Celestia and Luna had promised the family they would search the area for the serpent to make sure he was gone for good. Searching a few miles from the coastline would only take an hour and a half at the most, so the sisters decided they had time to spare. Celestia and Luna performed a simple Air Bubble Spell before plunging into the ocean.
At first, the search was going well. The trashing waters were calming. There was no sign of the serpent for a mile, and it looked like the search would finish early. The sisters entered a coral reef, and thought this was good because it meant they could ask the ocean life if they've seen the serpent. But all the sea creatures in the the area fled at the sight of the sisters and refused to answer any questions. Celestia was getting frustrated, and that only made the fish more hasty to swim away. The sisters were starting to leave the reef. Luna thought she was daydreaming when she saw a little blue fish swimming after them.
"Hey, I'm Ralph!" The blue fish said. "You look like you're looking for something. I can help if you want."
"Thank you Ralph, I'm Princess Celestia, and this is my sister Princess Luna." Celestia said.
"Oh, I've heard of you sisters. It work differently down here in the ocean. We have a bunch of different Kingdoms. There the Fish Kingdom, the Carnivorous Fish Kingdom, the Shark Kingdom, the Sea Mammal Kingdom, the Shellfish Kingdom, the Invertebrate Kingdom, the ......" Ralph ranted.
"Yes. You said you can help us. We were wondering if you saw a black serpent passing through." Celestia and Luna told Ralph about the attack on the family.
"A hippocampi?! Is Magenta alright?" Ralph said, eyes wide with worry.
"Yes, she's alright. How do you know her name? We never mentioned it." Luna asked suspiciously.
"Um, well you see..." Ralph started, his voice full of embarrassment. "I've been following her around the coastline for awhile. She's so nice and kind to us little fish who everypony thinks are insignificant, and pretty too...." Ralph sighed with contentment. When he realized the sisters were watching him, the dreamy look fled from his eyes. "Anyways, um, I like Magenta that's all." If fish were able to blush, Ralph would have turned tomato red. "About the serpent, as a matter of fact I did see him passing through. What a water trasher and current hog! Never seen a serpent ruder. He went down there in the underwater cave network."
"What!? There is an underwater cave network?" Celestia gasped.
"Yep." Ralph replied. "Something wrong?"
"It will take us hours to search the area now!" Luna whined.
"Well, we still have to do it to make sure those ponies are safe. Even away from our throne, the kingdom comes first." Celestia said.
"I must be going now. Goodday to you Celestia, and you as well Luna. May our paths cross once more." Ralph said, and with a twirl of his tail and a flash of blue he was gone.
Once the sisters found an entrance to the underground tunnels they began their search. Both were confident their Bubble Spells would hold after years of honing them. The sisters gave a nod before plunging into the darkness. They illuminated their horns and started the search. Celestia didn't like the tunnels. Even with the golden light coming from her horn, the tunnel still was picth black. The rock walls were narrow and smooth, and Celestia could not find any signs of life. The tunnels curved up and down, left and right, branching off into different directions. Luckily, Luna was using magic to leave a glowing white stripe on the wall so the sisters would be able to find their way out of the dark maze.
The hours melted away. The tunnel system was so complex and confusing, with unexpected dead ends or passages that led back to where you started. Celestia and Luna kept doubling back, and trying other tunnels. Some tunnels could barely sqeeze the sisters through them, while others were as big as a sea monster. The erie darkness seemed to devour light. At last, when the sisters were satisfied that the serpent was gone for good, they retraced their steps back to the edge of the reef. The sisters swam to the surface and poped their Bubble Spells, enjoying fresh air at last. They flew to the shore where the family was waiting, the sun and wind drying off most of the water. Forest ran to meet the sisters, Magenta dragging herself after her. Breezy Current came more slowly, as if she were nervous about something.
"Hiya!!!" Forest said as the sister landed on the beach. She skidded to a halt in front of them. Magenta dragged herself across the golden sand and then sat down next to Forest. "How was your search?" Celestia remembered the dark tunnels and errie blackness.
"It wasn't my idea of a vacation, that's for sure." Luna replied. "The area is rid of that serpent. Not a trace of him." She added as Breezy came up behind her daughters.
"Oh thank you for sparing so much time on us! You were gone for hours!" Breezy exclaimed. "The girls do want to give you something." Celestia was about to say the needed no rewarding, but then Magenta spoke up.
"This is a gift that I have carried for a long time. I have the ability to kindspeak, which means to talk sense, kindness, and compassion into a creature. And they listen." Magenta paused. "Once there was a sailor, and everyday he went out sailing. But a terrible sea monster kept destroying his boats. I came along and talked to the monster. He calmed down and vowed to never bother the sailor again. That sailor gave me a gift, and because of my ability to kindspeak it is of no use to me. I feel that you need it much more than we do. When ever you need kindness, compassion, sense, or love call apon it. " Magenta held out a beautiful white sea shell. Celestia blinked.
"I don't understand." She said. The hippocampus smiled.
"You will when the time is right." She replied.