feud to end just as badly as you do youngling, but unlike you who wants to sue for peace. I won't stop until every last one of you is dead." venom dripped from his words. Scar, still face down, tried to squirm out of his hold.

"Ah ah ah. No getting out. Not until I've had my fun. You see, I have a bit more of a vendetta against you Scar." He moved closer, his breath hot against the back of Scar's neck. "I've heard that you've been sleeping with my niece. Now I don't like that. Not. One. Bit."

Scar's eyes widened. 'Damn, damn, damn, damn' he thought desperately looking for a way out.

"Oh I bet that makes you feel really embarrassed, the idea that I'm riding her all night. How does that make you feel?" Scar taunted, a risky idea forming in his mind.

"Angry, Scar." The blue pegasi holding him down spat.

"Oh well you shouldn't want to hear what I did to her t-"

"ENOUGH," the Pegasus roared, lifting Scar up by the scruff of his neck. Scar was met by a pair of angry maroon eyes. "You have no idea what I will do to you and to... her." He snarled, his vivid mane jumping around as he raged at the Scar. A small grin appeared on his face as he imagined the world of pain he was about to but the burgundy pegasus through.

"Hey thanks." Scar said suddenly.

"For what?" The blue Pegasus asked, a look of confusion replacing his smug grin.

"For getting off me." Scar said with a smirk. He kicked upwards, using his wings to give him a small boost. The blow connected with his captor's rib cage with a loud crack as his ribcage caved in. Howling in pain, the Pegasus dropped scar and fell backwards. A small spar of bone erupted through his flesh with a spray of blood. Turning to face the other two pegasi, Scar dodged the first ones clumsy blow before countering with a powerful uppercut which sent him sprawling. He wasn't quite fast enough to dodge the second's strike which clipped his ribcage with a dull thud. Crying out in pain as at least one rib cracked, he fell into the cloud. He curled up into a ball as he pummelled mercilessly by his final opponent. By a stroke of luck, he managed to roll with the third blow and regain his footing. His opponents surprise was evident as Scar swept his legs out from underneath him and knocked him out cold with a vicious punch to the face. As he stepped backwards he felt a sudden spike of pain as something sliced open his flank. It was replaced by the most unbearable pain he mad felt as a chunk of flesh was ripped off. Spinning around he was confronted by his original attacker, his face now stained with Scar's blood, his teeth were firmly clamped around Scar's flank. A Savage roar was spewing forth from the blood covered Pegasus as he tried to tear another mouthful of flesh off. Recovering from his revulsion, Scar lashed out with his good leg, dislodging the insane pony from his flank. He limped over to the dazed pegasi "Don't you dare threaten Dash again." He growled.

"Go to hell." He wheezed. Scar could tell his lungs had been punctured when his ribcage had broken, the blue pegasus's breaths were becoming shallower and more forced.

"You first." Scar spat as the colour drained from his opponent's eyes. Limping towards the edge of the cloud, a massive wave of dizziness overcame Scar. When he turned and looked at his flank, he almost fainted. A large chunk of his flank had been ripped off by the savage bite. Over half of his cutie mark was missing, replaced with a rough bleeding crater. Grimacing, he inspected the wound more closely. Luckily it wasn't deep enough to reveal any bone, but if he didn't get it treated quickly, he would bleed out. Almost blacking out from the pain, Scar spread his wings and flew as fast as he could away from the battleground.

Great Scott! A lightning bolt delivers 1.21 Giga Watts of power to the story, sending you back to the present.

Rainbow stared at Scar with a horrified look on her face.

"It was bitten off?" Dash asked horrified. Revulsion was written across her face

"Yes. I warned you it was pretty nasty." Scar said. He threw a look back at the ugly hunk of flesh missing from his flank.

"How did you survive?" Dash asked in awe.

"I was close enough to a small village to get help. It was a close one though, another few minutes and I would have been a goner. It took a while to heal and after that, I went to ground. Didn't tell anypony what had happened. One day I just bolted."

"Wait a minute... Something you said…" Dash thought for a moment. He face screwed up in concentration as she tried to recall the glaringly odd piece of information he had said. "You said he threatened me…But…"

Scar's eyes widened as he realised that may have said too much.

"D-Did… Did you say that he said I was his niece?"

"Shi-."Scar uttered, realising that he had no way out of this. "Um, Yes…" he said quietly looking away from the flustered mare.

"Me? His niece?"

Scar remained silent

"Scar! Explain! Please!"

He sighed explosively. "You're his niece … Were his niece." He corrected

"But that means he was my uncle! And if he tried to kill you because of this feud…" She trailed off as she realised the implications. She scrambled back from Scar.

"Get back! Stay away!" she whimpered. Scar remained motionless.

"I'm not going to hurt you Dash."

"But… the feud?" Dash asked, keeping her distance.

"Yes, my family has a blood feud against yours." Scar snapped "Do you think I enjoyed fighting it though? If I had ever wanted to kill you I could have done it a long time ago."

"But… I've never heard of this before! I've heard of a feud or anything!" Dash protested, realising that while unpleasant, Scar had a point.

"You were lucky. Your mother ran away with you before you were born. Your father was furious apparently. She saved you from ever learning about it. And that is why Dash, I have no quarrel with you." He paced in front of her.

"I thought… he abandoned us…." Dash said slowly.

"A lot of what you know about your past is probably lies. Lies to keep you safe. To keep you out of the stupidest thing in Equestria."

"Then what about us? Huh? I'm your enemy," Dash said angrily. "Was what we had real or was it just a fake. Was any of it even real?" She yelled.

"Dash, you have to believe me. After years of pointless bloodshed, I was sick of the feud. When I found out who you were, I thought I could help bridge the families. Put aside our differences. I was wrong… But what I felt for you was genuine. I loved you Dash. I still do. I staged my own death that day so that they couldn't find you. I hid for eight years, watched as the families tore themselves apart. After the dust had settled, most of us were dead. Most of your family was dead. It was at that point the feud stopped. There was no one left to fight it. I was a coward, I hid. But I did it for us okay?" he looked at Dash with pleading eyes. "You have to believe me."

Dash looked at him. Everything she knew about him had just been turned upside down and thrown out the window. Regardless of that, she still trusted him. He had never lied to her before, why would he start now? She reached out and placed a hoof on his shoulder. "I believe you Scar."

"Thanks." he said quietly. "Sorry."

"For what? Telling me the truth?" Rainbow asked quizzically

"Yes."

"The truth hurts sometimes." Dash said rubbing him gently on the back. "This changes nothing between us. I had no love for my father before and this doesn't change that at all. If he wants to fight some stupid feud, I want no part in it."

"Really?" he asked hopefully

"Yeah… And Scar?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks. Thank you for telling me."

He grinned slightly as Dash gave him a friendly hug.

Rainbow released him and started to collecting up the firewood, when she turned back she was surprised by how close Scar's nuzzle was to hers.

"Dash…" he said softly. "Do you still like me?"

She gaped silently for a moment as her head suddenly churned with thoughts, dangerous thoughts. 'Just a friend!' a voice screamed in her head.

"I-I… I-" she whispered. She looked into his sad eyes. An incredible amount of loneliness seemed to be held in the two green orbs. He waited expectantly for a few tense seconds before he lowered his head, let out an unhappy sigh and turned around. He proceeded to silently pick up the large pile he had gathered.

"Come on Dash let's go. The others will be wondering where we are."

Any sympathy for Scar? Any? Any at all? Not really? Lots? *Shrugs* Who knows?

Conspicuous lack of Soarin in this chapter is noted. Don't worry he'll be featured in the next one. Speaking of that, next update might be a little while as I have my final exam in a week or so and I am working on OAWAAR a bit, so stay tuned. I don't really have much else to say so I'll wrap up it up there.

As always, thanks for reading this (depending on your opinion terrible - good) chapter. Please leave a review if you feel so inclined, I'd love to hear from you. As usual, an questions, queries, quibbles, death threats, stalker mail, suggestions, ideas, etc. are welcome to be sent via PM or review. I do read everything.

Until next time.

Later!

Killbles