Ask Stickmin

Chapters

Chapter 1: You Have Mail
Chapter 2: Dear Henry...
Chapter 3: Incoming Message
Chapter 4: You're Invited to...
Chapter 5: A Welcome to Ponyville Party
Chapter 6: Pony Folk

Chapter 1: You Have Mail

This is a story about a man named Henry. Wait, we did this joke already.

Henry Stickmin (not to be confused with Henry Stickman), plodded down the streets of a rural village with thatch roofed, brightly coloured houses, eye-catching flowerbeds, and all manner of colourful ponies walking the street. Henry had, after suddenly appearing in this technicolor world, escaped from the authorities and snuck aboard a train to end up here.

He wasn't sure where here was exactly but, he'd made himself a simple camp in a forest outside of town. The other forest that lay on the town border was a bit too foreboding, even for him-

No Henry, we're avoiding the murder forest.

Henry had a tent, he bought food from the market when he needed it, and spent most of his free time reading books he'd "borrowed" from the tree-library to try and decipher the written language. He couldn't, but it gave him something to do until he came up with a new plan, or found a map. Whichever happened first. As Henry walked, the local ponies gave him a wide berth, or ran from him, not that he minded. He'd been able to earn a reputation as the strange thing that camped outside the town, as no one recognized him as the person that stole from the large white castle he'd first appeared in.

Henry had snuck back in to return what he'd stolen after realizing it was practically worthless since he had no way to sell it, and it would only serve to get him caught if he was found with it. It was a shame but despite his love for shiny objects, he'd been around the block enough times to know when to change tactics. He'd settled for pickpocketing and scavenging the streets for what meager amount of money he could find.

His black turtleneck and grey pants kept him warm despite the nippy spring day as he headed into the post office and pulled out a small bag of the local currency. He... paused?

Henry? You need help buddy?

He nodded, half-heartedly gesturing at the counter and the blonde pegasus mare sitting behind it. After his confirmation, the world froze, Henry merely blinked as everything stopped, frozen in time. With no pressure to immediately act, Henry could take the time to think, to get his bearings in order to handle the first major obstacle in his new life in this world.

Communication. Speaking was a struggle, the words caught in his throat or simply wouldn't come, nor could he write the local script, and his efforts at using sign language had been for naught as the ponies simply had no clue what he was doing. Henry looked around the post office in the hopes of finding something he could use to get his point across.

A bulletin board on the wall caught his eye. Flyers and notices were pinned to it, many of which had visual indicators of their contents. He made an noise in contemplation and spotted what looked at advertisement, it featured a cartoony drawing of a letter. He grabbed the advert and headed over to the counter as time resumed.

"What can I do for you?" the bubbly mare behind the counter asked and Henry showed her the flyer. "You're interested in renting out a post office box?"

He nodded.

Henry snuck into the library feeling better than he had in days, the key to his new PO box tucked away in his pant pocket. His good mood was broken by the sound of hooves on wooden flooring as the library's equine resident made a mad dash towards him. He'd been careful to avoid the unicorn in his previous trips to the library, sneaking in to read when she and the small dragon she lived with left, or reading by candlelight in the dead of night when they were asleep.

In his success at the post office, he'd forgotten she was home.

"Wait, please! I just want to ask you a few questions," She said as Henry turned around to leave out the same window he'd entered. With one leg swung over the windowsill, he looked back at her warily. She took that as sign he'd listen and continued. "Who are you? What are you? I've seen you around Ponyville and I've heard nothing but rumors. Where do you live? Are there others like you?"

Henry looked at her, bewildered as she paused for breath. After a moment, he realized she was expecting an answer, and he pointed at his throat and shook his head.

"...You can't talk?" the unicorn guessed and Henry shrugged.

It was the best she was going to get. Undeterred, the purple pony's horn glowed as she levitated over a quill and a piece of parchment. "Well, you could always write your answers-"

She was cut off as Henry grabbed the offered writing implements and quickly scrawled out a sentence in English and handed it back to her. She blinked owlishly, staring at the parchment for a few seconds as she tried to process what he;s written.

"This, this isn't Ponish..." She trailed off, looking up at him as he shrugged once more. Her grow creased in thought as she muttered. "You can't talk, can't write, but you can understand me correct?"

He nodded and the mare smiled, a determined look in her eyes as she walked further into the building. "I can teach you Ponish, that way we can establish two-way communication! Oh, do you have somewhere to stay?"

She looked over her shoulder at him and Henry hesitantly nodded as he extracted himself from the window and trailed after the pony. He wasn't sure what to make of her, but he wouldn't pass on the opportunity to actually learn one of the skills he knew he'd need in order to live here.

The unicorn was oblivious to his cautiousness. "You're more than welcome to stay here if you want. Spike and I are the only ones that live here and we have plenty of room for you if you'd like."

Henry shook his head, as tempting as it was to have a roof over his head, he'd make do with camp until he could afford his own lodgings. And if were honest with himself, he didn't want to risk the pony finding out about his criminal activity, her offer was genuine, but the thief knew how easy it was for people to change their tune.

No matter how many times he'd thought he'd finally found a place to belong, it was ripped out from beneath him.

"Alright, the offer still stands," the mare said. "Why don't you take a seat and we can get started."

A week later, Henry stood in front of his brand new post office box. Twilight, the unicorn hellbent on establishing communication with him, had helped him put an ad in the local newspaper in the hopes he could find some work. He'd included the address of the PO box as well, so the locals (or anyone really, work was work) wouldn't have to go looking for him out in the woods.

Apparently, he had mail.

Author's Note

Rules*

Submit your questions in the comments and specify which chapter your commenting on (just in case).
Keep the rating in mind when asking questions.

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.

Characters Available for Asks**

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

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

Chapter 2: Dear Henry...

Henry's camp was simple. Within a clearing in Whitetail Woods he'd set up a tent, a fire pit, a shovel propped up against a tree, and the human in question was sitting in said tent, a small pile of letters before him. A few were job offers, simple odd jobs around that he secretly hoped wouldn't result in any drama. He'd skimmed over those offers and set them aside in their own pile to sort out later, for now, Henry turned his attention to other letters.

They were questions, he was surprised at first, no one should be aware of his history, the different timelines, any of it. But he supposed that given his rather bizarre relationship with time, space, and higher powers that it made a strange sort of sense his wacky shenanigans had followed him across dimensions.

...He wasn't quite sure how to reply to them though.

Just answer if you were in person, I'll handle the rest.

With a smile and a thumbs up, Henry sorted out the pile and picked a letter.

Hello Henry, just testing this out to see if you get this, my question is how are you feeling about this world you've found yourself in?

He blinked, putting the piece of paper down and began to sign. I'm still wrapping my head around everything, but adjusting hasn't been too difficult, well aside from the... communication issue, but I'm sort of used to that already. He paused, pensive. This place is so...beautiful, everything is so vibrant, it's like I'm in a fairytale.

He smiled. I know a few people that would like it here.

Hey henry, what path did you take to get here? Like was it badass ending -> Just plain epic -> gspi -> convict allies?

Fond memories rose to the surface, his trusty scooter blazing a trail through the museum. the exhilaration of claiming the Toppats prized ruby to his collection, and how flawlessly he'd escaped The Wall completely unseen. A shudder went down his spine at the memory of the rapidly changing scenery, the uncertainty of where he'd end up, and the cautious relief of landing in that broom cupboard in the pony castle.

He replied to the question absentmindedly. Intruder in a Scooter, Pure Blooded Thief, Ghost Inmate, Jewel Baron.

Putting the echoes of the past aside, the next letter made him smile ruefully.

Is there anyone or anything from your world you miss having around? Anyone or anything in the pony world you've taken a liking to?

I miss my friends... Even the ones I didn't always get along with. Henry signed as he imagined the whirring of helicopter blades, the rumble of a tank, the hum of an airship engine. He smirked. I like the fact that ponies really like their gems. He pulled out a small green emerald from his pant pocket, flashed a toothy grin, and put the gem away.

He shrugged. I haven't really gotten to know many ponies yet, Twilight seems... okay? I'm not sure of her yet.

Dear Henry, would you like if Charles and Ellie appear to keep you company?

Henry put a hand to his chin, his gut instinct was to say yes, but, he knew it was an uphill battle for him in this new world, and he wouldn't want his friends to go through this no matter how much he missed them. He blinked. It would be nice, but they have their own lives, and I wouldn't want to pull them away from that.

Hello Hey Henry, do you have any gadgets that were reviewed by Gadget Gabe?

Henry patted his pockets, and pulled the various trinkets he'd used across his adventures. He chuckled. I have a few. he replied.

He held the next letter in one hand as he packed away his gadgets with the other. He blinked and looked up the inside of his tent, tapping the letter.

To: Narrator, How does it feel to be narrating a story and trying not to get found by the local 4th wall breakers?

Huh, didn't think I'd get a question. Well Discord's still in stone and Pinkie Pie doesn't have a level of awareness high enough to actually "see" me. It's less actual narrating and more presenting it as a story on my end of the multiverse, However, Henry does actually hear my voice when I talk like this. It's kind of fun really, I'm a bit of a shut-in, so this level of interaction is refreshing.

Henry smiled as he added. You're certainly nicer the last entity I was stuck with.

Dear Henry;

I have been curious about a thing or two related to the valuable(s) you've obtained, what are you going to do with it(them) and where are you hiding it(them)?

Henry pointed at his pant pockets, giggling.

A week, he's been here for little over a week, and he's already nicked a bunch of gems from all over Ponyville, he's like a crow or a magpie or something, it's the small shiny things with him.

Henry snickered as he opened another letter.

In the event that this reaches you henry, I would like to inform you about something gigantic, you see this is not the first time the teleporter has given you a bad displacement (*in the stickmin collection if you go down one route there is only two instances where the teleporter works the other times he dies*) if you can recall there was that bunch of jetpack mech suit sort of guy's when the top hat clan was fighting the military, they are known as the Center for Chaos Containment, they monitor the world and if there is too much chaos they intervene, or if say some event in the past was in danger of destabilizing the multiverse like how you got that cake back when you were escaping the prison after you got arrested trying to break into that bank.

-From a lowly space marine stuck floating in space unable to die

Henry blinked. "Uh..." He cleared his throat, responding in sign. I already know about the CCC, Timelines. Thanks?

Another somewhat long letter awaited him.

Hello Henry, hope everything is good in Equestria. I wanted to ask, how many sentient robots have you encountered in your life. If you met a certain Gizoid named Emerl, then he probably didn't care that you were a criminal, since his aunt is also a criminal. If you have any robot suits/powerups that you gained during your adventures, I'd recommend using them to help Equestria, because hijinks and chaos will attack the denizens, and you'll be involved one way or another. Start training, get to know the locals, and just keep being you, even if you have to steal sometimes, though maybe you can explore ancient ruins, since I heard explorers can keep what they find, or sell them for money. Thank you for reading. Fireza.

It was a lot to take in, confusion fell across his features as he responded. I don't know anyone called Emerl.

That's a different game series.

With a shrug, he continued. I don't have anything that advanced on me either. Why should I help the ponies? he faltered, glancing at his surroundings. Sure, Twilight seems nice, but as soon as word gets out that I'm not exactly a model citizen, they'll want nothing to do with me. It wouldn't be the first time I've tried staying on the straight and narrow only for it to go to pot.

He sighed. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try, I don't have much of a choice.

A single letter was all that remained.

Are there any interesting places you've heard about that you'd like to visit?! Jack heard there's an underwater city somewhere that's still inhabited! Jack would like to see it one day!

From: Jack the Yak

Henry shrugged. I don't know anything about this new world, I'm still learning how to read Ponish and I'd prefer to keep out of the way until then. I hope you get to see that city one day.

With the last of the letters sorted, He turned his attention to the few job offers he's received. There was one from a farm, the local bakery, a pony needed something delivered to their house...

Henry looked at the job offer from the library. Twilight was offering him a part time job organizing books. With a grateful smile he cleaned up the scattered mess of letters, made sure there wasn't anything he left behind, and slopped through the trees towards Ponyville.

Once inside the library, Twilight Sparkle blinked at him as he handed her the piece of parchment with the library job offer. "You actually wanted to work here? I just put that in because I wanted to help. I wasn't sure if anypony else was going to hire you."

He shrugged, Henry figured that since he spent so much time at the library and was already being taught Ponish, it made sense to work there as well. He also hoped that working with books would help improve his understanding of the language.

Author's Note

Chapter 2 Takes place at the same time as Chapter 3 of Misty Morals

Rules*

Submit your questions in the comments and specify which chapter your commenting on (just in case).
Keep the rating in mind when asking questions.

Story Goals

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

Meet Pinkie Pie Reward: Welcome to Ponyville Party
Meet Applejack Reward: Access to Sweet Apple Acres
Help Twilight Reward: Character Unlocked! Twilight Sparkle

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.

Characters Available for Asks**

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

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

Chapter 3: Incoming Message

-Ok, I'm back, what'd I... miss?

Henry was sitting on the library floor, surrounded by books, and a pen and notebook in hand. Beside him, Twilight was muzzle deep in a book, a quill and piece of parchment idly held in her magic. The human blinked and excitedly waved the notebook around, grinning. He held the notebook towards the ceiling and Twilight was too absorbed in her own research to notice.

His notes were written in English, followed by a somewhat messy Ponish translation at the bottom of the page. The notes themselves were relatively simple, a brief history of the town, a few scattered passages from history books, and doodles of the local currency and the different values ascribed to the different coins.

You're a fast learner.

Henry looked rather proud of himself as he set his notes aside. He looked over at the studious unicorn beside him and cleared his throat.

The unicorn blinked as she was pulled from her reading. "Huh? Something the matter?"

Henry pointed towards the clock hanging on the nearby wall, it was almost midday.

Twilight put her book down and teleported her notes to her desk in a flash of light. The mare nodded as she got up and stretch her stiff legs. "Oof, we have been at this for a while haven't we? Why we don't take a break and have lunch?"

Henry nodded in agreement and the two of them looked around at the books strewn around them. They both chuckled sheepishly as they moved to organize the mess into something more manageable. Twilight did the bulk of the work via magic while Henry struggled to heave a few of the larger tomes. In a few short minutes, the books had been neatly arranged into stacks by the wall to be put away or read later.

Twilight walked over to a window and looked outside. "It's a nice day today, what do you say about eating out for lunch?"

The human frowned slightly, he'd been so used to the idea of keeping a low profile that he'd barely explored the town beyond the market and the library, though he'd been seen often enough for ponies to take notice, and for a vibrantly pink pony to chase after him whenever she caught sight of him. Henry had taken great measures to avoid the pink terror after his first encounter, he'd had to pull out every trick in the book to do so, but the mare's persistence unsettled him to the point his flight response went haywire.

Twilight took his hesitation and reluctance as disliking the idea. "I know you're still getting used to the place, we can eat here if you want." She said reassuringly with a smile.

Henry nodded as he gave the unicorn a grateful smile.

"Great! We have some leftover eggs, how about an omelette?"

Lunch was a quiet affair, Henry slowly teaching Twilight a few letters in sign language as they ate. On the table was a pile of letters. Henry cleared his plate with a satisfied sign and glanced over at the letters, his curiosity was piqued.

Twilight noticed. "There was a mix-up with the mail this morning, a bunch of your mail got delivered to the library by mistake."

He hummed in acknowledgment, grabbed the pile and opened them one by one, skimming the contents of each as he did. Henry's plate was levitated out from under him as Twilight headed to the kitchen with her own.

"I'll leave you to it." She called out over her shoulder as the sound of her moving about the kitchen filled the quiet atmosphere of the library. Henry grunted in response, more focused on the letters.

Do you have any weapons that could do anything against the Timberwolves of the Everfree?

Henry quickly glanced over at the entryway to the kitchen before signing his response. Timberwolves? I don't think so? I haven't encountered one yet.

Hey Henry, you might want to read up on this new world. Seems as if magic is real and replaces modern day technology. Though I bet you could make a fortune selling earth inventions.

Henry blinked as he set the letter down, thoughtful. he answered after a few quiet moments. I've been trying to research what I can, it's slow but fun. It reminds me of the days I'd spend reading through the archives on the Toppats Airship. I don't think I can sell human inventions, the things I have in my pockets are always situational, and...

The memory of certain gadgets came to mind. He grimaced.

I think there are some things that are better off left on Earth and I don't think ponies can make most of that stuff anyway. Henry read the next letter, and after a few seconds he smirked.

To: Henry

Henry, have you ever fought a Keyblade wielder, or gone to the Keyblade graveyard and tried to pull one of the weapons out. Even though you would at most get a neutral/anti-hero type Keyblade, you could sell some if that doesn't work out, or keep them as souvenirs.

To: Narrator

In the future, will we be able to send stuff to Henry, because there are certain items that I may want to gift him, nothing too broken, since in similar situations the askers can send stuff. Also, will henry be able to access any files or items from other routes, or maybe we can gift him certain items from said routes, otherwise I'll ask this, will there be occasional cross-overs with other series and/or stories. That would be cool in theory, but it would be difficult for you to maintain, so I'm not really expecting it to happen, but that does mean that you'll surprise us one way or the other. Have a great day/afternoon/night you two.

You want to send him stuff? I dunno... It could open the floodgates for people to request stuff like M!A (Magic Anon) and potentially derail things. Tell you what, I think on it and add to the rules once I figure out a good system for it.

A keyblade wieldier? I've seen the weapon, but I haven't met anyone who can use them... Henry signed, confused.

You can pretty much assume that any question along the lines of "Has Henry gone here, or met X character, or used X item?" will be answered as "No". With the exception of any item he used in canon or in Exploring the Castle.

Henry made a noise in thought as he read the next letter.

To Herr Stickmin:

A word of warning, there are a great many semi dangerous entities that will sooner or later cause chaos for brief time so self defense skills that (probably) won’t fail might be a good thing to learn if you can find one you can use.

The human looked concerned at the warning, ideas, plans, options all bounced around in his head. He was pulled out of his musing by Twilight walking back in and noticing his worry.

"Is everything alright?" she asked and Henry showed him the letter. She looked at it for a moment. "... I can't read this."

The thief blinked and flipped the piece of paper over. he wrote a janky, if sufficient Ponish summary of the latter, and gave to her to read.

"Self-defense? I'm not sure there's anywhere in Equestria that could help you. We don't usually see many bipedal races in our borders." Twilight replied as she read his translation.

He shrugged and picked up the next letter.

I apologize if the news is a bit dated on my last message, was hanging around a black hole at the time and only learned you were in Equestria, but this information is something I think you don't know of yet, the Toppat Clan and the airship have crashed in Equestria!
-from the same Lowly Space Marine floating in space

A spike of fear mixed with elation within Henry's mind. The feeling of belonging and contentment he'd gained from joining the Toppats marred by a single moment that shattered the hope he had. The bitter cold of the night air, the icy grip of the ocean, the pain of betrayal.

"Hey?" Twilight asked, moving closer to him in concern. "What's wrong?"

Henry swallowed, it felt like his throat was constricted, his hands felt like dead weight, He wrestled with his emotions as Twilight reached out to rub his back with a hoof comfortingly. He took a shaky breath and set the letter aside.

Later, as the afternoon sun shone into the library, Henry returned to the pile of mail sat unanswered as Twilight was upstairs busy with her own research. He found two letters that had a similar question.

Henry have you met Pinkie Pie yet?

Dear Henry

The pink one probably knows about this letter already and the time shenanigans that occurred to get it here anyway be prepared to shortly be ambushed by confetti and an entity slightly less chaotic then you who won’t judge you on your past.

Also you will get my first letter at the appropriate time

Signed ¿Unknown

P.S don’t break a pinkie promise

"Um..." Henry trailed off and signed Do they mean the pink menace?

Yup.

Oh, I don't think meeting her is a good idea... Wait, first letter? Henry looked quizzical.

You'll get it in about two months. Some people need to be in the right place at the right time first.

Henry nodded and blanched as he read the question on the final letter.

Dear Henry,

What do you think of the Toppat Clan and of Reginald Copperbottom and Right Hand Man?

And how would you react if you ever crossed paths with them again? Y'know just in case.

Henry answered in a single sentence, somewhat nervous.

I don't know, it's complicated.

Author's Note

Rules*

This takes place one week after the previous chapter.

Submit your questions in the comments and specify which chapter your commenting on (just in case).
Keep the rating in mind when asking questions.
Also keep in mind the canon established in Misty Morals.

Story Goals

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

Meet Pinkie Pie Reward: Welcome to Ponyville Party
Meet Applejack Reward: Access to Sweet Apple Acres
Help Twilight Reward: Character Unlocked! Twilight Sparkle

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.

Characters Available for Asks**

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

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

Chapter 4: You're Invited to...

Henry sat at a table in Ponyville's library with Twilight across from him, a notepad and quill held un her magic. In the short amount of time he'd been working with her, the mare had picked up sign language frighteningly quickly, whereas Henry's own attempts to study Ponish had been slow, the different letters and symbols making his head spin.

But he was determined. The progress he'd made was a trickle in comparison to Twilight's endless capacity to learn.

"So, would you be comfortable answering a few questions?" Twilight asked. "Nothing too personal, just so I have a few things in my report to Princess Celestia."

Henry slowly signed Report? in confusion.

Twilight nodded, perfectly comfortable with the notion. "Well, we've seen anything like you in Equestria before, at first I assumed you were something from the Everfree Forest, but after we met, I wrote to the princess explaining the situation."

Henry nodded warily.

"She asked me to record anything I learned while working with you!" the unicorn replied brightly. "Shall we begin?"

The thief sighed and nodded, making himself more comfortable in his seat, or at least trying to. Pony chairs were a bit on the small side, and he had to awkwardly hug his knees to even sit up at the low table.

"Great!" Twilight said with a grin and gleam in her eyes. "Let's start with something simple, can you tell me your name?"

Henry signed his name one letter at a time, Twilight wrote them down as he did.

"Henry Stickmin?"

He nodded, and showed her the unique sign for his name

"Age?"

He blinked. Twenty-eight.

"And you identify as a male of your species, correct?"

Henry felt he was taking some sort of government test as opposed to an friendly interview. He crossed his arms and waited for the next question. Twilight, for her part, looked perfectly at ease with his response.

"Too invasive? What about how you got to Equestria?"

And so, the questions turned into a recount of his prior escapades, and at several hours later, Twilight set down her notes, looking at him sternly.

Henry thought it was cute she was thought she could intimidate him.

"You know you won't be able to get away with that sort of behavior in Equestria. We don't tolerate thievery."

He shrugged, it wasn't like he had much of a choice given he was living in a tent in the woods.

"I'm serious! You could be blacklisted from stores, denied jobs, ponies who have a criminal record are even denied housing in many major cities because of the threat they pose to the community." Twilight explained. "If you get caught breaking the law it impacts you for life."

It took a moment for him to understand she wasn't exaggerating. He frowned, as far as he knew, no one had figured out he'd been the one to steal from the castle, that everyone in the small agricultural town had assumed he'd just wandered in from the woods. A wandering vagabond.

I don't have much of choice. He finally replied.

"Why?" Twilight asked in earnest confusion.

With a sigh Henry got up and motioned her to follow him.

"You live here?" the unicorn said in alarm as he showed her his modest campsite.

The flat look he gave her spoke volumes.

"Okay, okay, I'm sure one of my friends wouldn't mind letting you stay with them until you can get yourself on your hooves- er feet. I have a monthly stipend from the princess, if you don't mind doing a bit of shelving for a few hours every day, I can give some bits to cover basic necessities..." Twilight rambled as she started pacing.

Henry was taken aback, this wasn't the response he was expecting, so used to people writing him off, giving rather insensitive or pointless advice, that a genuine attempt to help had been the last thing he expected from the mare.

A twinge of loneliness made itself known as he remembered similar situations during his various lives across the different timelines. Pushing the memories back, Henry schooled his face into one of impassive calm, and waved a hand in Twilight's face to get her attention.

"-Of course we'll have to consider dietary differences, one of the hurdles most non-ponies face is the availability of food within Equestria's borders- huh?" she looked up at him, frozen mid-step, and blinking owlishly. "What is it?"

You want to help. he signed hastily, his emotions getting away from him.

"Sorry I didn't catch that, could you repeat it?"

He nodded and signed it again at a slower pace. Twilight just looked at him as if the statement was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Of course I want to help, we're friends aren't we?"

Friends?

Henry had only had four friends in the entirety of his life. Four amazing people... that would never see eye to eye, that he would never see again. Twilight's easy declaration of friendship awoke something in him, emotions he'd long since cast aside and buried deep within himself came rushing to the surface. The truth he'd been avoiding in the scant few weeks he'd been here.

He would never see his friends again. There would be no more Retry's, no longer would he wake up in a prison cell, or see the announcement for the Tunisian Diamond Exhibit, or be tasked to infiltrate the airship...

He had hoped, once, that there was timeline out there where the four people he valued most in the world could put aside their differences, their allegiances, and just live, exist alongside him in peace.

"Henry?" Twilight asked, snapping him out of his train of thought.

He gave her an apologetic smile. Sorry, it just hit me, I'm stuck here...

She nodded sympathetically. "I guess you've been too focused on surviving to have it really process huh? We have a spare room in the library if you want to use it. And Spike's been asking about you too, I'm sure you two will get along."

I don't mind living out here...

"Henry, we have rain scheduled for next week, you can't stay out here in that sort of weather. It's no trouble at all to give you a place to sleep and three meals a day." She replied warmly.

He smiled, gratitude rolling off him in waves. Thanks.

That night he was situated in a small guest room, his room, on the top floor of the library. A pile of letters sat waiting for him on his nightstand as sat on his bed, looking around at the cozy space. A lone, round window offered a view of the purple night sky and glittering stars. He had a small shelving unit up against the wall opposite his too-small bed, and the door leading to the rest of the tree library was to his right.

Comfortable, well fed, and content, Henry tackled the most recent round of mail he'd retrieved from his post office box earlier that afternoon.

Henry,
Timberwolves are wolves made of sticks that have the ability to reform when scattered, some strange magic causes this- Red mage Alain

So, kill it with fire? he suggested. Thanks for the information.

Dear Henry,

Do you have any plans on returning to Canterlot Castle? If so, do you think you will get in trouble if you get back there?

He shook his head. I don't plan on going back there unless I absolutely have to. The guards got a good look at me and I don't want to get arrested.

Hello again its the Space Marine in space, yeah uh kind of floated too close to a white hole and now I'm about four or five lightyears away from Equestria so, yay? Anyway this question is for the narrator, how many other narrators do you know, like the narrator from "There Is No Game"

Lowly Space Marine Floating in Space

Oh, hello again. I don't know any other narrators, in truth I'm more akin to a Greek god, a flawed being responsible for a certain aspect of the world, but I'm not quite a part of this world in the way the true deities are.

This world knows of me and what I govern to some extent, a few myths or legends, but I lack a physical presence in this world, I am a narrator purely due to the fact that I am the means through which you see and interpret this world.

Behold our goddess. Henry signed, expression a perfect deadpan.

Funny...

Henry just smirked.

Dear Henry and Narrator

Which Hogwarts house would you two be in?

Whichever one lets me get away with casting hexes. Henry answered with a smirk.

I haven't read the books in years... probably Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw.

Dear Henry,
Who does twilight remind you of back in your world?

He paused, thinking as he held his chin in one hand, the letter held in the other.

Reginald, he signed after a moment. A less paranoid, less mischievous Reginald. He was always working on something for the good of the clan. Even when I was leader, I'd defer to him for a lot of stuff, Right Hand Man had to force him to take breaks-

He stopped mid-sentence, face falling.

Oh yeah, they're here too aren't they... I hope they're okay.

He was still conflicted when it came to the two leaders of the Toppat Clan he'd gotten to know over the different timelines, but regardless of the complicated nature of where he stood with them, Henry was tired of seeing them die, whether he caused their deaths or not.

He was tired of a lot of things, truth be told. He opened up the next letter and used the opportunity to calm down.

Dear Henry;

I am a friend, so - because of that and the fact I care for you - I must tell you that the one who you stole the valuable(s) is Princess Celestia herself! Twilight's teacher and Equestria's Princess, God of the Sun, and MANY MORE THINGS! Though, she's not famous for fighting well at all; this might mean you get a chance against her next time you bump into her.

Good luck, mate.

Sincerely, a friend.

P.S: Anything you need (as information about Equestria), I'm here to provide it.

Thanks, I plan on staying as far away from her as possible though, Henry replied. Thank you for the offer, but I'd prefer to learn what I can without help from you guys, no offense but, it's usually better for me to have sources other than mysterious letters from beyond the void for information.

Oh how delightful! A new intelligence steps into the wonderful land of Equestria! I can already see potential and many shenanigans to be had... Particularly with The Pink One. Enjoyable as a friend, invaluable as an ally, and positively terrifying when angered. Truly the perfect mix.
If it is ever approved for us to send you items, I'll be sure to send you a couple of my own.

Samsara Lotus, Void Thaumaturge

I'll take your word for it. Henry signed, still wary about the pink terror. I appreciate your help though.

This wasn’t asked by the first letter but how did you escape the prison?

Well, this time around I called my lawyer, it was faster, Henry signed and shrugged. By that point it was been there, done that, died more times than I care to admit.

To Narrator: Hello, hope all is well. I wanted to ask if he will encounter more characters in the future from his old world.

Also, how many worlds has Henry been to? Did he travel to any of the worlds that the teleporter took him to?

Lastly, will he gain items from other routes? Also, have you determined what we can give henry, if anything at all, or do you need more time?

Okay, to answer the teleporter question, Henry hasn't been to any of the worlds the teleporter sent him to, what you see in the games in what you get.

I have considered sending items, however they will be heavily restricted in order to not break the plot.

As for meeting other people...

Far out of sight, high above the Everfree Forest, a red airship chugged along...

They'll cross paths eventually.

To Henry: Hey henry, hope you're doing great. I wanted to ask how your research was going, and if you have found any useful magic or trinkets, and if you were going to start exploring ruins.

There is one person which you can meet which would be awesome, which would be grogar. Though he may be evil, I think that you, with the help of others, can help him be a better person, and with all that knowledge, he can benefit pony kind over all.

Not to mention other people who are also very ancient and powerful would be cool to meet as well. You should ask the narrator for some names, that way you can plan for the future. Thanks for reading, and have a great day.

I would advise against going to Grogar if you value the friendship and opportunities present in Equestrian society...

So, what should I do? Henry asked.

There are several powerful entitles in this world. The Solar Queen, The Moon Witch, The Dark DJinn, The Huntsmare.

You have a good thing goin here in Ponyville, there's no need to go chasing after power.

Henry smiled, agreeing. I've had enough adventuring for several lifetimes.

To: Mr. Stickmin,
I have a package containing 50 Equestrian Bits but it seems that there is an issue and I cannot send packages to Ponyville, so would you like them HALO inserted instead?

From, A very bored being.

A coin pouch fell from the ceiling to land in Henry's lap.

Bits are allowed, don't spend it all in one place.

Henry grinned as he shook the pouch and listened to the coins jingle within.

Dear Henry,

Hi so you meet Applejack yet? i hope you meet her one day she is kind and funny pony I know

rainbow light

She's the pony that sells apples right? I've seen her at the market. Haven't spoken to her yet... Maybe I could buy Twilight some apples as a thank-you present? Henry mused. Huh?

The final letter was in a bright pink envelope and addressed to Henry. His name was written, not in English, but in Ponish. When he opened it, a small explosion of confetti erupted from the envelope and drifted down to cover his legs and bedspread.

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎊🎊🎊🎊🎊

Welcome to Ponyville Mister Stickmin,

You’ve been avoiding me for a while so I thought I’d send a letter instead!

After all, those other ponies were doing it. Please please please come to Sugarcube Corner, (the building that looks Delicious) I promise it will be fun! (cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye)

Also with the letter, Henry pulled out a piece of pink carboard with the date and time written on it, and a small map of the town that showed him exactly where to go. He was admittedly, rather nervous about a large gathering (he never liked them, even the parties that were thrown aboard the space station or the airship never got his attention unless he was too lazy to go to the cafeteria for food), but if he was getting an invite, he wasn't sure he was ready to deal with the consequences if he failed to show.

Uh...Looks like I'm going to a party tomorrow.

With a sigh he got up, cleaned up the confetti, put the letters away in a drawer of his nightstand and turned off the lamp that sat atop it.

Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

Author's Note

Takes place after Mist fights the dragon in chapter 5 of Misty Morals

It has been one month since Henry and the Toppats arrived in Equestria.

In Equestria, it is now the start of May.

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.
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
Meet Applejack Reward: Access to Sweet Apple Acres
Help Twilight Reward: Character Unlocked! Twilight Sparkle
Gain popularity in Ponyville. Reward: Meet Princess Celestia

This is a Route Change. Route Changes cannot be altered or influenced by Asks, so it is up to the vocal majority whether these events are triggered. To trigger this Route, Convince Henry he is better off better off staying on the straight and narrow and abandoning his emotional attachment to The Toppat Clan.

WARNING: Doing so will lock Henry out of any peaceful or friendly reconciliation with The Toppats and will instead make him an ally of Equestria. Choose Wisely. * Meet the Toppat Trio in the Forbidden Jungle. Reward: Meet Mist Veil

This is a Route Change. Route Changes cannot be altered or influenced by Asks, so it is up to the vocal majority whether these events are triggered. To trigger this Route, Convince Henry to pursue the Toppats instead of befriending the local ponies.

WARNING: Doing so will mean he won't return to Ponyville, and will not intergrate into pony society. Choose Wisely.

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.

Gifting Items

You may send money, food, or anything readily available in Equestria.
The items must be small enough to fit in a chest or other storage container.
You cannot send anything from other games, media or franchises. Even if said item appeared in canon.
All gifts will be approved or denied as necessary. I will respond to any comments giving gifts letting you know if your gift is accepted.

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. Either the Equestrian Ally Route or Team Toppat Route, determined by the choices made throughout the story. See the above notes on Route Change for details.

Characters Available for Asks**

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

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

Chapter 5: A Welcome to Ponyville Party

Henry entered the bakery shaped like a gingerbread house cautiously. The place was decorated with balloons and streamers of different colours, and long tables laden with plates of typical party fare. Several ponies milled around the room and Henry caught sight of Twilight chatting with a small group of mares.

His vision was immediately filled with pink.

"Hi!" the pink menace.

Henry resisted every urge to turn tail and bolt from the building and shakily waved to the beaming pink mare in front of him. He was quickly pulled into a hug and dragged towards Twilight and her friends.

"He's here!" the pink one sing-songed and the other five ponies looked over at him.

"Henry!" Twilight said with a welcoming smile. "Let me introduce you to my friends, I see you've already met Pinkie Pie."

"He has now!" Pinkie said, squishing him into a one armed hug. It felt surprisingly soft, like hugging a pink furry marshmallow. Henry carefully extracted himself from her grip and waved, a nervous grin on his face.

The orange, Stetson-wearing mare he'd seen selling apples at the market tipped her hat politely. "Howdy, name's Applejack. Any friend of Twilight's is a friend of mine."

"Agreed," said the white unicorn with the curled purple mane and tai. "I'm Rarity, a pleasure to meet you."

Rarity eyed his black turtleneck and grey pants with scrutiny. "....Hm...."

"Aaannd there she goes, heads up, she's probably going to drag you to her place later and try to make you some new clothes," a blue pegasus spoke up with a smirk. She walked over to the human and held out a hoof. "I'm Rainbow Dash, the fastest flier in all of Equestria."

Henry shook hooves with Rainbow as Twilight coaxed another pony pit from behind her. Twilight offered Henry a sheepish smile.

"Sorry, Fluttershy is a bit... shy," the unicorn said and Henry caught the slightest glimpse of a butter yellow pegasus trying to hide her face in her long pink mane. Henry shrugged, he didn't mind.

"Twilight was just filling us in on your situation, havin' taken you in and all," Applejack said. "If you need a job, we could always use some help out on the farm."

"I could always an extra pair of hooves at the boutique," Rarity added. "Stars knows I have more than enough work on my plate as of late and I could use an assistant."

Thanks? Henry signed and Twilight translated.

"Of course, now, why you don't tell us a little about yourself?" Rarity asked.

Henry blinked, smiling as he signed and Twilight translated word-for-word to her friends. He kept it simple, explaining what he was, that he's been accidently teleported to Equestria, and had nowhere to go. He kept out the fact that he'd been anywhere near Canterlot Castle, or that he's stolen anything. If Twilight's reaction to his past crimes was any indication, he doubt the ponies would be as welcoming if they knew he was a thief.

Afterwards, Henry was content to let the conversation continue without his input, standing on the sidelines to listen and observe as Twilight and her friends talked about the goings-on in Ponyville.

"You will not believe what Cloud Kicker saw last night," Rainbow said, gesturing wildly. "She got the night shift, and while she was rounding up clouds, she saw this massive thing flying over the Everfree Forest!"

"Could it have been a dragon?" Twilight asked and Fluttershy squeaked in fear.

"O-oh my, I hope not..."

Rainbow waved a hoof dismissively. "Nah, it didn't look like a dragon, Cloud Kicker couldn't get a good look at it, but she said it kinda looked one of those airships you see docking at Canterlot sometimes, but different."

Henry felt a pit form in his stomach, fear and hope vying for dominance within him. He wasn't sure what to think, he had a feeling he knew what that ship was.

"It has to be a creature not native to Equestria if they're flying their ship over the Everfree," Twilight said. "The Equestrian flight routes all go around it."

Henry was dimly aware he'd signed something to Twilight as he wandered over to a chair and sat down. The details hadn't been enough for him to tell if it was them, The Toppats, but he knew, he knew it was them. He wasn't sure what to do, his feelings marred by everything he'd already been through but Henry would be lying if he said he didn't miss being a Toppat.

The Clan had been so instrumental to so much...

Henry spent the rest of the party trying to take his mind off of his inner turmoil, and enjoy the festivities.

Hours later Henry was reading in his room when there was a knock at the door. He set the heavy tome aside and slid off his bed. He opened the door to a pile of packages being held by a small purple dragon.

"H-hey Henry, Twilight asked me to drop these off for you." Spike said, straining to carry the parcels as he waddled over to dump the gifts onto his bed.

Henry nodded and thanks.

"Who's sending you all this stuff anyway?" the dragon asked and Henry shrugged.

"Okay... I'll be downstairs if you need anything." Spike said and left the room.

Henry closed the door behind him and turned his attention to the packages on his bed. He sat down on the bed and picked up a package, opening the attached letter.

Henry,
In regards to your Decision, as Twilight would say, friendship is magic,
are your top hat friends worth losing your current simple life for?
A Concerned mage, Alain(the rest of the name is blanked out

Ps, it is dangerous to go alone, take this.(add grenadine if it is allowed, if not, than add a rusted sword (this is simple, right?), actually I think it would be nice anyway.

He looked at the magical grenade, eyeing it and the rusted sword warily before setting the box they came in gently onto the floor and out of the way. He re-read the letter, brow furrowing.

If Reginald has the airship fully operational... then maybe. It was his leadership that led tp the Toppats having as much power as they did. If there's one thing I know, it's that being sent here won't have him down for long, Henry signed. But it's not as easy as just choosing one over the other, I have a lot of... one-sided history with the clan, both good and bad. Thanks for the sword and grenade.

Among the pile of packages, were more letters. Henry pulled one out and opened it.

To: Herr Stickmin,
Uh oh, m'thinks I broke reality a little, give me a moment... There, now do you happen to know if there are any ponies that seem odd? If so, excepting the Pink One, have you managed to avoid them?
From a Really Bored Being.

Post Script: To Narry, HALO needs a parachute. High Altitude Low Opening.

I haven't noticed anyone that seems strange. I try to avoid drawing attention to myself when I leave the library. Henry replied in sign language.

I didn't know that, so I just teleported the bits in.

Henry opened the next package and smiled at the sight of some apple pies and a music box.

Dear Henry,

I'm sending you a little care package. Inside are a couple of freshly baked apple pies. With Applejack being a apple aficionado giving her one of these would be a good way to gain some rapport with her. You can use the other as a snack if you feel like a snack or maybe just throw it at someone's face if the situation calls for it. Up to you of course.

There was a sticky note stuck to the side of the music box.

In lieu of the original gift of an MP3 player, which is a bit too technologically advanced for this reality, have this music box.
- From Demi.

Henry removed the sticky note and wound up the music box. He smiled as he opened it up to see a tiny version of himself mid-dance as the tinkling noted of a music box variation of The Distraction Dance played. Happily, he listened to the sound as he put the box still containing the pies down on the floor beside the other one.

Thank you!

In much better spirits, Henry tackled the next letter.

Dear Henry,

I was wondering, what exactly you wear? How many set of clothes do you have right now? If you are interested in getting some more clothes you can ask Twilight to introduce you to her friend, Rarity. She is a seamstress and can make you a good set or two.

Henry gestured at the black turtleneck top and gray pants he still had on from when he was trying to steal the Emerald from the Toppats space station. His brown shoes were by the door. He signed his answer. I only have the one outfit, but Rarity has offered to make me some clothes, I might take her up on the offer. It's been getting warmer lately and I could use a new t-shirt and a pair of shorts.

He picked up one of the smaller parcels and opened it to find a short letter and a cupcake. Henry read the letter as he ate the cupcake, making a satisfied hum at the taste of apples.

Dear Henry: I hope you have fun and here I gave a apple cupcake.
From, Rainbow Light

He wiped his hands on his pants before he replied. I wouldn't say I'm having fun, but it's been oddly peaceful here. And I enjoyed the cupcake, thanks!

A narrow, rectangular box caught his eye and he opened it to find a wand. The letter tucked underneath it read as follows.

Have you tried to use magic , since you used it that one time when you were trying to open a door, if not then take this magic wand it can do basic levitation, illumination and fire magic beams which aren't that powerful but would be useful for self defense

From greninken

He blinked and picked up the wand, swishing it in the air as the tip of it lit up in a small orb of light. The orb quickly grew larger, sparking dangerously and Henry dropped the and in alarm. It landed on the floor with a light clatter and the light died out.

Just because I can do magic, doesn't mean I can do it well. he signed. I don't think that's a good sign...

The next letter caused him to sigh as he read it.

Dear Henry,
Will you meet all the Mane 6 before you make your choice? Also, does losing everything to get your old Toppat buddy's really worth losing so much?

I don't have much to lose if I'm being honest, he signed. Sure they're nice but I'd have to tread carefully, and at least this time around I might be able to make a good first impression if I meet Reginald.

Henry was thoughtful as he continued. I don't know if this universe will reset like Earth did, this could be my last chance to see them again. I'm still not sure what I want to do, things are... complicated.

Henry opened another box and was surprised when several plushies exploded out of the box and spilled out onto his bed. He smiled as he pulled out a letter for the pile of soft toys.

To Henry: Hey Henry, hope all is well. I wanted to send a few casual items first, and see how many would get through to you. (Sends Tanooki Mario Plushie, and other Mario and Sonic characters from Super Mario Bros. Z but with powerups, about 10-20 of them) You'll probably be confused by the red Super Sonic looking Plushie, that is when Sonic uses a fire flower, he turns into Fire Sonic, which is on par with Dark Sonic. Also, here, something to read. (Hands him the book series version of Super Mario Bros Z.) And lastly, (Hands him a seemingly empty book. This will allow you to gain access to any book that you or the narrator have read, and is an infinite book, so you can also fit any spells, notes, or anything else that you want in there. It also has the same magical properties as a certain communication book, and it can duplicate itself, but for now you shouldn't duplicate it, cause it will take some time for that, and other features, to become available to you.

To Narrator: Hope this all is ok, also if any of the extra abilities are too op at the time, you can say that they are blocked and that Henry needs to be stronger or have more magic to access them, I just wanted to give him something to write in. And a book with magic properties for the future if he ever needs it. Thank you, and see you next time. Also, I'd kind of prefer if Henry went to the Jungle to confront the trio, so that's my vote on the matter, but he should meet the other Mane Six first, so I'll vote for meeting the Toppats first, then if that doesn't happen, meeting the Mane Six proper, and other ponies in the town.

Henry found the books and skimmed them curiously.

For reference, the "infinite book" will simply work as a notebook for Henry to take notes, the other abilities were unfeasible and a bit too overpowered. He'll be able to use it keep track of important events, relationships, and whatnot.

Henry picked up a plushie, marveling at the sheer number of them he now owned. he put it down to sign You'd like these, they're soft.

Yeah...

Henry took the time to neatly arrange the plushies behind him on the bed. Once that done, a differently shaped box caught his eye.

A hat box. He picked it up and read the note taped to the lid.

To Henry Stickmin
Hello its me the Lowly Space Marine In Space, I have a gift for you I know its a bit early but I just wanted to give you something that would help for cold times and also a little something for when you meet some old friends
*a small box around the size of henry's head appears next to him In it is a set of mittens, a scarf and a tophat with an H on it*
-From Lowly Space Marine In Space

Henry was stunned as he lifted the familiar navy blue hat with the golden H on it out of the box. He inspected it, turning it over in his hands. It was his hat, the hat he'd chosen in the one instance where he'd joined the clan as a new recruit as opposed to usurping Reginald. He put the hat on and looked at the matching mittens and scarf that lay at the bottom of the box.

Thank you...

Absentmindedly, he picked up another letter that was taped to a small package.

Dear Henry Stickmin
In my opinion you should go and find the top hat Clan because you know them and Reginald and Right Hand Man and you can go back to what you love which is stealing and shenanigans and come on don't you miss them? And plus from what I hear they are starting from scratch, and could probably use your skills when it comes to stealing also why stick with the ponies you barely know them and as you once said they could turn on you.
But that's probably not going to happen but still go and try and find them Reginald could be severely stressed out because they only have everything that was on that airship

From RainBro

Henry read the letter again, in a bit of daze he looked up at the ceiling.

You said you'd get everyone to help me with this right?

So far the vote is fairly close, I've only included votes that clearly state which choice they want. And sticking around Ponyville for a bit is in the lead by one vote.

And what would you choose? Henry asked.

I am biased, were it solely up to me, you'd get a taste of life in Ponyville before seeing what the clan has accomplished in the time they've been here, and history would repeat itself...But it's not solely up to me, is it?

Henry hummed in thought as he pulled a framed photograph from the parcel. It showed him sitting in the grass in the shade of a tree with Charles lying down next to him and Ellie sitting on the pilot's other side. He smiled fondly at the memory it captured.

He leaned over to prop the frame up on his nightstand and opened one of the last parcels remaining.

Dear Henry,

I forgot to put my name on my last letter but I’m the one who asked you who twilight reminds you the most back in your world, I was honestly surprised when you gave your answer. But that’s not important, what’s important is my next question, and that is:

If you ever meet someone just like Charles, how would you react?

Plus, I would like to gift you a free copy of my newest song album called “will the sun rise today?”

And that’s all. Hope you enjoy my songs!

From, Rainbow Sparkle, Ponyville’s resident celebrity singer.

Charles is a pretty chill guy, so anyone like him that can look past my kleptomania is pretty cool. I wouldn't trust them to the extent I do Charles, but I'd give friendship a go. he signed and inspected the vinyl record that came with the letter. I'll see if Twilight will let me get out the record player tomorrow and give this a listen, thanks.

He got up and sorted through the empty boxes and pile of gifts lying scattered on his bed. He took the pies down to the kitchen to put in the fridge, with a note to Twilight and Spike to not eat them. With the music box beside the photo on his nightstand, the books, plushies and everything else arranged on his previously empty shelves and his top hat taking pride of place hanging off the bedpost, Henry saw one last package that remained unopened.

A cardboard tube with a letter tied to it. he opened it and tipped the contents out onto his bed, it was a rolled up piece of parchment. Untying the letter, he tossed the packaging into the small pile of boxes that now sat in the corner of the room.

Hey Henry,
Do you know any ASL, or perhaps Morse code? I know you can read and write, just was curios is all. Also, to enjoy your new world and chance at life, here's a map of equestrian and the surrounding countries.

from Glass

Henry blinked and put the letter down to unroll the piece of parchment. It was as the letter stated, a map of Equestria. He took a cursory glance at it before rolling it up and placing on the shelf alongside his other gifts.

I don't know Morse Code, but I do know sign language. he explained, signing the entire time. The Narrator sort of just, knows what I'm signing and translates it into however you guys are seeing this world. She doesn't know it herself. That map will come in handy though, thank you!

Henry plopped onto his bed, happy, but tired. It had been a long day and he knew he had a limited amount of time to choose whether to go after the Toppats. For now though, it was a thought best saved for after he'd gotten some sleep.

Author's Note

This chapter will be your last chance to vote on whether Henry goes after the Toppats or not.

Current votes

Forbidden Jungle: 3
Ponyville: 4

If you haven't voted, do so now. I will put up a blog post tallying the votes in a week.

Edit: Votes have been tallied!
Forbidden Jungle: 9
Ponyville: 10
So, it looks like Henry's staying in Ponyville for the time being. I made sure to only include votes from the previous chapter and this one. Because as I stated in this chapter were it up to me...

Anyway I'm going to start work on the next chapter soon.

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.
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
~~Meet Applejack~~ Reward: Access to Sweet Apple Acres
Help Twilight Reward: Character Unlocked! Twilight Sparkle
Gain popularity in Ponyville. Reward: Meet Princess Celestia

This is a Route Change. Route Changes cannot be altered or influenced by Asks, so it is up to the vocal majority whether these events are triggered. To trigger this Route, Convince Henry he is better off better off staying on the straight and narrow and abandoning his emotional attachment to The Toppat Clan.

WARNING: Doing so will lock Henry out of any peaceful or friendly reconciliation with The Toppats and will instead make him an ally of Equestria. Choose Wisely. * Meet the Toppat Trio in the Forbidden Jungle. Reward: Meet Mist Veil

This is a Route Change. Route Changes cannot be altered or influenced by Asks, so it is up to the vocal majority whether these events are triggered. To trigger this Route, Convince Henry to pursue the Toppats instead of befriending the local ponies.

WARNING: Doing so will mean he won't return to Ponyville, and will not integrate into pony society. Choose Wisely.

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: Voting in Progress
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

You may send money, food, or anything readily available in Equestria.
The items must be small enough to fit in a chest or other storage container.
You cannot send anything from other games, media or franchises. Even if said item appeared in canon.
All gifts will be approved or denied as necessary. I will respond to any comments giving gifts letting you know if your gift is accepted.

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.

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

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
~~Meet Applejack~~ Reward: Access to Sweet Apple Acres
~~Help Twilight~~ Reward: Character Unlocked! Twilight Sparkle
~~Gain popularity in Ponyville.~~ Reward: Meet Princess Celestia
Gather Information on The Toppat Clan. (In Progress)
Head to Manehatten. (Incomplete)

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.)