Four Ponies & A Time Machine

by SkelePone

Chapter XIX: The Victory Ball, or The First Grand Galloping Gala

“Speaking of ways, pet, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract.”
― Madeleine L'Engle, A Wrinkle in Time

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The Main Hall of the castle had been decorated. Lavish garlands were strung about the place, from the chandeliers and banisters with elegant golden lanterns filling the long spacious hall with a lush, warm light. Carnegie Porter and Time Turner stood in their fancy outfits. Carnegie was leaning against a table filled with exquisite foods and punches, next to the stairs leading to the sleeping chambers upstairs, twirling his flat-topped pork pie hat in a hoof. The stallions were waiting for their dates, their marefriends, to join them in the celebration.

Upstairs, Rose had pulled on her cocktail dress, and trying to get Derpy to come with her to the Main Hall.

"I can't!" The pegasus wailed. "Time Turner'll just make fun of me!"
"Don't be ridiculous. When has Time Turner ever made fun of you?"
"He'll start when he sees me..."
"Good grief."

Derpy's mane had been done up, Apple Jewel-style, and she wore the white ball gown with elegance. Roseluck, wearing her red cocktail dress, had her own mane done in the same style she always wore it. She was tugging on Derpy's tail while the pegasus remained clasped onto the door frame.

"Alright. Alright. Fine, I'm going downstairs to meet Porter. You can leave Time Turner waiting if you want. But you'll make him upset."

And with that, Rose let go, and stalked down the hall away from the moping pegasus. Derpy sat alone for a while, hearing the joyful chatter of ponies downstairs enjoying the classical music. Derpy wondered if Roseluck was right, that Time Turner really wouldn't make fun of her.

---

"Sorry, Time. Derpy's still getting ready," Rose informed a disappointed Time Turner, "she's just nervous."
"Ya don' min' if me an' Miss Rose hit tha dance floor, do ya, Doc?"
"Oh no, no... Go right ahead! Don't let me stop you from having fun."
With that, the couple pranced off, both of them cackling with an equal madness as they grabbed not one or two, but an entire platter of cocktails and swung about dancing and drinking loudly. Time Turner shook his head and chuckled. They were perfect for each other.

Rose always acted so refined and yet fun-loving. Carnegie was always chaotic, random, and equally amusing. But Rose was a bit more mature, yes. And she seemed to keep Carnegie out of trouble when they were together. And Carnegie in return showed her how to have a good time. Their relationship reminded Time Turner of the biological occurrence known as symbiosis. Carnegie helped Rose live her life fully and she in return kept him from putting theirs in danger.

As Rose and Carnegie danced, laughing into the night, the Doctor began to see that they performed another dance as a couple. Carnegie was chaotic and unrelenting. But Rose was enough to hold the stallion back, keep him from losing control. As they danced, Time Turner felt like Rose Porter sounded like a delightful name. He heard hoofsteps behind him.

He turned to see Derpy, at the most beautiful that he had ever seen her. Everypony in the ballroom stopped (except for the already drunk Carnegie and Rose) to watch her gracefully (well, as gracefully as a notorious klutz can be) make her way down the stairs. She blushed and her wings -pomf!-ed up when she saw Time Turner's gaping look of amazement. She walked up to him, smiling shyly.

"Hello, Doc."
"Um uh guh duh be-guh."
For once Time Turner's vast intellect had been rendered useless. He honestly was at a loss for words, a feat, considering his impressive vocabulary.
Somepony wolf-whistled behind them. Carnegie.
"Oye! Get tha' filly an' get over 'ere, Doc!"
Porter always knew what to say. And for once, Time Turner followed his orders.

And they danced.

---

"So I was thinking, Princess, this could be an annual thing! A little get-together, for everypony in the kingdom."
"Annual, Starswirl?"
"Oh yeah. That Time Turner fellow told me a great deal about this... oh what was it called... this 'Grand Galloping Gala' they had in the future. I was thinking, why not do this annually, and call it that?"
"Grand Galloping Gala?"
"Yeah!"
Celestia looked to her sister. Luna nodded.
"We'll think about it, Starswirl. Now go enjoy yourself."

---

Carnegie Porter loved Roseluck.
Roseluck loved Carnegie Porter.

They had been together for weeks in their travels. What seemed like months. But again, their relationship had been collapsed into a fraction of a second by the relativity laws or whatever that Time Turner constantly told them about. In their drunken state, they declared in delirium to anypony who would stop dancing to listen that they were engaged. Of course, they weren't engaged because Carnegie hadn't even proposed yet. But Time Turner had overheard nonetheless.

He wondered what would happen when they got back home. Say Carnegie and Rose took there relationship past drunk song and skiddily boop and began living together? What would everypony think about a relationship so intimate that would have started, to the residents of Ponyville, nothing but seconds ago? Time Turner worried what they would think about his sudden relationship with Derpy Hooves. What sweet little Dinky Hooves would think. The poor silly little filly still referred to him as 'Mister Doctor Time Turner'. Time Turner's mind was wandering further, as he and Derpy did the quarter-time step. He considered, if he married Derpy, changing his name from Doctor Time Turner to Doctor Hooves. It sounded like a peculiar name, yet a familiar one.

Time Turner was snapped out of his daydream by none other than Porter, the lighter colored stallion swinging about crazily with Roseluck. The duo were nowhere close to matching the rhythm of the song, but they didn't seem to care. Time Turner smirked as he returned his attention to Derpy. The pegasus mare meet his gaze and flushed pink in the cheeks. Time Turner grabbed her hoof in his and they began to swing madly, beside the crazed couple of Carnegie and Rose.

And they danced.