Pocornia is walking along the path with the princesses in tow.
"And then she was talking about battlefields and spells punishable by death!" She says to Celestia.
"Oh dear..." Twilight whined.
"Tell us more" Luna insisted.
"I tried to give her mac and cheese, but then she got really angry and that was when Sapphire bonked her on the head" Pocornia atested.
Princess Celestia shot Sapphire a passive aggressive sneer/glare to which Sapphire slightly hung her head "You knocked her out?" Celestia asked for verification.
"How was I suppose to know she wasn't going to shoot magic out her eyes!" Sapphire retorted
All the ponies descend on Pocornia's home, Equestrian guards surrounding the home.
"And then we carried her into the basement..." Pocornia sheepishly confessed.
"pray tell us she does not have a lump on her head." Luna cried.
"I'm sure a ice pack will clear that up in no time." Twilight reassured.
"Well I...hit her pretty hard." Sapphire admitted.
All of the ponies entered Pocornia's home, sprawling out so that they all would fit into the somewhat small home. "Let me get the key." Pocornia said as she searched her home for the basement door key.
Princess Celestia, Luna and Twilight huddled together, exchanging worried looks amongst one another. "What is a Valkyrie?"
"I went through my library very briefly before we came here and I don't think I have any books on Valkyries." Twilight answered.
"As I said, this is unusual and I am very concerned." Celestia added.
"Celestia, you haven't told me about the orb, what it does or why you gave it to Pocornia. What is going on here?" Twilight boldly questioned.
"It is a long story Twilight. I will tell it to you another time." Celestia answered with indignation in her voice.
"I got the key!" Pocornia declared, moving towards the basement door.
Pocornia, the princesses and their entourage of guard ponies made their way down the flight of stairs. They all assembled in front of the support beam the Valkyrie was tied too. The Valkyrie sat, unconscious, her hair hanging over her face. "Hello?" Pocornia cooed.
Some of the guard ponies approached the Valkyrie. They tugged on her shoulders in an effort to awaken her, but their touch did not seem to affect her. Celestia, Luna and Twilight stood in awe of the Valkyrie. Despite Celestia and Luna's long life and Twilight's many hours of study, neither of them had ever laid their eyes on such a creature before or any creature of similar description. "I...have a counter magic spell in mind." Twilight announced.
Celestia looked around the basement, she quickly noticed that every pony was accounted for except Pocornia. Her eyes darted to Sapphire. "Where is Pocornia?"
The stairway's floorboards creaked in succession, Pocornia descending the stairs with a warm bowl of steaming mac and cheese. She approached Zoey and held the bowl under her nose, allowing the smell of mac and cheese to tempt Zoey's nostrils. Zoey begun to wiggle around, trying to work against the rope holding her to the support beam. "Why am I..." She murmured, confusion dulling at her senses.
"Its okay..." Pocornia assured "We won't hurt you, again..." Pocornia explained while glaring at Sapphire disapprovingly.
"How about some mac and cheese?" Pocornia asked "Hmmm?"
Zoey centered her gaze on the seemingly carefree pony before her. It smiled warmly at her as it presented the meal to her, looking at her with its gentle eyes. She quietly considered the possibility that she may have gotten confrontational with the pony without a credible justification. "tell me where I am and why I am here." Zoey inquired.
Pocornia lowered her mac and cheese begrudgingly, her mouth forming a sad frown. "Well, you see...I made a mistake with a magical orb. I didn't know what I was doing. Its my fault."
"I don't understand." Zoey rebutted.
"Its a long story, but one thing at a time." Pocornia replied.
Pocornia stepped back to give Pocornia some space. She allowed Zoey a moment to look around, watching her gaze hop across all the different ponies in the room. Pocornia decided to introduce them all. "That is princess Celestia." Pocornia said with a quick point of her hoof.
"How do you do?" Celestia politely asked.
Pocornia pointed Luna out. "And that is princess Luna."
"Glad tidings, we are friendly." Luna explained.
Zoey arched her back and struggled against her binds. "I want to be released now." she stated in a flat tone.
Twilight stepped forward and gave Zoey a gentle nod. "My name is Twilight Sparkle and I am the princess of friendship. My friends and I are really excited to spend time with you."
"I just want to return to my home." Zoey angrily pleaded.
Pocornia quickly shielded herself with her arms. "Don't worry, If i can get you here then I can send you back. I just have to figure out how, but it'll take awhile."
Zoey never considered finding herself in a situation such as the one she was now in. It made her question the very reason of her being. She was a Valkyrie, a winged battle maiden charged with the purpose of delivering judgement and death to the unclean in the most barbaric manner describable. Her world, the world she was removed from, can't possibly be anything like the one governed by the common animals surrounding her. She had to momentarily ponder how she could end up in such a world. "I need to return to my home, I have a duty to my people."
Celestia stepped forth and gave Zoey a empathetic nod. "I understand more than you know and I assure you that we will do everything within our power to return you to your world as quickly as possible. However, we must first investigate the matter of how you got here and how we can mitigate any potential problems that may arise from your presence here. Our world is not a place of misery, violence and war..." Celestia explained while she shifted her gaze to Pocornia. "My subject will bring us the orb for us to inspect.
"I'll go get it..." Pocornia interjected while she purposefully made her way up the basement stairs.