It was a flurry of hooves and teeth, of blows and shoves, and stallions sliding in the half-dried mud as they threew themselves at each other. Carthage didn't see the painted mare rise, but he saw his dark foe's attention shift. The dark bay wasn't between them as he had always intended to be. He had been on the opposite side of Lucifer, landing from his last rearing strike at the dark man. Lucifer had taken advantage of this and rushed at Snapdragon.
Carthage twisted hard back toward the pair, the effort straining a muscle in a back leg. He dove at the closest side of the black stallion's legs, teeth bared. The bay intended to snap at the tendermost muscles of Lucifer's legs, effectively aiming for the Achilles' tendon above his hocks. He didn't see the grey thing rise from the darkness, merely had the time to hear the charging call as he made to strike.