Legend of the Sword Heroine

Deep in the cottage, the young raccoon girl was sipping on the stew that Zecora prepared, enjoying the woman's company who wasn't just eating but also meditating. How exactly was this being accomplished...?

The girl must have concluded that this woman must have a lot of patience and physical skill to focus on both tasks.

Oh, well... best not to say anything. She needed all the quiet she could get if she was trying to meditate. For now, the girl just sipped her stew and her mind drifted back to other worries.

After she was rested, what exactly would be her next course of action? She had no idea where to go or what her goal was. For the moment, she was... completely hopeless.

Her ears overheard another sip as she quietly thought about her actions... Zecora was quietly chewing and meditating.

Ignoring it, the girl focused on her meal and had other things on her mind. As for the dark-skinned woman, she eventually opened her eyes and took a deep breath.

The girl swallowed the chewed-up bits and looked at the woman. "Something on your mind?" She questioned her.

Zecora shook her head. "Not really, no. Have you tried meditating?" She inquired.

The raccoon girl's action response was to shake her head. "Not really... no. My mind is focused on other things." She responded, taking a sip.

Zecora hummed with a smile. "Like your plan after you've recovered your strength?"

“Yeah. Are you a mind reader or something?” The girl wondered.

Zecora, keeping her smile, closed her eyes and thought at the same time.

How can one eat and think quietly, The girl thought in her mind.

Finishing up the soup, Zecora opened her eyes and looked at the girl. “You mentioned that you did not know your name at all?” She questioned.

"Nothing at all. I did tell you I awoke in the forest in my birthday suit." She responded, reminding her.

"Yes... you told me. That might be complicated if I have to introduce you to anyone important." Zecora replied, scratching her chin.

The raccoon girl frowned before opening her mouth. "Someone important? Like who?" She questioned.

"I know many of the citizens around Equis, not to mention that I'm also a friend to a group of girls that live outside of the Everfree Forest," Zecora explained and then paused, frowning once more. "Oh, dear..."

"Oh, dear? Oh, dear... what?" The raccoon questioned.

"Someone may arrive in my hut to question who you are. Depending on their reactions or not, you may become the center of attention." Zecora explained, rubbing her chin more aggressively.

It would seem that she hadn't even come to that conclusion yet. How wonderful this was! Waking up in the body of a woman, naked in the forest, and now this! More attention that she didn't need!

"So, what do I need to do then?" She questioned Zecora.

"First things first..." Zecora began after a small silence of thinking. "Tell me if you remember anything from before. Perhaps
your memory isn't as gone as you can imagine." She encouraged.

The girl wasn't sure about that yet shrugged before going silent to think. What was the last thing she remembered...? Something about books? Weapons, maybe...?

She halted... remembering something... a store... with books. Ah! That's it! She remembered that part!

"O-okay... I was in a store, searching for a book... if I remember correctly." She began as Zecora hummed without saying a word.

The raccoon girl decided to continue thinking on what else happened before being summoned to this land without explanation. "This happened when I was still a boy, I think... Searching for books and then stumbling upon one called Legend of the Sword Heroine."

Zecora's ears perked up along with her eyes widening a little bit. "Is that so...? What happened next...?" She questioned.

Raccoon girl scratched her head. What happened next...? First, she opened the book and then... then... light or something? Wait, brightness... Ah! That's it!

"Now I remember!" The girl gasped.

"Yes? Do tell me please." Zecora responded.

The raccoon nodded. "Once I opened the book to read, I discovered it was a blank with unfinished pages and what followed was a blinding light that teleported me on this world in the body of this woman. Then we met... and that's my story in a nutshell." She finished explaining.

Zecora stroked her chin... a boy that had been transformed into a girl with raccoon ears and a tail thanks to reading a blank book. And summoned for an unknown purpose... yet that title that she had been told just a few seconds ago made her pause.

She stood up. "I'll be right back. Just need to fetch something that may help us both in the long course." Zecora responded before departing towards her bedroom, disappearing from sight.

The raccoon just sat and ate her stew, well finishing up the last of the contents. She was wondering what Zecora would be giving her to help with their problem... well, hers mainly.

The dark-skinned woman returned from the bedroom but wasn't empty-handed. She was holding a book with a brown cover art on it. "Here you go."

She handed over the book to the raccoon who examined it. The main cover depicted a circlet, which contained four weapons - a sword, spear, bow and a staff. The title atop was: Legends of the Four Heroes.

"What's this book about?" She wondered.

"The Four Heroes and their respective weapons. There's a page in here about the Sword Hero... or, more specifically, the Sword Heroine." Zecora explained.

Wait... sword heroine? Was Zecora referring to her? That had to be impossible... a coincidence, nothing else.

And yet... Zecora had taken the book back and opened it, flipping the pages. Then she halted and showed one of the pages to the girl whose eyes widened upon seeing it. "What... is this...?" She asked, being unable to finish.

Zecora frowned. "I believe... this is you."

On said page was indeed the raccoon girl who was holding both a sword and a shield. Yet that can't be a coincidence! There had to be more to this story.

She flipped the rest of the pages and began to research. Apparently, there were also other sword heroes/heroines before her yet their exploits have already been recorded into legend. Most of them had names that she herself wasn't familiar with.

All of this made the girl's head spin entirely... she continued to read though: In our time of need, four heroes would be summoned to the world of Equis, each wielding a single weapon. Their ultimate destiny is to fight off mysterious beasts known as the Waves of Calamity. They appear once nearly a hundred years...

And the girl trailed on, reading until the end of the chapter to better understand it. There was a lot of information on the sword, its capabilities and other useful info. Once done, she looked at Zecora, frowning. "So... if I'm to understand it perfectly, I was summoned and turned into a woman all because I was chosen to fight off these "Waves of Calamity"?"

Zecora nodded. "Exactly. It would seem that due to the summons that lead you on this world, you have no choice but to defend our land against the waves." She explained.

The girl blinked before sighing heavily. "But I'm not even supposed to be here! I got summoned by accident! Can't someone else just take my job for me?" She questioned.

Zecora shook her head in response. "I'm afraid not... once a person has been chosen to wield the blade, they have no say in the matter. If there was a way to reverse the process and send you back, it would have been done... and yet, I'm sorry." She apologized.

The girl's shoulder slumped in misery as she groaned. Great! First, she ended up as a woman with raccoon ears, then she finds herself in another world and now learns that she is one of the Legendary Weapon wielders! How wonderful this is!

...Ugh, can this day get any worse?

Zecora knew how to calm the young woman and walked over to her counters. As for the girl, she rubbed her eyes, wondering what the hell to do now. Should she even accept this insane fate? Embrace the role of swordswoman and fight off monsters?

She has a life- WELL, she had a life back home but still...

At that moment, her nostrils picked up a scent of chamomile mixed with honey and sugar... Mmm, smelled good. A cup was then offered to her and she looked to see Zecora holding it. "Here. Tea to help calm your nerves."

The girl, nodding, took it and sniffed. Mmm... it was indeed a wonderful scent. Bringing the cup up to her lips, she took a sip from the tea, being careful to not burn her tongue.

"How is it?" Zecora questioned after watching her sip.

"Tasty... and calming too." She complimented.

"I'm glad..." Zecora nodded before clasping her hands together. "I've made my decision to train you." She declared.

"Train me?" The girl asked, tilting her head confused.

"In wielding the blade and the shield properly." Zecora explained, clearing up the confusion.

The girl blinked, uncertain she heard that... and once her brain recovered from the confusion, she asked. "You what?"

"You heard me, young raccoon: I will be taking the mantle of your teacher in teaching you how to use the blade properly. Along with your shield, of course." Zecora responded, making her intentions clear.

The girl just stared at her, unable to mutter a simple word nor sentence. For at least a few moments...

Just as Zecora was about continue speaking, a knock on the door interrupted whatever she was about to say. The dark-skinned woman frowned. "A visitor at this hour?"

She walked over to the door and peeked through the peephole. She immediately frowned and shook her head. Why were they here?

Looking at the raccoon girl, she opened her mouth. "You need to hide immediately."

"What? Why?" She questioned Zecora.

Before Zecora could respond, a knock on the door came. The woman had no time to explain and told her guest to take refuge in the closet before she was discovered.

Confused at what was going on, she heard some more knocking on the front door. One look at Zecora's face told her that it was not the time to protest but to obey for the moment.

Sighing, she quickly took refuge in the closet and closed the doors... everything became pitch black yet there was a small hint of light coming from some peeopholes. Hmm, would it provide her an opportunity to listen in?

Taking the risk but being silent, she brought her ears (both of them) against the peephole. She could hear the door opening along with Zecora's voice speaking to someone that was unknown.

"Ah, Twilight Sparkle! What brings the Element of Magic to my humble abode?" Zecora's voice questioned.

"Official business." The voice that the raccoon assumed was Twilight responded.

"Oh? And that would be...?" Again, Zecora responded.

"Investigating. Zecora, I've detected a presence in the Everfree Forest... I would like you to give me permission to investigate please."

Presence? Did this 'Twilight' meant her? The raccoon girl frowned... being referred to as a 'presence'. What a rude gesture.

Luckily, she was saved by the bell thanks to Zecora's next reply. "I'm sorry but the answer is no. I cannot allow you to barge into my hut uninvited."

“I’m sorry Zecora, but this is important.” responded Twilight.

It was obvious she was trying to gain entry by any means necessary. Yet Zecora was once more saving her skin or ass in this case by responding with a final tone. "No. That is my final answer... if you don't leave, I will report you to the princess..."

The raccoon girl felt so guilty for misjudging the woman with the staff... here she was, defending her. Right now, she felt deep gratitude towards Zecora.

A small silence occurred as the raccoon kept quiet and listened... for a little bit, there was a little bit of arguing from both Zecora and Twilight. Apparently, the latter was demanding that she enter the hut anyways and examine the place yet the former was adamant, telling her that she doesn't have the right nor the warrant to barge into people's homes.

*Come on, damn it... take a hint and leave!*, the girl thought in her mind, pleading that Zecora would dismiss her.

After a lot of arguing and demands, she overhead one of them sighing heavily followed by an agreement to leave. Twilight's words, no doubt.

Yet there was one last question that came from this 'Twilight'. "Have you seen anything suspicious or interacted with strange individuals?"

"No, I haven't. Honest truth, Twilight Sparkle." Zecora responded.

Guess she came through for the young raccoon after all. The next thing she heard was the front door closing along with Zecora sighing heavily.

Small silence once more until she heard footsteps which she assumed were Zecora's. Where exactly was she-

"You can come out now." Zecora told her.

The raccoon opened the doors slowly and poked her head out... no signs of this 'Twilight' anywhere. Good sign indeed... as for Zecora, she was in the middle of the room and sitting atop her staff.

"She left?" Raccoon questioned with her receiving a nod in return.

Zecora looked at the girl with a smile. "Have you thought about my offer?" She questioned.

"...I don't have any choice in the matter, do I?" Raccoon sighed again.

Zecora lowered her smile. "Technically, you do... yet even if you leave, where will you go? People will no doubt want to question you as soon as they learn about your title as the Sword Heroine. And plus, before dying, my great-grandmother had warned our family about the Waves and the different heroes in the book. My mother had explained to me about it. Whether you like it or not, you are the current Sword Heroine and therefore it falls to me to train you."

The raccoon frowned before sighing heavily. "But still..."

Zecora wasn't having any of it and frowned. "No buts. It falls to you to wield the sword and beat the Waves. It's unfair, I understand... yet you need to be prepared. And not just the Waves but Twilight Sparkle and her mentor, Princess Celestia."

"Huh? What's so bad about those two?" The Sword Heroine questioned.

Zecora kept her frown. "They... may or may not see you as a threat. Especially the latter."

"Why? I've not done anything wrong apart from me ending on your world by accident... along with me being this 'Sword Heroine'."

"Exactly. All the more reason on why we should begin your training. Let's not take any chances." She advised.

The raccoon sighed once more. There seemed to be no escape from her current predicament, was there? If there was a danger of being chased by this 'Princess Celestia' or 'Twilight', then... she had no choice.

Might as well get some training in wielding a blade along with the shield properly if she was going to do this. With a final verdict, the girl nodded in response. "When do we begin?"

"Now. Pick up the stuff from the chest and we'll head to my special place... Oh! We'll need a name for you. Calling you the Sword Heroine or simply Raccoon Girl won't cut it and will arose suspicion for you." Zecora told her.

The girl gave a nod, agreeing with Zecora's point. Question was what type of name she should pick to memorize easily...

A couple of seconds passed yet she hadn't been able to come up with anything good. In response to Zecora's words, she just shrugged. "Got nothing."

Zecora sighed. "We'll figure it out then at a later time. For now, grab the sword and shield." She ordered.

The Sword nodded, picking both of the items in question and following Zecora out of the hut. Wherever these training grounds were... they had better be good. If she was to be a hero, then she wanted to start some place that had a suitable location to train.

Zecora was leading ahead, her mind drifting onto the training that she was going to prepare the Sword Heroine... first would be athletics and then... well, she'll wait and see.

She hoped that this current generation of Sword Heroine would do her duty and combat the Waves of Calamity along with saving the world of Equis. Only time would tell if her assumption was correct.