The cool splash of water against her chest and belly felt refreshing, and for the first part of the swim, Lace enjoyed it. Her round torso had a sort of buoyancy that made it easier to swim, but then everything began to get waterlogged, and by time they reached Tinuvel, Lace felt as if she could barely keep her head above water. Her legs shook as she climbed up onto the familiar pebbled beach, but her blue eyes were fastened to their colors alone, rather than the scenery laid out before them. Ironclad’s words sounded distant, and she could barely understand what he was saying. She didn’t try to understand what he was saying.


The spotted girl made it a few steps free from the water when she collapsed on the shore. Her breathing was labored, the salt water coated her sleek Atlantis hair quickly turning into sweat. A groan escaped her lips that she had meant to bite back, hating the sound of her own pain, and hated it even more when others could hear it. The strain of the swim had forced Lace into labor, making her start this fight already exhausted. Still, stubborn by nature, she struggled and fought until at last the child was free of her body a few hours later.


Lace’s entire body quivered as she lifted her head to peer back at the spotted body at her hind legs. Alive; the child was alive and already showing its strength. A smile tugged at Lace’s lips, but instead of tending to the foal, the pony mare laid her head back down. Blue eyes finally looked out to the dark colored pines against the Tinuvel sky. All this time, she had longed to be home, and she was finally here. The place she knew in her heart she belonged. “I’ll wait for you here, Ironclad….” she murmured, her eyes beginning to cloud over. “But don’t keep me waiting too long…” As Lace took her last breath, she did it with a small smile on her lips and a happiness of knowing that she was finally home.