It was technically correct that the former Princesses of Equestria lived in Silver Shoals.
The more descriptive statement would be that their retirement villa was inside the township of Silver Shoals, nestled between the shoreline and a steep hill. As she glided in, Twilight couldn't help but be reminded of Canterlot Castle and how the two-towered structure ahead looked just similar enough to evoke the original despite the vast differences in size, location and building material.
Finding Celestia was easy enough - missing a massive alicorn sunning herself on the seaward deck would have required being blind. Rather than going to the front door and forcing Celestia to get up to answer it, Twilight simply landed beside her.
The former diarch's ear twitched at the sound of hooves on wood, but she let Twilight close the gap. It was only when the younger alicorn stood over her that she spoke. "You're in my light."
"It's my light now," came the sassy reply.
And both of them broke out into laughter.
Celestia rose from the lounge chair, wrapping hooves and wings around her former student. "Twilight, it's so good to see you! It hasn't been that long but I've still missed you so."
"I missed you too." Twilight nuzzled her former teacher without even realizing it. "I know I should come around more often to visit, but--"
"But duty calls," Celestia completed with a knowing smile. "I believe I may understand that burden."
Twilight blushed. "Speaking of burdens, I'm sorry to say this isn't a social call either. I need to ask you and Luna for advice about something."
Celestia pulled away from Twilight to turn inside. "You may have to wait a few minutes, then. Luna is currently out doing her rounds but she's due back any time now. A bit of tea while we wait?"
Following, Twilight gave a small nod to affirm the question. "Her rounds? Oh! Did Luna become a doctor? No no, it hasn't been long enough for her to finish the schooling. Maybe a nurse though."
There was... a rather deep sigh from Celestia at that. "No, Twilight. My sister is not a nurse. She's--"
The front door thumped open. Luna came barreling into the kitchen with a broad grin on her face and a dark brown uniform on her body. "Sister! Today was another glorious day in the-- Oh! Greetings, Twilight Sparkle!"
The Princess of Friendship stared for a moment. "You're a mailmare?"
Celestia's long and belabored sigh confirmed it. "Please don't ask questions. She's enthusiastic about answering them."
Luna lofted her cap onto a hook - then stuck her tongue out at her sister. "I'll join both of you in a minute. I just need to change out of my uniform."
As the dark alicorn left, the other two turned back to the kitchen table. Celestia floated a plate of scones to the middle before starting the kettle. "I should probably have asked before, Twilight, but how time-sensitive is this matter? You didn't seem in a rush but I know how affairs of state can be."
"No, not too much." Twilight lifted a scone in her aura, examining it. Apple-cinnamon, and she knew the particular scent of a Sweet Apple Acres apple by heart at this point. A brief pang of nostalgia ran through her. "From what S.M.I.L.E. was able to figure out, there's another two weeks before the cult meets--"
Celestia spun around. "Cult? Did you say a cult?"
Twilight frowned deeply. "Yes, I'm afraid. And it gets worse - they appear to be worshiping..." She swallowed roughly, voice full of shame. "Me."
Of all the reactions Twilight had been expecting, Celestia letting out a cheerful whoop was not one of them. Nor was the former princess shouting down the hall. "Luna! Hurry up! Twilight has her first cult!"
The Royal Canterlot Voice echoed down the hall. "HUZZAH! It is about time!"
"What." Twilight stared gormlessly at her old mentor. This didn't make any sense.
"It took longer than we had expected," Celestia explained without actually explaining what Twilight cared about. "Though I suppose your area of rule is a bit less showy than ours was."
Twilight blinked rapidly, trying to grasp what was going on. "Wait, are you saying that you and Luna had cults? And that you expected I was going to have one too?"
Celestia laughed, as a parent laughs when their child first realizes that the parent had once been young too. "Dear Twilight, if you don't have at least one every decade or two you're probably doing something wrong."
Before Twilight could question that further, Luna entered with a towel around her neck. "So! Have they yet begun sacrifices in the name of the Great Sparkle? You must give us details."
Despite the vast number of wild and confused thoughts going through Twilight's head at that very moment, one of the more unlikely ones was what finally fought to the surface. "Never call me that again," she tensely asked Luna. "You make me sound like Trixie."
"The Great and Powerful Trixie," Luna helpfully corrected as she pulled a delicate pink teacup out of the cupboard.
Twilight pursed her lips as her face went red, trying not to shout.
Celestia broke out laughing again. "Twilight, you really should relax. You seem to think that this is a terrible crisis - it's not. It is, in fact, entirely expected and natural."
"So I should just be fine with having a cult worshiping me? Letting them be and doing who knows what in my name?" Twilight pawed the tile uneasily - she didn't like a bit of that thought.
"Oh no, you should crush them completely," answered Celestia - much to Twilight's continued confusion. "As brutally and quickly as possible."
Luna - who had picked up a scone in the meanwhile - snorted with loud derision.
The two sisters appeared about ready to argue - but Twilight interrupted them first. "Can you two please start from the beginning? I'm completely lost here. I just found there's a dark cult that worships me and reads books in the woods, and you're both excited?"
Luna, instead of helping, started to giggle. "Reads books in the woods. That's so you."
Celestia cut in before Twilight could work herself up worse. "Setting that aside for the moment, the reason my sister and I are as relaxed about this as we are is because it's perfectly normal. Consider it from the average pony's perspective - we're immortal beings of unique appearance and with great enough magical power that we have control over celestial bodies and the forces of the cosmos. Is it any surprise that some ponies would see us as divine figures?"
"In the old days," Luna said, sitting across from Twilight, "When Equestria had just begun, it wasn't uncommon. We never encouraged such things, but nor did we shy away from it. By the time of my banishment, both of us had followers of a significant size." She paused before adding, "As did Starswirl."
Quickly, Celestia interrupted with a correction. "Starswirl had a number of students who worshiped the ground he walked on in the more traditional sense."
"Wizard groupies," Luna smarmily clarified. Twilight blushed and decided to look intently at her scone. "Your idol's proclivity to collect swooning students aside, the worship of an alicorn was simply a thing that happened at the time."
"Until Nightmare Moon," Twilight half-questioned. She had a guess about where this was going.
Celestia nodded. "Yes. Until Nightmare Moon."
Things went awkwardly silent - only to be finally broken by the kettle. All three startled at the noise, but it was enough to shatter the somber introspection. Celestia lifted the kettle from the burner and continued. "After the banishment, many of Luna's followers turned down a dark path. I tried for a time to steer them from it, but most would not be swayed. Just as with Luna, the good intentions and reasonable points behind their actions became twisted."
The eldest alicorn paused, leaning over to hug her sister. Luna's previous joviality had drained away and been replaced by shame.
It was smothered completely under a second hug as Twilight came around the table to join in.
In time, the three broke apart and Celestia poured out the tea before picking up the tale once more. "In the end I had little choice but to crush those who worshiped the Nightmare. A few who had fallen too far were placed into Tartarus, but most thankfully went back to quieter lives once I had disbanded their organizations and handed out more lenient punishments." She paused to sip her tea. "The experience soured me on being worshiped as a whole. I'm still a pony - and what happened with Luna reminded me of how fallible I am. It took several generations, but I broke apart those who followed me as well."
"Soooooo you both had cults that worshiped you but you broke them up because you didn't like having an ego?" Twilight cocked her head to the side, trying to make sure that she was taking the proper moral from this.
"And that such things will go bad," Celestia noted.
"Can go bad," was Luna's correction.
"Will," came the quick counter. And Celestia sighed. "As you can see, Twilight, we've had a long-standing disagreement about this since Luna's return. She feels that there is no harm in such worship - that it is merely a way for ponies to express themselves and their views."
Luna picked up another scone and spread a bit of clotted cream on it. "And she is of the mind that even the ones formed with best intentions are corruptible and in time inevitably slide towards darkness." She popped a chunk of baked good into her mouth - and continued despite the heinous etiquette violation. "Thus 'tis better to break them early, before that path can be trod."
Twilight looked back and forth between the two former Princesses, a frown etched deep on her face. She had been hoping for advice, but this wasn't helping. "...What about Cadence? She's an alicorn too, when did she have to deal with this?"
"Your sister-in-law found a third path which, I fear, would not work for you." Celestia shook her head gently. "She chose to steer the cult she found by portraying herself as an avatar of the Crystal Heart. She became merely the stand-in for it and their worship strengthens the Heart and thus her Empire."
That did seem like a very Cadence way to handle things, but Celestia was right. That didn't help Twilight very much. She didn't have a massively powerful artifact that fed off of love to aim the cult at. Unless she did.... "Well, they like books. So what if I--"
Celestia cut in before that thought could be completed. "Twilight, I want you to think back to your singular overdue book and the adventure you had returning it. Now imagine how that would have gone if the library were staffed by religious fanatics who consider each book a sacred object."
Barely able to suppress her snickers, Luna added, "Imagine the late fees!"
Twilight's face fell.
"My advice," Celestia offered, "Is to squash this one immediately. If you decide to take a different approach later, I assure you from experience that another will appear in due time. But you are unprepared to deal with this now, my former student. And I know you're never happy with making a large choice that you rush into without proper..." She smirked with amusement. "Research."
Luna waved half a scone at Twilight. "And my advice is to leave them be. You are the Princess of Friendship - to go in and punish ponies for having an enthusiastic hobby of their own free will is anathema to who you are. You will grow used to adoration in time, Twilight. There is no avoiding it in the role you have chosen. Accept it with grace and use your position to steer them true."
Letting out a deep sigh, Twilight nodded. "Thank you - both of you. You've both given me a lot to think about. I'm sorry that I disturbed your retirement for something like--"
"Twilight, if you think you're about to leave and brood about this you are sorely mistaken." Celestia poked her purple friend with her teacup. "You've dealt with business, and now I fully expect you to stay for lunch and tell Luna and I all about how things have been for you lately."
Slinging a companionable wing across Twilight, Luna beamed. "Indeed! You have been most lax with your letters and we demand a full accounting of how all of our friends in Canterlot and Ponyville have been doing."
And just like that, the threatening malaise lifted from Twilight's brightening face. "I suppose it would be rude if I didn't. Rarity practically demanded I pass along her well-wishes next time I saw you."
"Do so. And tell us as well of the Apple newlyweds!" Luna winked playfully. "I am most curious how they have settled in."
And so the next few hours passed just as Twilight liked them - with friends.