Ask Stickmin

by Dragonfire2lm

Chapter 6: Pony Folk

Henry struggled to lift the basket of apples.

A cool breeze drifted lazily around him and through the apple orchard he was working in. With a grunt, he hauled the basket onto a nearby wagon. The recent work Henry had managed to acquire since the party had earned him a steady amount of bits, the local currency, and the locals had started to get used to seeing him him around town.

It took some getting used to, Henry Stickmin was used to being a nobody (a thief, a Toppat, a government agent, and so many other things), so having a steady job, decent living accommodations, and people that made an effort to care about him was strange for the man.

Henry tried to not think about the navy blue top hat that was in his room as he continued picking up baskets laden with apples and placing them onto the wagon.

"Hey Henry!" Applejack called out and he looked up to see her heading his way. "I'll take care of the rest, you can head on home for the day."

Henry nodded and waved to the mare as he left her to her work.

---

"So, do you like it?" Rarity asked as Henry eyed himself in the full length mirror the mare had placed before him. He was standing on a raised dais in the seamstresses shop, his turtleneck replaced with a plain black t-shirt. He flexed and felt the material of the shirt respond.

It fit him perfectly. He looked over to the side as the Rarity entered the room and gave her a thumbs up and a grin.

"Oh good, I wanted to be sure I got the measurements right. I don't have much experience working with bipedal designs," the unicorn said, trotting over. "Now you let me know if you need anything else, I could do with the practice."

Henry nodded and stepped off the raised platform, pulling out a coin purse from his pant pocket. Rarity immediately waved him off.

"No no, save your bits darling. It's a gift." Rarity insisted and the human shrugged and put the money away.

Henry smiled and waved goodbye as the bell above the door jingled, announcing a new customer, and Rarity moving to the front of the store to meet them. Henry left the shop a few minutes later with his new shirt on and his turtleneck slung over one arm.

---

His days were spent either helping with odd jobs on the farm, modelling for Rarity, or continuing to teach Twilight sign language and English, as well as improving his grasp on Ponish and learning what he could about Equestria and ponies as a whole.

Henry was reading a book on weather management, purely out of curiosity, in his now usual spot on a cushion in the corner of the library. At the sound of a pony entering the building, Henry looked up to see Twilight walk in from her morning errands. She was levitating several packages behind her in her magic.

"Hey Henry, I stopped by the post office for you," Twilight said, placing the parcels next to the human and withdrawing several letters from her saddlebags. "Who's sending you all this anyway?"

Henry set the book aside and shrugged.

It's complicated he signed. You need me to do anything?

"No, I just went to pick up a few things we were getting short on," Twilight replied. "Shall we continue where we left off after I put everything away?"

Henry nodded and the studious mare moved to the kitchen to put away the things she had purchased. He turned his attention to one of the letters.

Hey again Henry,

I want you to stick to the mane 6 and help them out. Its better to have them as an ally then an enemy, trust me on that. Also, if you where to be a pony, what race would you like to be? Earth, unicorn, pegasus, maybe even an alicorn? Oh, and before I forget, I'm sending you a box, In it is your trusty scooter along with a few records for your new music box. I hope you like classical.

From Glass

Henry blinked and dropped the letter in favor of tearing through the packagers in search of his scooter. He grinned as he pulled it out of the box it was sent in. To have his trusty scooter back was a joy he didn't think he'd know ever again. He unfolded it and propped it up against the wall. He looked at it for a moment, still in disbelief that a little piece of home was here in his possession once more.

He sat back down and read the letter again, in a bit of a daze as he signed his response.

Thanks for the scooter. I think being a pegasus would be fun, if only for a little while.

His grin remained, Henry in high spirits as he opened up another letter.

Henry,

I hear you are bad at magic, so I as a skilled red mage have a recommendation, if you ever encounter an extremely magical material, reforge the sword I sent you, it’s sharpness will increase magically the more magic sent through it once reforged, (you will need a really powerful material to get this effect, like wood from the tree of harmony, One of Tirek’s horns, part of Crysalles’s throne, horn of alicorn, ETC. it will also gain extra effect based on what is used but, you have to find something first and you also would need to figure out how to reforge it with what you use)

Red mage Alain

P.s. Narator? Does Henry resist magic?

Yeah about the sword, due to it's potential to be too OP, I've confiscated it. He'll get it back if he manages to reach a certain place. One a civilian can't reach... Those of you following the Toppats know what I'm talking about.

Since Henry knows magic, his magical resistance isn't as high as a normal human, but he's still fairly resistant to magic as a whole.

Henry just looked at the letter. "Okay..." he said and moved on.

Dear Henry,

Hey Henry it's me again and how going? Anyway I give you ten dolls of your friends and two hats, hope you like them.

from rainbow light
ps: i make the dolls and hats

Henry opened up a box and pulled out a woolen beanie and tried it on. "Thanks."

I might have to change the rules regarding gifts, you're running out of space to put things...

Henry hummed in agreement, choosing to leave the hat on as he read another letter.

Go for Equestria, they might be able to help you with your magic problems and issues. Also, The Mane 6 are powerful allies to have on your side

Powerful allies? Issues? Henry signed in visible confusion. I've always had trouble woth casting spells correctly. I don't need to use magic all that often anyway... Is something going to happen? Narrator?

Let's just say you arriving in Equestria is 'point A' and where the Toppats are 'point B'. You need to get from point A to B, but how you get there and what happens after is not up to me anymore. It's up to the people sending you these letters.

"Oh" Henry replied quietly, signing the rest of his response. So, they want me to stay in Ponyville for a while then. I guess I can give it a chance. This place is kind of... plain though. It's been difficult keeping myself in check and not stealing things...

He sighed.

Dear Henry,

Hey its the Lowly Space Marine again, I wish I could send you things that I have readily available but I can't send you a bolter or a lazgun they would help a lot for you but I can't send them however I have found some interesting and non-harmful things in some debris from some derelict spaceships near me that I have floated to, nothing to get me on solid ground unfortunately but I have found this antique flintlock pistol somehow, so since I think I can send it to you it shall come in a concealable holster, no bullets or power for it unfortunately but I'm sure you will think of something, after all it would be kind of nice if you had some form of weapon to help you steal something, even if its just to bluff.

From a Lowly Space Marine stuck floating in space

PS, to narrator I vote for henry to go and see the tophat clan in the forest

Henry examined the pistol. He'd never seen an older model like this before, he returned it to it's box to sign Where would I even find ammo for this?

I can't tell you, I know where, as do those keeping tabs on Reginald and crew, but it's up to them to divulge the information.

Do you even know how to use it?

Henry frowned. No. He shook his head. It'll make a nice bluff, if I ever want to stop being a model citizen.

Dear Henry: I wanted to give you these. These are book versions of everything that happened in the universe of Kingdom Hearts. I'm giving you these so that you have something to read. Also, in the future, be prepared for possible hijinks, since no matter where you go, you will cause certain chaos.

To Narrator: I wanted to ask if henry knew what his chaos ranking was from the CCC, if he doesn't, can you tell him that out of a scale from 1-10, he was/is a 9.7 or a 10.7, based on the machines that the Chaos Containment Center used. Also, in the future, will it be possible to give him a pet? If not, will he gain a pet later on in the story?

These look interesting, thanks. Henry replied.

Henry's Chaos Rating is 7.77/10.
And just for fun, Reginald's is 3/10 and Right Hand Man's is 5/10.

Henry wasn't surprised by the information and smirked. Seven, the lucky number.

Dear Henry,
My last gift got rejected by the author because it was to op. (Sorry about that by the way.) So here is some homemade fudge and a dagger. Please used this for self defense only.

Signed a friend who only wants to help .

Ps stay in ponyville like I said before ponyville it a nice little place to settle down despite all that goes on there.

Henry grabbed the small box containing the fudge, removed the dagger and left it on the floor as he walked into the kitchen. "Hey."

Twilight was still organizing groceries and looked up from rumaging around in the fridge. "Hey, what's up?"

Henry held up the box of fudge. "Want some?"

Henry had picked up on a few the customs ponies had, namely the sharing of food as a symbol of the bond between two ponies. Twilight beamed.

"A gift from your mysterious pen pals?" she asked. "Sure, I'll have a piece. Can we save some for Spike?"

Henry nodded and handed her the box. As Twilight put the fudge away for later, he padded back into the main area and returned to his cushion.

Hello Henry.

I hope this letter finds thee well and in good health. Inclosed is a can of Fantasy-Away monster repellent (patent pending). It is a personal invention of mine. Disclaimer: Fantasy-Away has only been tested on cosplayers. Your use of it will be part of testing.

Sincerely

Arvax

Henry eyed the can warily and gently set it down. Only one letter remained.

dear henry,

if one of the ponies happened to spot a helicopter looking shadow like rainbow dash mentioned one of her co-workers saw the toppat's airship, would you react the same way you reacted when she mentioned the toppats.

from, Rainbow Sparkle, Ponyville's resident celebrity singer.

The thought of a certain military pilot being here with him brought a sad smile to his face.

As I said before, my history with the clan is complicated. But I wouldn't react the same way if it was Charles that was seen... I'd feel bad for him, he loves his job, he has a life, friends. He doesn't deserve to be ripped away from all of that. Neither do the Toppats, but I'm almost glad the airship is here.

I might finally be able to figure out what I want to do now... Maybe this is my last chance to do so...

"Henry, Can you come here for a sexond!" Twilight called out and the human paused, got up, and walked into the kitchen to find the unicorn staring at the headline on that morning's newspaper.

Toppat Clan Capers! Mysterious New Organisation Leaves Police Baffled.

Accompanying the headline was an image of some kind of calling card bearing the Toppat Clan logo. Henry felt his heart skip a beat, Reginald wasn't messing around, the clan was already making a name for themselves despite the setbacks being in this world presented them. His mind once more flashed to the dark blue hat sitting in his room.

"Henry, the article mentioned reports of seeing beings that looked like the same species as you," Twilight said. "I was wondering if you could give this a read and confirm it. Wouldn't it be amazing if we could find a way for you to get back home?" The mare looked hopeful, a far cry from the turmoil Henry was feeling.

Twilight continued, oblivious. "Maybe if we can track down this Toppat Clan, we could find some answers. Granted, trying to get help from criminals isn't ideal, but, maybe we could offer something to them in exchange?"

Henry tapped her on the shoulder.

"Huh? Oh sorry, go ahead."

He sighed. I know them. And once the admission was out, he couldn't stop.

I was caught in a kind of curse, I've been reliving the same year or so over and over and, sometimes, I'd join the Toppat Clan. I was their leader, I was part of their family, and sometimes I'd feel like being with the clan was where I was meant to be.

Twilight focused on his hands, patiently taking in everything he was telling her.

One time, I called on them for help, to be rescued. It didn't end well, I was betrayed, I sought revenge and killed everyone... Even myself. He stated, face grim. Part of me wants to make up for that... I want to do right by the only home I've ever had, The Toppat Clan.

"Henry... They're clearly not good people." Twilight said after a moment. "Equestrian laws are very strict about law-breaking, you'd be leaving behind if you went with them! Are you sure about this?"

He shrugged. Twilight frowned.

"I'll send a letter to Princess Celestia, maybe she can offer you some advice?" Twilight suggested and sighed. "I'm sorry, but I just can't understand how you can want to go back to them if they betrayed you."

We all made mistakes that day. was all Henry supplied, looking weary.

Author's Note:

(Sorry this took so long, I've been having a really bad case of writer's block with this.)

This chapter ends mid-way through chapter 7 of Misty Morals.

Character Unlocked!

Twilight Sparkle is now available to send letters to!

Thanks to Henry's friendship with Twilight, you can now send her letters for as long as Henry remains in Ponyville.

Rules

• Submit your questions in the comments and specify which chapter you're commenting on (just in case).
• Keep the rating in mind when asking questions.
• You cannot add your own OC's, nor interact with characters beyond sending them letters. You are faceless, voiceless entities in this world.
• Also keep in mind the canon established in Misty Morals.
• To vote on a Route Change, read the Story Goals and put in which Route Change you'd like to see at the very end of your comment.

Story Goals

Story Goals are a general idea of where the story is headed, what will advance the story, and unlock criteria for characters and endings.

• Meet Pinkie Pie [Reward: Welcome to Ponyville Party] (Complete!)
• Meet Applejack [Reward: Access to Sweet Apple Acres] (Complete)
• Help Twilight [Reward: Character Unlocked! Twilight Sparkle] (Complete)
• Gain popularity in Ponyville. [Reward: Meet Princess Celestia] (Complete)
• Gather Information on The Toppat Clan. (In Progress)
• Head to Manehatten. (Incomplete)

Route Change
Throughout the story, Henry will be forced to make a choice between siding with either the Toppat Clan or Equestria. These choices are called Route Changes and are decided by a majority vote in the comments below. Route Changes will be clearly marked in the Story Goals.

This will determine the ending you get.

Ending Progress

The ending is determined by which choices Henry makes at certain points in the story, influenced by votes. There will be three choices total, the choice with the most votes will go towards the associated ending.

Choice Results

• Forbidden Jungle VS Ponyville: Result: Ponyville
• Toppat Trio VS ???: Not Yet Reached
• Equestrian Goverment VS Toppat Clan: Not Yet Reached

Endings

• Team Toppat Ending: Achieved by teaming up with The Toppats at least twice.
• Equestrian Ally Ending: Achieved by choosing to side with Equestria at least twice.
• RPE Ending: Achieved by Stealing the Taurosian Diamond in Manehatten, get recruited to Infiltrating the Airship, and forcing Reginald to give Henry command of the Airship Division.

Gifting Items
Gifts are temporarily disabled. You cannot send Henry gifts until later on in the story.

Additional Information

• There is no "canon" ending for Exploring the Castle
• This is set very early on in Season 2 of MLP FiM
• This story does have a definitive "canon" ending, how long it'll take to reach that point depends on what Henry gets up to.
• UPDATE: The canon ending for Ask Stickmin will depend on which Route Henry chooses to go down. Only one ending can be reached, determined by the choices made throughout the story. See the above notes on Route Change and Endings for details.

Characters Available for Asks**

• Henry Stickmin
• The Narrator (Me), represented by text in quote boxes.
• Twilight Sparkle

*Rules will be edited as needed.
**Other characters will be "unlocked" and available to answer questions as the story progresses.

(If you're a fan of Henry Stickmin, The Toppats, Aks Blogs, and don;t mind a bit of Copperright shipping, please give this a read and leave an Ask? It's my brand new Ask Blog and it could really use some attention.)

Comments

[Steakthedog]

To Frau Twibright Snarkle,

Hallo, I suggest finding an object for punching first and foremost. No apologies for any puns I may or may nicht make. I humbly welcome du to die Narrator’s and Henry’s mailing list and warn you that some beings send these letters from places you cannot comprehend for the sake of your sanity. Don’t try and trace them as some of them do not come from your universe.

From, A very very very bored being.

PS: Yes I used Deutsch for several words, figure them out.
PPS: To the Narrator, do not reveal the spoiler sections to Twi, I’m hiding your existence from the one that doesn‘t break the fourth wall frequently-ish. Also I’m listening to the album American Idiot. I might send it to henry when the package mailing ban is lifted. Don’t ask how I know.

[Spellflame]

For the student of the sun tyrant twilight
How good are you at battle magic?
- Spellflame

Dear Henry
Beware events that scream IMPORTANT they are dangerous.
-Red Mage Alain

Dear narrator
Thank you
- Alain

[vfgoi]

dear twilight
hey, twilight is rainbow light here so how are you and i give you a notebook
From rainbow light

[Dragonfire2lm]

10700082
Adding OC's into the story is not allowed.

[vfgoi]

10700087
oh right sorry

[Bronie312]

Dear Henry;

Why, hello, fellow friend. Name's Bronie312, you surely remember me from asking you about the stolen value(s); now, I come to give you two things.
First, a bag full of home-made cookies cooked by me, enjoy them.
Second, here. Take these keys and search a box I teleported to where you live, under the bed. Search for it, it's a gift.

Well, that's all I have to say, except for you to be careful with that maniac, Pinkie... She's crazy.

Sincerely, a friend.

For the narrator: The gift is a recently cooked lasagna, the créme de la créme.

[Dragonfire2lm]

10700181
Hello There.

Please read the authors notes, which are updated every chapter. As of chapter 6, gifts are temporarily disabled. Feel free to either post a new ask or edit your existing one.

Sorry for the inconvenience,

The Narrator.

[Bronie312]

10700189
The second consecutive time, I really have bad luck.

[Dragonfire2lm]

10700200
It's fine. Maybe read through the authors notes? Just because I copy 90% of it, doesn't mean I don't add or change things as needed.

[Resadur164]

...AH! yes its on, sorry about that, my personal Vox was malfunctioning, I just barely fixed it, so this is Lowly Space Marine, looking at this, the last time I put a question on here was either 10 thousand years ago, or last week, kind of finicky this Vox, but not to worry I am still just floating in space, anyways it says I can send messages to one Twilight Sparkle, and so I shall.

Dear Twilight Sparkle student of Equestria's princess and element of magic (that's what it says on my Vox contact)
I understand you are a pony who is harboring our good friend one such Henry Stickmin, I would like to say thanks for giving him a place to reside after all that has happened to him, he needs a good place to stay where he is cared for (*its why I was trying to have him try to go see the Tophats because I wanted him to be with friends*) it is nice to see he has made some new friends.
Due to my drifting around in space I don't have much to do aside from drift and hope I get close to some wreckage to salvage stuff, but I have been taking pictures, so I would like to give this packet full of breathtaking pictures of planets blackholes and the stars around me, from this Lowly Space Marine to a scholar I hope these will look nice.

[END OF TRANSMISSION]

[Rainbow sparkle1]

Chapter 6

dear Henry,
I feel sorry about how you responded to my last letter, I wasn't thinking straight since I've had a lot on my mind lately. Since I know of the adventure that lies ahead for you, I'm sending you a set of earpieces like what you used when you worked with Charles. You can use them when you go interrogate the toppats and communicate with twilight or somepony else if you have a companion with you.

dear twilight,
If you could, would you gather the others and go with henry to interrogate the toppats, go with him alone, or not go at all?

From, Rainbow Sparkle, Ponyville's resident celebrity singer

P.S. I’m really good friends with twilight and her friends (mainly Rainbow dash and Fluttershy) so if you ever need any help with music, you’ll know who to talk to, twilight can lead you to my home just on the outskirts of Ponyville if you’re ever up to talk in person, I’m always up for conversations with friends unless I’m working on a new song or album😁.

(Don’t put this in letter: I’m not intending at all for my OC to be put in this, what I’m saying is that if Henry were to visit my OC, it would be outside of this story and not be mentioned at all. If you still think this applies to adding my oc to the story, you are more than welcome to not include the P.S. in my letter)

[vfgoi]

10700087
i do something with my note

[Dakingace]

Dear Twilight ,Henry,& The Narrator ,
It's me again
To Twilight :I understand why you don't want Henry to go back to the toppat clan but in Henry world they are for a lack of better terms and such "lawful " evil . They don't steal from the poor ,or children (or in your case foals,fillies,and colts.) basically the are noble thiefies but without being snobby. And they are probably keeping the crime world in Henry's world under check along with the police &miltary was. Don't know please ask Henry.
To Henry:Are you in love with Ellie rose? Also don't underestimate ponyville it is basically a chaos magnet and you just happened to end up in the dry spell of it. Also pinkie pie is a good pony who can break the 4th wall just be around her in small doses(lol) and maybe you won't get annoyed.(sorry Twilight) Also I have a theory but I need the permission from the narrator to send it.
To The Narrator :Will Ellie or Charles make an appearance in here later ? Also can you ask Twilight to make a gem that is filled with magic to be a pocket diminon (didn't spell that right let me try again) pocket dimension . Can I send that computer with the Henry Stickmin collection or will that cause a problem?
Now to all of y'all : when we get to send things again I will send here is a list:
A big box of homemade sweets (Yes you can share with ponyville if it is too much or have a party.)
Taser gems (gems filled with lighting magic that act like a taser.) It can be shot out of that flintlock you got from the space marine.
A computer with the Henry stickmin collection on it.
A book about human biology & human history for Twilight
A book about Jets and planes and a book full of pranks for pranksters for Rainbow dash
A book about farming for Applejack
A book about animals for Fluttershy
A cookbook full of recipes from the mutiverise, book full of pranks for pranksters and a joke book for Pinkie pie
Fashion magazines from the mutiverise for rarity.
Comic books and regular gems for Spike the Dragon.
That is all.
Sign , The same friends that still wants to help.
Ps sorry for the essay long letter. Got carried away😅
Pps or pss(I really don't know)
I think I know why Reginald betrayed you in that one time line. It is because one you only defeated him . You didn't prove your loyalties to the clan. He and his right hand man had to defeat a leader who was an a hole to the whole clan and bring the clan back on top of the criminal empire. But I am not sure if I am right. That is a little food for thought though

[ANW]

Send this letter when we can give items.

Dear Henry Stickman,

Oops, meant to say Stickmin.
Didn't meant to call you a knife slasher.

Here's a pair of gifts you might like.
First, the bubble that protected you from that helicopter sniper when you went after the diamond.
Just place it on the middle of your chest, or scooter handbar, and press.
It only last 3.5 seconds, with a 2 hour cooldown timer afterwards, but you of all people would know what one second can mean.

The second is a Gadget Gabe item.
Don't worry, it's the Swapper.
The one where you teamed up with only Charles to put the rocket into lockdown.

And just for laughs, use it on whoever's your partner is at this time.

[Hawkx1]

To The Narrator (since Twilight doesn’t know about Infiltrating the Castle)

Does all the chaos Henry and the Toppats have caused (and will cause) give Discord enough power to escape from his imprisonment again and if not why?

[Rainbow sparkle1]

10802219
That’s a great question ngl

[kykkoman4]

Man's looking like gru not gonna lie