A split-second later the big earth stallion's head twitched—then he toppled with the boneless finality of a dropped sack of flour. Behind him, across the yard, the spent conical projectile rang a boxcar wheel like a gong. Here and there in the ranks other ponies fell in place; two of the guidons disappeared as well. The whole uniformed mass shuddered on the brink of unraveling with the loss of command.