Along Came A Spider

by Onomonopia

Study

'...And with that I have caught up with the majority of this lands history,' Otto thought to himself as he closed a book on the lore of Equestria, placing it on top of three other books, two of which were about Equestrian culture and society, while the third was about magic and how it affected the world. 'Quite a dangerous and destructive past for a society of cute animals. Perhaps I have misjudged their darker sides.'

Otto then rose from his bed and glanced out the dirty window at the moon above, narrowing his eyes at the giant orb that shone in the sky. 'But what both intrigues and infuriates me is that the sun and moon are supposedly controlled by two arrogant fools that believe themselves gods. Celestia and Luna, the rulers of this land...their very existence is an affront to science...keep it together, Otto. Different world, different rules.'

Being used to working all night and not feeling sleepy in the least from his twelve hours of reading, Otto decided that a night in the city might be the best course of action for him. He opened the door as quietly as he could (though the door squeaked loudly when he opened it) and walked down the hallway to the main room of the boutique, able to hear the faint sounds of Coco sleeping with his enhanced senses.

He slipped out the front door and locked it behind him with a key Coco had given him during the previous day, waiting a moment to make sure that he had not awoken anyone before he turned with a sigh to the city. The lights were on in many of the buildings and the faint sounds of conversations were brought to him on the winds, but Otto ignored the conversations as he headed down to a darker part of the city.

'If I am to find out more about this land from personal experience, then it would be unwise as well as foolish to talk with those who stay only in the illuminated parts,' Otto thought to himself as he walked in-between buildings, trying to avoid the moonlight as much as possible. He had read that the princess of the night was at her most powerful at night and was also able to enter the minds of ponies. And the last thing the good doctor needed was a being that powerful rattling around inside his mind, only to discover what he really was.

'And then, if dealing with heroes like her has taught me anything, she will try to either capture or kill me. Then I will be forced to respond in kind.'

The moonlight quickly faded and was replaced with darkness that was cast by the buildings that towered overhead, yet Otto found them disappointingly small compared to the buildings back in his world. He was also vaguely aware of the fact that there were hardly any homeless lining the streets, something that he could not imagine a large city without. Though he never complained, as the homeless made good test subjects as they were rarely missed.

The sounds of furniture being destroyed followed by the sounds of ponies shouting drew Otto's eyes towards a bar that was alive with the sounds of combat. Figuring that was as good a place as any to start learning about the true nature of this world, he walked to the establishment and pushed open the door.

He raised an eyebrow at the sight that greeted his eyes as he entered. Numerous ponies were duking it out with each other, while two more lay unconscious on the ground. Other patrons were cheering and through what looked to be gold coins at the fighters, who barely seemed to notice. Then Otto glanced at the bartender, who barely seemed phased by the carnage that was going on.

"Welcome, stranger," the bartender said when he noticed Otto, who had been standing in the door with eyes on the fight. "Come on in and pull up a stool. Watch out for those rascals though or you might get sucked into their brawl!"

Doctor Octavius raised an eyebrow at the nonchalant way the bartender was talking about the brawl, but without another word he sat down on one of the stools while doing his best to ignore the battle raging on behind him. Before he had a chance to look at the menu, the bartender slid a glass of something over to Otto. Otto glanced down at it before raising an eyebrow to the bartender, who chuckled before stroking his beard.

"What's the matter, never had apple cider before? Don't worry, it's the best that money can buy and the first one is on the house," the bartender promised. Figuring that he had little to lose and the fact that the drink didn't set his spider sense off, Otto took a gulp. To his surprise the sweetness of the apple combined perfectly with the cinder to give him a kick to the face that woke him up completely.

"It's very strong," Otto said politely while placing the mug down, not planning on finishing it. The bartender raised an eyebrow before shrugging his shoulders, allowing Otto a moment to glance over the stallion. 'Grey coat, black mane and the marking of a glass of alcohol. A mark matching his job, just as the book said.'

Otto turned his head slightly and glanced at the marks that were on the other patrons, at least the ones that weren't fighting. Though he had no way to verify his suspicions, he began to piece both the personality and perhaps the occupation of the pony.

'Pilot. Taxi driver. Tax collector. Circus clown? Bizarre.'

"So stranger, aside from ignoring my drinks and staring at my other guests, any other reason you wandered into my bar tonight?" the bartender asked Otto, who snapped his attention away from the others to the server.

"I am new in this city and I wished to learn the lay of the land," Otto answered truthfully, though he left out that he was also testing a hypothesis of his. "I also wished to see the kind of people that I would come to call my neighbors in this city and I assumed that the best kind of way to judge that was by locating the nearest bar."

"Heh, that's a pretty interesting way of looking at it. But there's really not much to learn. Much like the rest of the world, aside from the ponies up in Canterlot, we're kind hearted folk that get irritated living so close to everypony else," the bartender replied with a smirk.

"Perhaps. Or perhaps you just like to believe that you are kind hearted, but in reality you just do not want to admit to the darkness that you all hold within your hearts," Otto replied in a no-nonsense kind of tone, but to his surprise the bartender let out another chuckle before he began to clean out Otto's glass.

"I suppose you could look at us like that, but that's more of a glass half empty kind of outlook. Most of us try to look on the bright side," he stated before tossing the glass over his shoulder without looking. Otto trailed the drink out of the corner of his eye and found it landed perfectly in a sink near the back with a small splash. "And I suppose you got a reason for that glass half empty kind of attitude? You're at a bar. Feel free to dump all your baggage here."

"And what if I told you that I tried to destroy a world on multiple occasions?" Otto replied, but he had the foresight to mask his truth with sarcasm. The bartender let out a laugh at Otto's response before flicking his head towards a poster. Otto turned to see Celestia and Luna smiling down from the poster, though he failed to see the connection for a brief moment.

"Oh yes, that's right. Luna did try to take over the world herself," Otto muttered before glancing to the server once more. "So you are saying that you would be forgiving of a being such as me?"

"Not everypony would. Some of them would probably hate ya for the rest of your life for it. But most of us would give you a chance. They might not all like ya, but they'd at least give ya a chance. We try to be open to others, despite the "darkness" in our heart," he informed Otto before glancing behind him. Otto turned around to see that the ponies that had been fighting each other were now drinking and laughing. Had it not been for the bruises on their bodies one would never know that they had been fighting. "Friendship and harmony. Those are the virtues we live by. Try to give them a thought."

"I will. You have given me much to think about and I thank you for that," Otto responded curtly as he rose out of his seat and walked to the door, before a thought came to him and he turned to face the bartender. "You knew that I am not from Equestria, didn't you? That is why you are giving me a lesson in how Equestria operates."

"Well...I suspected. You see all sorts in this kind of job," the stallion replied with a chuckle. "Names Beer Tap by the way, but most just call me Tap. Come on back if you're ever in need of some guidance."

"I will take you up on that offer...if I needed any guidance," Otto muttered under his breath as he pushed open the door and exited the bar, shaking his head at what had happened inside of there. "Insufferable fool. He talks like he knows everything yet he knows nothing of the man that I am. Not that it matters, tonight has been a success. I have learned much about the local populace. Tomorrow night I will try a different part of town."

\\ ( ) //
// ; ; \\

The smell of something being burned to death caused Doctor Octavius to awaken with a start. Before he was fully aware of what was going on he had already flipped out of the bed and landed in a classic Spiderman position. A moment later he realized what he had done and stood up straight, cursing himself for allowing a habit to slip past his mental defense.

'Something is burning within this place. Judging from the smell it can either be food burning or the entire house burning down...of course if this is Coco, then both might be a possibility,' Otto assumed as he pushed open the door and stalked down the hallway into the main room. He glanced up to the second floor and sniffed, locating the source of the fire. Otto walked up to the stairs to see Coco in front of a stove with a fire extinguisher in her mouth and a fire blazing on the stovetop.

"Go out darn you!" Coco yelled as she sprayed the stovetop down, dousing the flames and extinguishing them. She then stood there panting heavily and since she had stopped moving, Otto glanced over the mare to see her mane disheveled, soot covering her face and that she was wearing an apron that was now burned.

"Are all of your mornings this exciting? Or have I caught you on an off day?"

Coco let out a yelp before she spun around to face Otto, who was poorly hiding his amused expression upon his face. She looked from him to the burned meal behind her before she placed herself between the two, hoping that Otto hadn't seen too much. Otto had already seen everything, but was having issues summoning the will to care.

"Otto! I didn't think you'd be up this early in the morning!" Coco said with a large smile that was unfitting of her. Otto said nothing in reply as he walked over to a small table and sat down, grabbing a newspaper that was sitting on the chair next to him. "Um, I am glad to see that you are awake, because if we want to eat, we...might need to go out."

"Coco, I already saw that you tried and failed miserably to cook something for me and, judging by the other placemats, yourself and that oaf. Try to save whatever shred of pride you have is simply sad to watch," Otto said to her bluntly as he gazed over the paper.

"And hearing your infernal voice mock the mare that went out of her way to save your life makes me want to put your head through a wall!"

"Stonewall, morning," Otto muttered without looking up. The Pegasus sat down across from Otto with a huff, before glancing over at the mare who looked like she had been set on fire herself.

"He does bring up a point though, Coco. Why did you set fire to the stove?"

"Because I was...trying to cook," Coco admitted as she shuffled her hooves, though Otto barely paid any mind. "Rarity sent me a letter saying that if I want to improve myself and my confidence I should try new things. And...cooking is new to me. So I hoped I could cook something for you two, since you've helped me out."

"While I appreciate the intention, it is clearly not for you. You tried. You failed. Find something else to do now," Otto said dryly, before moving his head to the left to avoid the chair that Stonewall hurled at his him. "I was not being cruel, you miserable excuse for a lifeform, I was being honest. She has clearly shown that she has no talent for cooking...what was it you were making?"

"Oatmeal."

"Dear God woman, you managed to incinerate oatmeal? Perhaps your destructive capabilities are what you should focus on, instead of these other attempts to improve yourself."

"And why don't you go get your attitude checked, because it's clear that you can't keep it in line," Stonewall snarled.

"Okay you two, that's enough," Coco said with a hint of strength in her voice that surprised Otto to the point of silence. She then took the paper from Otto and flipped it open to a certain page, which she then laid out on the table to reveal a picture of dozens of tents and carts. "Today is the day the traveling sales ponies come to the city and they won't be here long. Our mission, if you choose to accept it, is to locate all of the best material and swipe it for ourselves."

"This is surprisingly bold for you. Are you feeling ill?" Otto chimed in, but Coco would not be derailed.

"I have made lists for the both of you and you NEED to get everything on here if I hope to finish my next dress before the big event coming up," Coco added as she slipped both stallions a sheet of paper. "First we'll go eat and then shop. I'll get everything else myself aside from what I've given you. Once we're done, we'll met back up at the park."

"Of course, the place you were almost killed. Nice place for a meet up," Otto chuckled as he got up, but then he glanced up at the window with eyes narrowed into slits. 'Just for a moment, I felt a tingle in the back of my skull. just an accident...no, the sense is rarely wrong. I need to be on guard.'

"Very well Coco, I shall do as you ask. But first, I need to grab something from my room before we head out."

"What's that?"

"My bag."

Comments

[Mesiagamer]

Is Otto starting to turn around?

[Slayerseba]

Woo he's taking 'the bag' now.

[MetalJrock]

I wonder what's causing his Spider-Sense to constantly go off like that. He's probably been on edge considering how many times it's been triggered.

[Seeking Dusk]

Coco might give Sweetie Belle a run for her money in the 'cooking' department.

[James-Plasma]

2273291 Hi, Here is a Fourm I Just Posted Today on The Marvel Crossovers Category...http://www.fimfiction.net/group/1596/marvel-crossovers/thread/271202/inhumans-vs-x-men-storylineidw-hasbro-universeimage-comic-inter-companyfanfiction-story-crossover-idea
...Nuff Said.

[SgtTex]

I busted out laughing when Coco said she burned oatmeal!

[Amethyst Blade]

"I will take you up on that offer...if I needed any guidance," Otto muttered under his breath as he pushed open the door and exited the bar, shaking his head at what had happened inside of there. "Insufferable fool. He talks like he knows everything yet he knows nothing of the man that I am. Not that it matters, tonight has been a success. I have learned much about the local populace. Tomorrow night I will try a different part of town."
\\ ( ) //

If this isn't foreshadowing that our protagonist will return and listen to what that bartender have to say or simply to vent then I don't know what is.