Adagio flinched, dropping the pen she’d been dragging across a map to scrawl out a shape across Canterlot City and Crystal City.

“Adagio?” X muttered as he tilted his head at the siren who had just been in the middle of the sentence she didn’t finish, “Why would Twilight Sparkle be at Canterlot Highschool if she’s enrolled in Crystal Prep?”

Adagio didn’t answer, only feeling a tug at her chest that made her clutch her necklace. The same tug she felt when Aria had been taken by Enjin and even more recently, when her baby sister was assaulted and mugged.

“Sonata…,” she whispered breathlessly before looking towards the river just in time to see a blue hand thrash above the surface before going under.

Adagio’s entire nervous system shocked and her eyes were wide.

“SONATA!”

Her scream was out as she bolted towards the river with a similarly stunned Aria and soon X in tow. Sonata Dusk sank to the bottom, rolling with the current as a limp body before three forms jumped in after her. X's hands grabbed the drowning siren and carried her to those of her pod.

It was a godsend Adagio was protective of her pod. When they found themselves human, that didn’t change. What did change was what might need to be done if a human got hurt. So she’d looked into fixing the issues that might arise should she not be able to get a human doctor. Multiple chest compressions, blowing breaths of air into Sonata’s throat, and a heart full of fear later resulted in Sonata Dusk gasping and hacking up river water, phlegm, and some mucus. Adagio Dazzle panted from exertion and held her little sister, letting her continue to cough and purge the water out.

Adagio Dazzle just tried drawing in her breath and slowing down her racing heart while doing the same for her sister. There might be a time anger born of worry could cause her to shout, demand to know what her baby sister was thinking. This wasn’t the time. Instead she and Aria just helped prop her up and rub her back to not interfere with her purging.

A shadow cast over them after a series of footsteps and she looked up to see Monster X looming over them. Aria and Adagio had both been so focused on Sonata they hadn’t noticed him pace away after Sonata regained consciousness and started coughing up river water and sick. After helping lift and carry Sonata out of the water, he’d stepped aside to let Adagio perform CPR. Now he was back, gently reaching out to touch Sonata’s shoulder and hold it.

“Will she be alright?”, he quietly spoke in a tone at odds with the situation.

“Y-Yes, for now,” Adagio heaved as she weakly nodded, having winded herself physically and emotionally while saving her sibling, “She’ll need a doctor to double check.”

“I can drive us,” Aria whispered as she helped hold Sonata’s head up, “You’re too drained to.”

Sonata hacked up and spat out the last bits of water, heaving for breath as sore, reddened eyes looked up to Adagio, then to Aria, and then to X. She shrank down and felt a salt sting at her wettening eyes, spurring Aria and Adagio to cradle her more. Monster X remained still, but the way he was holding himself and the look upon his eyes told Adagio he was frowning. He reached out and with the same hands Adagio had seen bash a door down and carry a load heavier than she was, very gently caress Sonata’s scalp until her shivers slowed. His eyes remained closed the whole time.

“Can you two take care of her?” he whispered.

“Yes,” Aria sighed as she looked up to him with a sort of understanding, like she knew what was on his mind in a way Adagio was clueless too.

X nodded and shifted. When Adagio saw him open his eyes again she would have gasped had she not been so focused on her sibling.

X’s irises were surrounded in a sea of black sclera, and the red in them was changed in hue from a dull crimson or cinnabar to a burning, almost bloody scarlet. He was shaking slightly as he got up and Adagio could swear she saw him growing slightly, muscles tightening up under the looser parts of his attire and his hair started to darken. He immediately started to pace away, biting back the pain of the transformation mid stride. She could now see that his copy of the Twilight Sparkle map he and Adagio had been working on was now visible in his other hand.

“X? W-Where are you going?!” Adagio called out as he started to storm off.

She was so confused she’d have risen had she not had Sonata on her lap and Aria’s hand on her shoulder. To her growing confusion, said cousin only quietly whispered, “Be careful” in a way Adagio could tell it wasn’t principally aimed at her. The purple siren knew that look in her significant other's eye, pure conviction working through wrath. At this point it was best to stand back and let him do his job.