Disclaimer: This story contains oc's and a variety of characters from MLP:fim, not too many from Rick and Morty. Any characters that are similar to another owner's I apologise unless I am making a direct reference to said character.
This version of Dandy Rick belongs to Fricksqaunchez on tumblr.
Characters in this fanfiction are my own oc's, other than established characters of Mlp: Fim, Rick and Morty (Pocket Morty) and friends Pony oc's.
My little Pony: fim (c) Hasbro.
Rick and Morty (c) Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon
Chapter One Day of Sunshine
It was a crisp spring morning in Ponyville.
The sun had been up for nigh and hour, most residents in the hamlets centre were rising to begin their work for the day; merchants were preparing their stalls and businesses, farming ponies were hoisting and moving the equipment they would need for the day.
Even the young of the hamlet were early to rise, running around the streets, having fun before being corralled into the school house by their teacher for a day of needed (yet boring) learning. Of course the young of Ponyville spent their time half-listening to their aging teacher and the rest gossiping, carving their cuie marks into their desks and looking out the classrooms windows.
A few kilometres outside Ponyville, somewhere south of Sweet Apple Acres, a small Pegasus mare in her garden worked away in the early morning light; gathering the herbs and flowers from various plots into small bunches from her garden. It was easy work however the repeated motions and slowly rising heat made her miss the basket beside her a few times, knocking a roll of thick twine onto the nearest flower bed. The white Pegasus huffed out a sigh, wiping her brow under her wide brimmed hat and looked at the soft green grass she kneeled on, the sun already evaporating the dew drops that remained from the cool night.
Once she had gathered several bundles of herbs and sweet smelling flowers, the mare bowed her head and placed the shears on the ground. Reaching past the basket beside her, she grabbed the twine in her mouth and used her hooves to tie the bundles into certain sizes- leaving excess twine to hang from hooks when she dried them in her home.
Vvvvvooooooooooooooooooooooorp.
A flash of green in her peripherals an acidic toned green, a flickering light off the windows above her. The little mare stared pensively at the windows, daring them to show a hint of tart green. Her ears swivelled as the odd sound travelled on the wind somewhere over her shoulder.
Glancing at her dear dog Lolo, she was relieved that he wasn't bothered by anything. In fact he was quite content lying under an Oleander bush and ignore mostly everything.
Clucking her tongue at the peculiarity of it all, the mare winced.
Her tongue felt papery in her mouth, glancing to her side she spotted a bucket she kept out for her aging pet Labrador cross to drink from. Debating whether or not hygiene was issue, or whether the local ponies would gossip about her further, which was idiotic to contemplate due to her isolation to the main settlement of Ponyville: her closest neighbours being the Apple Family Residents.
She sighed and rose to her hooves with a begrudged groan- her tail swishing the grass from her rear legs. Placing her tools in a small saddlebag, she hiked the bag over her back and lifted the basket in between her teeth and walked toward the only entrance to her freestanding cottage home. Entering her home, she turned right into a cosy kitchen and placed the basket on the table and removed her saddlebags- placing it on the floor near the doorway.
Busying herself, the mare took a series of old Zapapple jam jars and filled them with bunches of flowers and specific amounts of water and returned them to the window above the sink opposite the doorway. She sighed and rolled her shoulders taking the basket in her teeth stretching out her wings. Flapping her wings, the mare launched herself into the air and fluttered beside a rafter and proceeded to sling the herbs bunches along a series of hooks.
Finishing within moments, the mare went back outside and sniffed the air.
Turning her head she licked her lips and trotted over to a large patch of chives. Unable to help herself she bent her head down and sniffed the zesty herb and huffed out a sigh.
Squeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak.
A long ear trembling sound rattled the mare; she tripped forward into the patch of herbs and landed in a heap on her back between herbs and roses bushes with her feathers clutched against her sides and with her plaited tail wrapped around a thorny rose bush. "Featherbrain!" she cried out softly, struggling to free her tail from the mess, as rolling over would certainly rip out her hair and scratch areas she didn't want to get thorns near.
Her luck had ensued to get her in a tangle after three seconds of heart beating surprise.
"Oh dear, I didn't mean to startle you so." a dignified voice exclaimed to her, the gate creaking again which preceded soft clack of footsteps against the stone pathway between her home and gate, "Let me help you free."
The mare was unable to move most of her body- let alone her hoof to see who the owner of the voice was just nodded meekly. She felt an odd sensation, whoever was untangling her tail and mane had fingers… which was very odd to the mare. In her life she had met various creatures: Gryphons, Minotaur's, various other creatures with claws and fingers. However, these fingers felt different- as if they weren't covered in fur or scales.
"There we go darling," the voice crooned, "Your hair and tail are free. Do you need help escaping from your botanical prison?"
"No, I c-can do it," the mare reassured the voice, her own voice wavering as she slowly rolled over and opened her wings as wide as she dared, "Please stand back." 'Lucky me to have trimmed the roses, otherwise I would be stuck.' the mare chided herself as she snapped her wings downwards- propelling herself up from the ground in one stroke, scattering leaves and dirt in her wake.
Shaking her body free of dirt and plant matter, she landed on the edge of the flower and herb bed pushing her mane from her eyes. "Thank you for helping me, but why-" Looking at who had helped her, the mare's words died on her lips.
She was unsure of what she was looking at.
The creature she was looking at stood on two legs like a Minotaur. Glancing downwards she saw that the creature had hands like a Minotaur's- but with more fingers. Tilting her head, she glanced further upwards; the creature was almost hairless, only sporting a greyish blue mane on its head.
Shaking her thoughts from her head, the mare felt cogs turn in her head as she realised what she was looking at. A voice from her early foalhood crept into her head, a chipper and tomboyish voice reminding her of fun, games, books and music;
"Don't ever forget about those amazing creatures little Fire. I don't care what anypony says, I know they are real and one day I will meet one and show everybody that Lyra Heartstrings isn't a crazy kook of a mare!"
'A human…' the mare's eyes widened at the thought, looking up under her mane she looked into what she was certain was a human, into their dark eyes. "I'm s-sorry, you just startled me."
The human, whomever he was smiled slightly and shook his head, "Please, I must apologize dear miss," he looked over his shoulder to the gate under the trellis, "I had not announced my presence and caused you distress." His face turned back to the mare's, "I have caused you and your lovely garden problems."
The mare shook her head, stomping her hoof down she shook her head, "If you were at my gate, then you must have been there for a reason. I should have been paying attention for any visitor I may have."
"Ah, well dear little," the human paused, observing her for a moment which caused the Pegasus to ruffle her feathers at the gaze, "mare. I was hoping for directions to a merchant who sells roses." Looking around the garden he spies the roses by his side and smiles, "These would do wonderfully, however I did see you were tending these earlier and would be remise if I took something you had diligently maintained."
Blinking with embarrassment at the compliment, the mare shrugged, "The roses are still a few days from blooming proper," she nodded her head towards the north over her shoulder, indicating up the road and past the lake to Ponyville, "I could show you miss Roseluck's flower stall. She has the best flowers this side of Equestria."
Albeit slowly, the human nodded. Whether this was out of a concept of thinking his options over, or whether he thought it best to show that he was thinking over her words was anyone's guess, "That would be delightful miss…?"
The mare blinked once again and eeped, "Oh dear, I did not mention my name did I?" she held out her hoof and smiled and happy grin, "I am Scarlett Fire," at this point her aging dog had wandered out from under the Oleander and had come over to his mistresses side and sniffed the human. Which the mare took as a good sign, as Lolo generally growled at anyone new who wandered into his domain.
"A pleasure to meet you miss Scarlett Fire," Taking her outstretched hoof, the human bent and brought it to his mouth and kissed it chastely, "I am 'Dandy' Richard Sanchez."
Scarlett Fire, a slight shade of pink on her cheeks titled her head, "W-well, I will just get my saddlebags shall I?" she stuttered, and trotted back into her cottage with Dandy by her side. Offering him a seat in her living room and a beverage, she excused herself to clean herself up and retrieved a cleaner set of saddlebags from her bedroom.
Within ten minutes, the two were exiting from the cottage, locking the door behind them and bid Lolo goodbye.
The pair walked the distance in no time; however the mare found it difficult to start a conversation with Dandy as she was unsure what Humans even did. Of course she knew myths and mythos because of Lyra, but on a whole she did not want to insult or offend the man- as she realised that the human had an interesting scent not unlike a stallion. This was ill suited logic on her part, as she had met mares who smelt muskier than the hardest working stallion around.
Entering the main hub of the hamlet, the mare was thankful to see that it was a lull in the market economics that morning: it had taken the pair around thirty-five minutes to even get to the market in the first place. Scarlett Fire had a sneaking suspicion that Dandy Rick was slowing down for her sake, even on four legs she still had to trot a little faster to keep up with his stride.
Approaching Roseluck's stand, Scarlett Fire's ear swept back as she noticed many- if not all eyes of the market were on her and Dandy Rick. Of course, she knew he was an oddity. Even in the twelve years since Nightmare Moon had re-emerged in Equestria, many strange beasts, monsters, twisted monarchs and villains had attempted to take over the nation- and to a greater extent the world. Yet a human was something she had never heard of.
Ignoring the whispers and stares, Scarlett Fire introduced her elegant (due to how he conducted his movements and indeed his fancy purple coat) companion to Roseluck, "Rosie, this gentlecolt, er… gentlemen," she corrected herself with an apologetic smile, "would like several roses."
The older mare looked from the Pegasus to the strange creature before her with a raised brow.
"Enough to dry for tea, if that is alright my dear lady," Dandy Rick added, with a glistening debonair grin.
Roseluck, not missing a beat, moved her hoof over a large selection of roses: a selection that was perfect for drying to make potpourri and tea s, "I have a few different species to choose from, each have their own benefits and cons," Pointing to a yellow rose, she smiled, "This lovely rose makes a buttery tea, however is not big on taste." Her two-toned mane brushed over her eyes, reaching over the cart she held it over a group of white and pink roses, "These lovelies make a very sweet tea, perfect to have with a savoury treat such as oat cakes or carrot loaf."
Dandy's eyes sparkled as he looked over the mares wares, he inspected each rose with tenderness and stopped when her lanced over a viciously spiked breed of rose. Gingerly, he picked up a single rose in his forefinger and thumb, "This rose," he smelt the bud, inhaling the scent from the violet petals, "Is quite lovely."
Roseluck's green eyes almost glowed with joy, "Ah, that is quite the specimen," she grinned, "Very few really appreciate the Draconian Night. The rose makes such a delicious tea, terribly bitter, yet the effect is akin to what a Unicorn feels with precision magic on the most intricate of muscles."
"It's not dangerous is it?" Scarlett Fire piped up, her ears flattening against her skull as the man and mare looked to her, "I-I mean, is it unhealthy or w-will it hurt Dandy?"
The yellow earth pony mare waved her hoof downwards, "Anyone is fine as long as the flower is only drunk or eaten as an extract."
Looking delighted at the choice of flowers, Dandy sorted through the flowers; in the end choosing a bouquet of the sweet smelling pink roses and a large bouquet of the Draconian Nights. Scarlett Fire had realised by this point that Dandy, being human most likely had no local currency. When it came to purchasing the roses, she paid the fee and smiled as Dandy look severely distraught at the very idea that he wasn't paying for them.
Over the next hour, the pair wandered around the square of commerce, Scarlett Fire showing Dandy various shops and local points on interest and apologized over and over when she tripped over her hooves whenever she trotted faster to keep up with him.
It was a little past noon when the pair returned to Scarlett Fire's cottage where they sat in her kitchen at the four seated table. Dandy Rick being the gentleman he was, offered to help her make lunch, expressing the desire to repay her kindness. She refused and countered that she was repaying his kindness for helping free her from her entrapment in her garden. This disagreement… of sorts, continued as they prepared a salad from the vegetables in the mare's well stocked fridge.
After lunch the pair cleaned up and sat down in the living room, drinking a simple tea from Scarlett Fire's homeland, discussing a little bit about their respective races. The hours passed and soon the time turned into late afternoon, a soft glow from the lowering of the sun casting long shadows around and inside the cottage.
Admitting that their time had come to an end, Scarlett Fire carried the tea cups and pot back into her kitchen and placed the tray on the counter. She turned around and smiled at Dandy, a shy smile she rarely showed people.
A smile for when she was truly content and happy.
"Dandy, how did you even get here?" she asked, tilting her head to the side and fluttered her wings as they exited her home and into the rapidly cooling garden, "You certainly did not fly here." She joked and tapped her forehead as they walked out of the garden and up a small hill towards a tree, "And you are not magical like a unicorn."
The human before her shook his head, a sign of his mirth, "I came here by my own violation dear Scarlett Fire." He reached into his royal purple coat, retrieving a sleek device nearly the length of a loaf of bread. Eying the white coloured object, the small mare observed that there were several dials, a trigger mechanism and a strange bell jar-like container encasing leaping bolts of plasma energy inside.
"W-what is that?" she whispered, her tone low and quite, almost reverent in view of such and odd unexplainable device.
"A device I created to travel between dimensions," he explained, with no self-absorbed greed in his tone; however pride was practically dripping from every word he spoke, "I travel to enjoy life, captivate tea and journey to delightful places such as Equestria."
Scarlett Fire's ears perked up, her heart rate spread up, her eyes widened, "Other dimensions?" her mind spun at the possibility, "As in other planets?" he nodded with a smile to confirm her question, the mare stopped at sat under the tree, sitting on the swing attached to the strong branches above.
Seeing her distress, Dandy sat nearby on a small bench, "Other worlds are a possibility, however what was you other question?"
"Other…" she hesitated, looking down again; thinking her line of thought was foolish, "N-never mind, it is silly to contemplate." She, she was a grown mare that couldn't express her curiosity at the plausible possibility of other realities.
Dandy gingerly placed a hand under her chin and hoisted her head up, understanding her curiosity and anxiety, "Go ahead and ask darling. There are no wrong questions, just wrong answers."
The little mare coughed shyly and looked up, her blue eyes looking into Dandy's, "Are there… I mean scientifically speaking there is the possibility of other realities. Are there," she stammered and breathed out then in, "Are you from another reality Dandy?"
The man seemed almost overjoyed at her question.
He removed his hand from her chin and turned to look at the sky: which was slowly turning orange, with streaks of bright pink merging with the blue. "Yes, there are other realities out there." He stated with finality. Looking from the corner of his eye, his chocolate eyes burned warmly as he smiled, "I am not from this reality. You have a Rick here already, CSUN-22120 I believe his name is."
Scarlett Fire blinked in surprise, "W-wait. Where are you from then?" she stammered and flicked her tail, "I thought your name was Dandy?"
Almost with a wry smile, Dandy- Rick turns to Scarlett Fire and pouts, "My name is Rick Sanchez darling, however, I as well as a number of other Richards from similar dimensions have been called Dandy due to our habits and natures."
As if the very name almost gave her a heart attack, the mare stumbled off the swing and apologised her grievance, "I had no idea I was calling you in such informality!" stressing herself out, the mare was almost in tears over her sheer stupidity.
Taking the mare gently, Dandy put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently, "Calm down darling, you were unaware of my name, unaware of human naming methods."
"I-I, oh dear, I was so inconsiderate! Why would I assume that the first name you gave me was your name?" she stressed, her wings fluttering and fluffing out in distress, "I could have realised that human names would not work like pony names."
Dandy soothed Scarlett Fire as she fretted over her stupidity for a few moments and visibly relaxed, her wings folding against her side again as she calmed down.
As day turned to twilight and as twilight faded into night, fireflies came out and illuminated the sky as the human and mare continued to converse. The stars themselves a chandelier of lights twinkling above, speaking with their own code of life and essence burning billions of kilometres away.
By this time the pair rose to their full heights and stretched out their limbs, easing the lethargy away. Rick Sanchez looked down at the mare; who barely reached his collar bone, as she opened her wings, stretching out the ligaments and joints. Watching her closely, he watched her feathers arc open and tilt ever-so-slightly as she opened them to their full size.
This went on for a few moments before the Pegasus realised that the human was watching her, she looked up, under her lashes and blushed a deep red, 'Oh dear, oh dear!' her mind shouted at her, 'Does he think I was… oh no!' her mind chanted over and over then broke to a stop as Dandy did nothing to her reaction, beyond a creased brow.
"Are you… alright miss Fire?" Dandy spoke slowly, "Do your wings hurt? I didn't notice any misalignment or bent primary feathers when I aided you earlier." He asked while he pondered over what he knew of avian creatures and horses, 'Was she…? No, even if she possesses bird wings, she is an evolved sentient being. She is just cold, the poor dear.'
She squeaked and shook her head, then looked around at anything but him, "Nothing at all, just um… cold?" she offered weakly, clearly not wanting to talk about what had just occurred.
Taking the hint Dandy smiled warmly at her as he drew his portal gun, "Then I must be going, as you should return home and get warm." The still red mare, nodded and agreed, "And miss Fire?"
"Yes Mister Sanchez?" she replied, unsure of how to openly address him, as confusing as human names were.
He seemed to beam wider at such a distinction; he activated the portal gun, bringing a glowing green portal into existence at the base of the hill, "Please call me Dandy."
Scarlett Fire blinked and nodded her head, "I shall," she called, her words carried on the wind.
With that he stepped into the portal.
A moment later the portal dissipated and showed no remanent to have ever been there.
The little white mare smiled and whispered to herself, "Goodbye Dandy."