What she thought she was doing was a question for the ages. Even the painted mare could not say. She was disappointed that she had not managed to grab the stallion's skin; still, first tries were rarely perfect. Her kick was much better placed and she smiled when her hooves met skin. Although it was not exactly as intended, she was happy to have made a mark at all. She was not surprised the stallion had anticipated her movements. He was clearly the veteran here. The many scars on his hide shared a history wrought with violence. As she swung around, she flared her nostrils in irritation at his words. In this moment, she hated nothing as much the stallion. To take her beauty via this fight was a crime against humanity in her mind. As he laughed she did too, her voice thick with fright. The momentary happiness over her kick was not maintained beyond that instant. His laughter gave her a moment longer to search for the dog, to no avail. The blackness was too thick and the breeze was of no use either. The dog's scent was in the air but the swirling winds made it impossible to pinpoint his location.

Before long, the stallion burst into action and swiftly closed the distance between the two of them. Her erect ears filled with the thundering of his hooves. Despite his bulky frame, he moved quickly. She imaged it was due to his years of practice. As his head came even with hers, she took the opportunity to lash out with her teeth. She was aiming for his ear, to tear a chunk off as he flew by. Still, his speed and her inexperience meant that her accuracy was inherently low. She closed her teeth but could not tell if she was successful. Although her attack was well intentioned, she would have been smarter to prepare. The full force of his weight was driven into her left shoulder and her weight was shifted suddenly to her right. She squealed in pain and anger as she stumbled right a step. Although the hit on her shoulder was dispersed enough that there would be only minor bruising, the repeated damage to her fetlock was problematic. A dull throbbing commenced and the combined injuries initiated some swelling. The process was slow but she would have to guard the hoof carefully throughout the spar.

While she stumbled, the stallion swung his head in an attempt to batter her side. Luckily, the increased distance between them caused his head to just graze her side. Unfortunately, she did not anticipate his next move. Attempting to relieve her right hoof of some weight, she shifted her weight back to the left. His teeth grabbed her mane roughly and his hoof descended to her heel. His sharp hoof tore away some of the skin at her coronet, a slow trickling of blood traveling down the back of her hoof. The pain was harsh and she grunted again in discomfort. Although the injury would have quickly clotted in any other location, the constant movement of the pastern joint would keep it open throughout the fight. She was lucky the hoof had limited blood supply, causing a slow bleed. She would have to be careful about the placement of her left hoof, though. Wherever she stepped, the ground was sure to be slippery.

With little thought or planning, the mare attacked. She hoped to use her lighter frame to do some quick maneuvering. In an attempt to do him some injury and relieve her right forelimb of some weight, the mare reared up. The stallion still held her mane so she could not rear very high, but she didn't need to. As she reared, she thrust her left front knee up forcefully. She hoped to use the momentum to slam the lower portion of his ribs again. If he had not moved, his left front hoof should still have been placed just behind her own rearing form. Using this knowledge, the mare then attempted to slam her left front hoof into the back of the stallion's left front fetlock. If hit as intended, significant pain and injury would occur as she would strike the bone and several important tendons that ran over it. Unfortunately, to accomplish these attacks the mare had to land with all of her weight on her right front hoof. The pain radiated up her limb and she flinched visibly. The speed of the swelling would increase slightly due to the repeated assaults. Quickly, she placed her left hoof on the ground and shifted her weight to it before taking a deep breath with flared nostrils. The thin air this high up the mountain was causing her to breath rather hard despite her limited efforts.

[Post: 2/3, 800 words; summary: Kahlua bites at Rico's ear as he passes. His slam pushes her weight to the right and her right limb is injured again. His head just grazes her side but he grabs hold of her mane and is able to scrape his hoof across her heel and cause bleeding. Kahlua half-rears because her mane is being held, trying to slam her knee into Rico's ribs and then tries to slam her hoof onto Rico's fetlock. She lands on her right hoof and injures it again, increasing the speed at which it swells]