The next day Celestia and Luna arrived home once more, thanking the guards flying their pegasus chariot before dismissing them back to their duties. “It was nice of Twilight to insist we stay the night, wasn’t it, sister?” Celestia asked as they re-entered their home.
“Indeed,” Luna said. She stifled a yawn. “I’m certain her desire to have us watch over her second attempt had little to do with it.”
“Now, Luna, you remember how it was for us in the beginning. She’s doing better than either of us did at first, I dare say.”
Luna shrugged. “She is much more confident than she used to be, that much is certain, and she took to our instruction well.” She looked up to see Celestia watching her with a critical expression, and smirked. “And yes, sister, it was fun to spend time with her again.”
Entering the kitchen, Celestia set about gathering ingredients for their lunch, floating it all onto the counters before starting to prepare sandwiches. Luna put the kettle on for tea.
“Celestia,” Luna said after a moment. “Out of curiosity, when you told Twilight about the secrets of the sun and moon we’d kept hidden, did you tell her about the others?”
Celestia shook her head, focusing on her food preparation. “No, I didn’t. I wanted to, but she’d had her understanding of the world turned upside down enough times for one day. Still, she is clever, and very good at discovering knowledge. With her full access to the restricted archives, now, she may piece together their existence from what I told her and the old records.” She glanced up. “Why do you ask?”
Luna laid out the teapot and cups as they spoke. “Mostly so I know if I need to watch my words around her still. It’s good to know what she knows so I won’t bring it up.” She added the tea leaves to the pot. After a minute she added. “I think we should check on them.”
Celestia raised a brow. “Luna, we haven’t heard a word from any of the others in over twelve hundred years. It’s not as if we’ve been hiding all that time. If they wanted to contact us, I think they would have by now.” She floated two plates to the table as the kettle started singing. Luna filled the teapot, flooding the room with the aroma. “It’s called banishment for a reason, little sister. As hard as it is to admit, I don’t think they want to see us.”
Luna frowned. “After all that time, we have no idea who is in charge or if they even care about all that. Perhaps they would be willing to forgive us and welcome us back, now that we’re retired from our royal duties.” She paused, looking down at her sandwich. Her voice was much softer when she spoke again. “I still miss them, Celestia. I want to know what’s become of them.”
Celestia nodded slowly, sitting back and looking out over the water through their window. “I miss them too, sister,” she admitted. She sighed, turning back to Luna. “Very well. It’s your turn to choose our next vacation destination, after all. When we’re ready, we will see if we can still find the village, and see what sort of reception they give us.”
Luna smiled. “Thank you, sister. It will be good to see home once more.”
The two settled in, eating their lunch and planning their trip under the midday sun.