Cracking ribs, was not something you simply missed.

As Gaucho hurtled towards Ariadne, he became aware that her body was moving more perpendicular to him. Id-jit He thought, as his massive bulk swiftly impacted her much smaller frame. Although he could not hear the sound of her ribs splintering, given the chaos all around them, he certainly could feel it. At first, there was the delicious sensation of his hooves striking something hard and firm, and then there was the more, that accompanied it. The feeling of more impact, of more room, and of more damage. His hooves dug in farther than they should have, indicating the extent of the injury that he had caused her. Even as he spread his massive wings and flew up and out of her reach, he felt no pity; no remorse. Ariadne had chosen to be here, just as he had. The fact that the foothills were horribly outnumbered did not weigh on his conscience, as it did for others. If they had no allies, no warriors, then so much the worse for them - Gaucho was merely a foot soldier. He did what he was told, unburdened by the grief and morality of the situation.

After watching Ariadne for a time, to ensure that she no longer posed a threat, Gaucho circled rather gracefully towards the earth, landing with a dull thud next to Aryel. His shoulder throbbed with a dull ache, as his full weight was finally placed upon it, but it was a minor thing. Perhaps ommmmnnneee would be kind enough to heal him again, once they returned home. Turning his dark muzzle towards the blue mare, his steely gaze washed over his sar-gent, ensuring that she was alright. By the look of things, she was even less damaged than he was. Folding his wings to his sides, he stood stoically next to her, scanning for Kri and My-dus.

They had come, like toy soldiers, and fell, just as quickly.

Gaucho did not take any pride in what he had done on this day, for pride was a selfish and strange emotion that a simple creature like Gaucho could not comprehend. What he did feel, was a sense of relief, that all of his recent training had allowed him to aid in herd in this invasion. Yet he knew there was much more work to be done - he had allowed the painted pegasus to hit his shoulder, which would now require Gaucho to train that muscle, or to burden ommneee with healing him. He could have done better. Sighing, he flicked his luxuriously long tail, as Mara slithered down onto his spine; covering his dorsal stripe with her gun-metal body. She cuddled against him, as much as a snake could, stealing all of the heat rising from his dark frame.

[WC: 496 Closing Defense 1/1
Summary: Lands next to Aryel after ensuring Ariadne is no longer a threat]