If there was one word to describe a part of Crescent Moon, it would be nurturing.
From the time she was a fledgling, the thestral knew she had a deep love for caring for others. Be it a child, adolescent, adult, or even a senior, Crescent never made an exception when it came to her maternal side. It wasn’t something that just happen to come out of nowhere, but part of it that had always been there. She couldn’t understand it when unable to form cohesive thoughts for feelings, so it wasn’t much of importance. All of this changed once Crescent reached a certain age where she would be able to.
She could still recall when she first felt the feeling of maternity blossom in her. Lunar Blade, her older brother, and Crescent herself were at Athan’s Silver Wolf Hospital with friends of her brother. A new member was going to be in their lives, and they wanted her family with them when it happened. Being a mere five-year-old at the time, Crescent couldn’t see the birth and not because it was feared she would do anything. None of it stopped her from asking questions about it, or if it would happen to her one day.
It was only thanks to her natural-born patience that Crescent Moon didn’t become restless from wanting to see her new friend. She had been allowed into the delivery room due to good behavior and being someone that her brother’s parents knew. Her aunt and uncle figure were inside, sheets covering the former as she lay on the bed while the latter stood just next to her. Another blanket was in the mare’s forelegs with a little bundle safely concealed in it. Protected from the cold.
“Hello Crescent Moon. I’m so glad you could make it here,” Natura cooed as the thestral filly sat down in front of her. “Were you waiting long?”
“No, I wasn’t. It wasn’t that long at all! Big Bro was with me outside,” Crescent squeaked sweetly, her little fangs glinting as she smiled at the unicorn. “Is my new friend here now?”
“He sure is, and pretty quickly too,” Whitehawk replied jovially. “He isn’t up for meeting anyone right now, but you can still see him if you’d like.”
Crescent Moon looked around the room. “I don’t see him. Is he hiding from me because he’s scared of me? I won’t hurt him, I swear!”
“No Cressy, he’s not,” Lunar soothed, stroking his sister’s midnight blue mane. “Your new friend’s actually right in front of you.”
Shifting her eyes back to Natura, Crescent Moon looked at the wrapped blanket in the mare’s encircled forelegs. Brown merged with black contrasted it, showing that something was in it, piquing Crescent’s curiosity. Stepping closer, she peaked over the flaps and found herself looking at the chubby face of a newborn foal.
“Crescent Moon, I want you to meet the new addition to our family,” Natura introduced, shifting the foal so the fledgling could see him fully. “And your new playmate.”
As the infant’s appearance burned itself in Crescent’s mind like flames on wood, something happened that would not be understood until years later. A feeling unknown to her took over in that second, and the thestraless found herself moving towards the baby. Nobody stopped Crescent’s advances even as she sat right in front of Natura. Looking at her infant colt like he was a rare treasure that had just been discovered.
“Wow… this is my new friend?” Whispers made up the volume of Crescent’s voice as her pink eyes lit with wonder only a child could produce. “He’s… so tiny.”
“Isn’t he?” Whitehawk chuckled as he sported a small grin. “I honestly wasn’t expecting him to be that small. He looks almost as small as you were when you were a baby!”
“Really?” Crescent Moon asked, head turning towards her brother.
“As if!” Lunar Blade shouted, his laid-back voice holding an undertone of chastity. “Don’t listen to Uncle Whitehawk, Cressy. You were not that small. Big bro can assure you that you were as big as this little guy. Since your older though, that isn’t the case here.”
Air expanded in Crescent’s cheeks as she pouted. “I know that! You told me that babies grow while getting older! Isn’t that what happened to you when you were a baby?!”
“Er...yeah. I thought you didn’t know,” Lunar confirmed, looking more than a little bit embarrassed.
“I know lots of stuff about you Lunie!” Crescent Moon giggled mischievously. “Probably more than you think!”
Blueness fell across Lunar’s face like wet paint sliding down a colorless wall by his sister’s innocent teasing, strengthened by the mirthful laughter of the others. It probably would’ve gone one had it not been for a certain someone making their presence known at that moment. Coos were the first sounds to emerge, quieting down the laughter and bringing all eyes to the source of the sound.
“Uh-oh. It looks like someone got woken up by all the chatter.” Natura laughed as her son opened his eyes. “And after I just got him to settle down.”
“If by settling down you mean letting him snuggle into you, congratulations,” Whitehawk said with a roll of his blue eyes. “Seriously, he wasn’t even crying much when he arrived. All he did was flail around a bit until we got him wrapped up.”
“Probably because he had enough of being cooped for so long,” Lunar guessed, remembering all the times he felt Natura’s baby kick around when allowed to touch her stomach. “Not that I blame him.”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case considering how tough my pregnancy was,” Natura agreed, deciding not to go into the details. “But it looks like he’s happy it’s over now… and curious about his new friend too.”
Whinnies from the baby stopped the teasing Crescent was giving her brother and redirected her eyes on him. His failing forelegs were the first to recatch the filly’s attention as he stretched them out towards her. It was like he was saying that he wanted Crescent to hold him instead of the one whose womb he just exited. As if sensing that was what he wanted, the thestral filly looked at her surrogate aunt. Asking the silent question Natura could see instantly.
“Would you like to hold him, Crescent Moon?”
“Can I?” She asked hesitantly.
“Of course! Besides, he looks like he’d rather be in your embrace,” Natura said, her voice feigning hurt. “And here I thought I’d be the one he would be most comfortable with. Crescent Moon you traitor~!”
“Honey!” Whitehawk scolded playfully.
Extending her forelegs out, Crescent Moon let Natura set her son in them, blanket and all. Slowly and gingerly, the filly encircled her front appendages around the infant and pressed him against her chest. Her orbs of pink stared into his ones of brown and blue, barely noticing him grasping at the strands of her mane.
“He’s so light…” She commented as he babbled and giggled. “It’s like I’m holding an apple in my hooves.”
“It’s how many infants start out dear,” Natura explained. “I can’t stay the same for other species like griffins, dragons, or sphinxes. But I’m sure you were smaller since you are half-bat.”
“It’s not gonna last forever. Just wait until he gets older. He will be at your size in no time,” Lunar murmured, green eyes shimmering. “Not that you’ll stay as small as you are now, but it’ll come.”
Crescent Moon smiled. “That just means I’ll be able to keep hugging him like this!” Her smile went down as she eyed the baby’s parents. “I’ll be able to keep hugging him while he’s growing right?”
“You sure will! And you’d better be ready whenever he feels sad or needs one!” Whitehawk said mirthfully, lowering his head to meet the filly’s eyes. “Till then, you can do it like this. Just remember to be careful. You don’t want him to hurt himself even when you’re holding him.”
“I will!” Crescent squeaked. “I’ll make sure that I’m extra, extra, extra careful with… um…”
“Right, you don’t know his name yet. Natura?”
“I know,” She nodded to her husband, motioning Crescent to move closer to her.
Tenderly taking ahold of her face, she whispered into the filly’s right ear, pretending not to notice Lunar Blade’s frown at her action. It lasted for two seconds before the unicorn leaned back so she could let Crescent digest what she said. Her eyes gleamed in surprise as they eyed the colt’s own again, taking notice of the four tiny pointed teeth being displayed from his smile. Feeling another pull at her lips, she brought his nose to hers to nuzzle them as she cooed his name and a greeting.
“Nice to meet you… Goldenite.”
Crescent Moon’s feelings towards the vulnerable and the innocent were never the same after that.
Since that fateful encounter, maternity blossomed within the thestral like a flower sprouting for the first time. It started off slow, with frequent visits to see friends feeding that feeling and helping it grow stronger and sturdier. Other sources outside of her childhood friends’ families helped in maintaining it until Crescent was able to do it herself. It was her favorite thing to do out of all of her hobbies whenever she had free time from school or other extracurricular activities. It grew to the point where she was given the affectionate nickname ‘Mother Moonie’. A name that, even twenty years later, was still worn with pride by Crescent like a badge of honor.
Out of those that she cared for; Lunar Blade was the one who needed the least of it. Well, it was expected since he was a grown stallion and was more than capable of providing for himself with no one’s help. Equestria and its many dangers were definitely to thank for that.
None of this was to say that Lunar Blade didn’t end up relying on his Crescent to care for him. As proven when he ended up getting sick with the flu one day and had to stay home. Luckily for him, Crescent was more than prepared and willing to be his temporary caretaker until Lunar got better. Even going as far as to cancel plans she made for friends. Much to the guilt that he kept expressing during their tender moment of bonding.
“Crescent Moon, are you really okay with staying here?” Lunar asked for the umpteenth time that afternoon. “You know you don’t have to do all this for me. I’m totally fine with you going out with your friends and coming back later.”
The sounds of a knife cutting through apples stopped as Crescent paused in her making of her brother’s snack. It was quickly made up by a sigh from someone who was more than a little tired of repeatedly being asked the same question. Hoof clops thumping from afar took came after it and Lunar found himself looking into the annoyed face of his sister from behind the kitchen wall.
“Lunie! For the hundredth time, it’s fine!” Crescent said, her sweet voice doing a not-so-well job of hiding her annoyance. “I’m not mad about deciding to treat your flu for you! It’s not like anyone else is going to do it! I’m the only one here other than you!”
“I know, but still… I feel kind of bad.” Lunar murmured as Crescent went back into the kitchen. Had it not been for the sensitivity in their ears, they would not have been able to hear each other. “You had plans with friends today in advance and you dropped to be with my sick butt. It’s making me wish I didn’t in the first place.”
“I did warn you not to take so many missions at once,” Crescent commented, continuing on with her task. “I appreciate you planning a special trip for me, but the length you went was completely unnecessary! I still remember how scared I was when you suddenly collapsed after coming home last night!”
Lunar winced. “…Yeah, I’m sorry about that. It was idiotic of me to not look after myself first while taking so many missions like that. You warned me so many times, but I was too stubborn. And it ended up costing me.”
“It certainly did mister!” While he did not see it, Lunar could feel Crescent’s disapproving frown. “Fangs of Selene! You’re just like ninety percent of those wizards at Uncle Whitehawk’s guild! If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were working there instead of at the Lenora Guild!”
“Feels that way.” Lunar chuckled as Crescent exited the kitchen with the plate of apples in her forehooves. “Guess their unique ways were rubbing off on me.”
“Yes, and not in the fun ways either,” Crescent concluded, the plate giving a clink as she set it on their living room table. “Honestly brother, it’s like you have a thrill for pushing yourself until you’re spent! It’s not surprising considering where we live, but still! It’s not a comforting fact at all!”
“Well, someone has to pay the bills in order for us to keep living.” Lunar pointed out as his sister sat down next to his disheveled head. “It would be easier if Athan wasn’t so expensive, but I have to keep at it if we want to keep this house. You wouldn’t have anywhere to go otherwise.”
Crescent’s brows met to make a triangular shape as a soft sigh left her sabered lips. “I know, and I’m grateful to you for your kindness to me, Lunie. I just wish you’d be kind to yourself sometimes when you do things like this. It makes me feel like you don’t even care what happens to you. Only about me.”
“Why shouldn’t I? You’re my sister, and I’m the only family you have.” Lunar explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. At his sister’s glare, he coughed in his hoof. “Sorry… the only family you have by blood. I have no doubt Uncle Whitehawk’s family will take care of you should anything happen to me. But you can’t deny I’m the most responsible for taking care of you.”
“Exactly!” Crescent agreed. “And for that reason, you should care for yourself too! My well-being isn’t the only one you should be concerned about! Selfishness is okay sometimes, and I think now is the perfect time for that!”
A quiet moment passed before Lunar let out a laugh. “You know, even though you’re my sister, it almost feels like you’re like my Mom. Where did this maternal side of yours come from?”
“It was always there but was hidden.” Crescent cooed, brushing some of her brother’s blue mane. “It just came out after Goldenite arrived. It’s been here ever since.”
“… Nevermind, I just got my reminder.”
Giggles and chuckles filled the living room for a bit after that before the siblings quieted down. A blissful silence replaced it as they sat on the couch and took comfort in each other’s warmth. Two minutes into it, Lunar cut it open with a peculiar question.
“Hey sis… do you enjoy this?”
“Enjoy what, bro?”
“Taking care of others?”
Feeling her ears stand up from that, Crescent Moon’s head lowered to look at her brother. “What do you mean?”
“Does doing things like this for other people make you happy?” Lunar emphasized. “I notice how you go out of your way to make sure everyone is cared for in some way. I’ve met a share of kids like that, but not as much as you are. It isn’t something that’s easy, and I was wondering how you really felt about that.”
Crescent Moon blinked slowly, taking in her brother’s words like the juice from a mango while she thought up a response. It was true she had more or less taken the role of caregiver for everyone she knew, from her brother to her youngest friends. Never before did she stop and think about how it made her feel or if it even gave her fulfillment or misery. Mainly because ensuring the needs of family and friends kept Crescent occupied to the point where she hardly had time to think of it. With only Lunar’s flu to keep her busy, Crescent found herself really mulling it. Pros and cons and all.
“Well… it’s exhausting.” She began leaning back on the armrest of their couch. “It wasn’t like that at first, and I felt like I had the energy to keep it up. I really believed I could when I was younger, and I thought I could continue it without getting tired of it.”
Lunar’s cheeks stretched out into a smile as he laughed. “That’s what a lot of kids think… so when did you begin to feel the effects?”
“Sometime after I turned fourteen.” Solemnness flooded his sister’s reply. “Until that time, I didn’t think how much work it would take to care for someone and how much it would take out of me. I think I have a better understanding of how much work you put in to support us because of it.”
‘As if you didn’t sort of understand already.’ Lunar thought internally.
“Yet… despite that, I don’t hate it at all. It can be tiring sometimes, but it’s still enjoyable. It fills something in me that I can’t really understand. I think it’s because… there are so many important people in my life that I want to see safe. See happy and not get hurt. And I feel like as long as I’m here… it’ll stay that way.” A new color matching the color of Crescent’s eyes took over that of her coat as she paused. “I’m sorry! I didn’t me to go on like that!”
“Nah, it’s fine,” Lunar reassured. “I feel the same when I look after you. And while it does get tiring at times, I do it because I want to. Not cause it’s some obligation. No one cared for me when I was a fledgling and I know the cons that it has. I didn’t want you to experience that.”
“…Is that why you took me with you when you ran away from our parents after you became an adult?” Crescent asked sensitively.
“If you’re able to come up with a guess like that, you have a good idea of what my life was like with them.” Lunar sighed, slightly furrowing his brows.
‘Probably best not to ask either way.’ Crescent thought, deciding not to question her older brother about his childhood.
“Anyway… it’s great to hear that all of this caring and nurturing you’re doing is bringing you some form of joy. It’s certainly not something everyone is up for. Selene knows Equestrian Islanders are not always up for it.” Lunar’s continuation of his talking helped his sister dispel her darker thoughts. “Just… don’t let anything change it into something horrible, okay sis? Some do take advantage of others’ kindness to get something. If you’re not careful, it’ll happen to you too. And it might end up being gone forever.”
“Are you saying that I should watch out for whoever I’m kind to? Even my friends?”
“…Whoever may try to use your compassion against you,” Lunar replied, not wanting to make it sound like her friends may become some of the creatures he feared. “Your friends are great kids and I feel you’ll get more. It’s why I hope it’ll stay like that. Even when they become adults and endure the setbacks life gives them. I see something good in them and in you too that can be destroyed if things go wrong.”
Crescent hung to her brother’s every word as she formulated a question. “So… what do want me to do?”
“I want you to make a promise that no matter what, you won’t let anyone take advantage of your kindness. And that you will not let what you go may through in your life make you or anyone you cherish into something else.” Lunar replied seriously. “It’s a cruel world with creatures that’ll go out of their way to hurt others and people like you are targets that're riper than mango. No matter where any of you go or who you encounter there will be at least one person who attempts to do so.”
He rolled over on his barrel so he could set his gaze directly on his little sister. “You have a type of kindness that few people have in this world that can turn into something more. I know that you can’t see it yet, but it’s there and you will find it someday. Please, don’t let it get taken away from you… whatever it takes.”
Crescent slowly blinked at her brother. A little taken aback by how he was speaking and what he was telling her. It wasn’t often she heard Lunar speak like this unless it was for something that he wanted her to know. Past talks like this did not leave her feeling like she was right now. It was like Lunar wanted her to hang onto every word he told her. As if he knew what was in store for her in the future.
Crescent didn’t know what it could be, or what would happen that could threaten what she would become down the road. But it was clear that Lunar did not want her to be anything like what he’d encountered in the past. Whatever she’d face, Crescent could see that her brother wanted to see to it that it would not destroy her. Or worse, make her into something far worse than the beings in Equus and Equestria.
“I… I promise big brother.” She replied softly, partially realizing she hadn’t said anything for some time. “I don’t know what will happen to me that makes you so afraid that I’ll become something bad, and I’m scared of what it could be. But… if it’ll make you feel any better, I promise you I’ll-”
“No. Don’t promise me. And don’t do it just to put me at ease.” Lunar sternly interrupted. “Promise yourself, Crescent Moon. Don’t do it for my sake or anyone else’s. Make that promise for you and yourself alone. No one else.”
Crescent sat there with her mouth somewhat agape but managed to give a slow nod. “I promise myself I won’t let my kindness be used against me. And I won’t let myself become those horrible people that go out of their way to hurt so many. I’m scared about what will happen to me when I grow up and I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle it. But if making this promise to me will help me, then… I’ll do it.”
“That’s all I ask.” Gentleness took its place back in Lunar’s voice as he spoke. “Sorry about all that sis… I didn’t mean to drop all that on you. I just wanted you to be prepared for what may happen to you when you face the world on your own. And what could happen if I’m not here.”
“No, I understand. You’re just looking out for me and don’t want me to be hurt. Selene knows that I’m the same way when you come back all battered and bruised from your missions.” Crescent giggled at her brother’s annoyed glare before a frown replaced her smile. “I just hope you don’t go away too soon, but if you do, I want you to know I’m thankful for everything you’ve done for me. I don’t know where I’d be if you hadn’t done all you did or been as kind to me as you have now so… thank you.”
“Hey, that’s what big brothers and sisters do for little siblings.” Lunar shrugged, bringing Crescent in a one-armed hug. “And I’m thankful to have one like you in my life. You’re the best thing that happened to me and I am so proud of how much you’ve grown. I’m prouder of who you are, and I can’t wait to see who you will become in the future.”
“I hope so big brother…” Crescent breathed, snuggling in her brother’s chest. While her voice was muffled, the following words were still audible. “I really do hope so.”
From that conversation onward, Crescent Moon continued to push herself to be who her brother believed she could be.
It wasn’t that she wasn’t doing it already, but something about Lunar’s words gave her a reignited drive that she felt was slipping. While Crescent did want to live up to his expectations, she did it for her own sake rather than Lunar. As was the promise that she made him at the time while in the stages of adolescents. She supposed it was because of the disadvantages that came when improving for someone else and not yourself that such a promise was made. While Crescent couldn’t disagree about living for one’s own sake, she didn’t see it as entirely wrong to do it for someone else’s either. In the end, she decided that it was important to find a balance between both, which she acknowledged having trouble with.
Even with these struggles, Crescent never let her kindness be wavered or taken over by her more negative emotions. Not even when she eventually lost Lunar to a wolf attack less than a year after he recovered from his flu. She could remember it all. From the metallic spell of her brother’s blood to the mournful wails of the ambulance sirens. Concluded by the deathly silence of waiting to hear of the stallion’s fate.
Crescent could still remember the last words her brother told her before he was left at the mercy of the Silver Wolf Hospital. Six words punctured into her brain like the canines of a jaguar into the shell of a turtle. Cemented into her heart to where it would be the driving force to make her keep moving.
“Never trade your compassion for cruelty.”
His death was confirmed less than half an hour later.
Most in her position would have been expected to blame the medical professionals. To take their grief out on them for not succeeding in what they were relied on for. It was certainly what those working on Lunar were expecting from Crescent as she collapsed in sorrow. Even a curse or slap would’ve sufficed for them if that was what it took to make the filly feel better.
None of it came.
To the disbelief of all at the deathbed of Lunar Blade, Crescent didn’t give the doctors or nurses one ounce of cruelty. She instead expressed her gratitude and gratefulness to them for giving all they had to help Lunar keep his life. It was amped up further when Crescent hugged the one doctor that tried multiple times to revive her brother. Going as far as to thank him for not only trying to ease Lunar’s pain but for being there for him in his final moments.
Not one pair of eyes were dry in that room.
With her only guardian and living relative dead, Crescent was taken in by the caretakers of Athan Orphanage. Since she was a minor, she needed someone to look after her until she was of legal age. Her brother’s house was put under the ownership of the Athan Climate Court, but it was decided Crescent would claim when she became an adult. Several years passed before Crescent departed from the orphanage, where she got a job as an adventurer. Prior to that time, friends would come to visit her, making sure she was not forgotten and vice versa.
Numerous as the new responsibilities in her life were, the thestral did her best to never forget her big brother. Nor the compassion he showed her during his life and time in Yaban. Crescent didn’t know where Lunar was now, but she was certain he was with Selene herself. Resting eternally in the shadowy gardens of their goddess while watching over her as a star in the night.
Time continued on, and Crescent grew into a beautiful and benevolent mare. Just like her brother believed she would since that night so long ago. New faces came and went in her life, some leaving and others staying. Either in the form of new friends or people that would be nothing more than an afterthought shifting the course of her future. It mattered not to Crescent since those she did have helped to fill that void. A few good friends were better than a hundred fake ones.
Lunar still lived on in her in spite of it and each night she would visit the deceased stallion and tell him of her day. Sometimes asking how he was doing, as if he was not in Elysium and still there with her. Crescent knew it wasn’t the same, and Lunar would never be there for her how he was before, but it gave her comfort to talk to him regardless. Oftentimes, she would wonder if her big brother was able to hear her. Or if he was even listening to her rambling as he used to when she was a little filly. Ignorant and blissful of the cold unforgiving world that claimed Lunar’s life.
Inevitably, new events took place around Crescent, filling up the forefront of her mind and making her slowly forget her brother. Leaving Lunar as an afterthought that would occasionally pop up before dissipating like mist in the air. But Crescent’s promise to herself continued to thrive in her heart, not to be shaken nor wavered. Not since that night when the two siblings shared their last moments together before Elysium and Equestria separated them. It was a promise never to be forgotten by anyone or anything. Not even by the island that Crescent would and always will call her home.
