"Oh, darling, isn't it just too romantic?" Heart Throb asked Shady as they watched Buttons and Slugger walk down a path.

"Yeah, I guess," Shady said. "But there are times where I feel jealous of them."

"Oh, darling, I know exactly what you mean! I wish I had a true love! Oh, it's just terribly romantic!"

"Yeah. Well, I say we leave the love birds alone for awhile. I'm sure if you had a true love, Heart Throb, you'd want a little privacy, too."

"I guess you're right. Let's go for a walk."

Shady smiled as she and Heart Throb walked along. They ran into Tex and Steamer at Paradise Estate. They were talking about (who else?) Buttons and Slugger.

"I wonder if they'll ever get hitched?" Tex asked.

"You never know," Steamer said.

"Hello, boys," Heart Throb said.

"Howdy, Heart Throb, Shady," Tex said.

"Hi, Heart Throb," Steamer said, then he looked at Shady and practically froze. "H-h-hi, Sha-sh-sha-sha--"

"Hi, Steamer," Shady said.

"Sh-sh-sha-sha-sha-sha," Steamer stammered (whoa, try saying that five times fast!) Heart Throb's eyes lit up and she grinned.

"Did I say something wrong?" Shady asked, nervously. "Did I do something wrong?"

"Oh, no darling!" Heart Throb said. "No, it's just that, well, Steamer isn't known for his words."

"Neither is Slugger," Tex commented.

"Shady, dear," Heart Throb said, "why don't you go back to the Estate? You know, check into the nursery, on your baby."

"Oh, good idea," Shady said. "I just hope I don't turn out to be a terrible mother!"

Shady was off. Steamer just stared straight ahead.

"Sha-sh-sha-sha-sh-sha," he stammered.

"You know she's gone, Steamer," Tex said.

"Whew, thanks!" Steamer said.

"I don't know what it is," Tex continued. "Whenever he sees that gal, he can't even say hello to her!"

"Oh! A secret crush!" Heart Throb sighed. "How romantic! Oh darling, why don't you just tell Shady how you feel?"

"Are you kidding?!" Steamer shrieked. "I can't just walk over to her and tell her!"

"Oh. Good point. Oh well. You can try, Steamer. And with my help, Shady will fall for you, as well!"

"Well . . . . all right."

That night, Steamer wrote a letter to Shady. He snuck into her room and put it on the table next to her bed. Then he snuck out. Shady woke up the next morning to near silence.

"Oh dear," she said. "Something must be wrong. The birds aren't singing this morning! It must be a bad sign! Oh dear, oh dear!"

"Oh, Shady!" Gusty shouted. She didn't have patience for Shady sometimes. "It's a little early for some of the early birds. See?"

Gusty opened the window, and it was a beautiful day outside. Shady blushed and walked to the nursery to see her baby. She didn't even notice Steamer's letter on the table. But Gusty did. She smiled once she saw who it was for, picked it up, and chased after Shady. Shady went into the nursery. Some of the babies were asleep, some weren't.

"Hi, Mommy," Baby Shady whispered.

"Good morning, Baby," Shady said, pushing down the bars of the crib so Baby Shady could get out. "Let's go into the Estate and get some breakfast."

"Kay."

"Shady!" Gusty called. "Hey, Shady!"

"What is it, Gusty?" Shady asked, beginning to panic. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no," Gusty said, breathlessly. "There's a letter for you. It was on the table next to your bed."

"Oh. But how am I going to open it?"

"Let's go back to the Estate and figure out how."

Later, Heart Throb, Buttons, Gusty, and Truly gathered around Shady as she finally opened the letter. She read it and sighed.

"Oh," she said. "It's . . . it's a love letter."

"A love letter?" Buttons said. "Who's it from?"

"It just says from your Secret Admirer," Shady said.

"Oh, how romantic!" Heart Throb sighed. "Darling, congratulations! Oh I wish I had a Secret Admirer!"

"What does the letter say?" Truly asked. Shady cleared her throat and read the letter. It said:

My dearest, darling Shady, roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, but not as sweet as you. I wish I could tell you face to face how I feel, Shady. You are more beautiful than a snow covered mountain on a spring day. Love always, your Secret Admirer.

"Oooh, how romantic!" Heart Throb sighed.

"I wonder who he is," Buttons said.

"I don't know," Shady said. "But I want to find out!"

That afternoon, Shady began a return letter to her Secret Admirer. It read:

To my Secret Admirer, thank you for your lovely letter. Heart Throb thought it was romantic, and frankly, I did too. I hope we meet together someday. Already I'm dying to meet you. Sincerely, Shady.

Shady felt weird signing the letter "sincerely." However, she didn't know whether to use "love" or what. So she just signed it "sincerely." She left it on her table and went to play with Baby Shady. Steamer came in to leave a little present for Shady and found the note. He picked it up, read it, and wrote another one right away, leaving the present on the table. He ran off, jumped in the air, and clicked his hind hooves together.

"Yippeee!" he shouted.

Steamer ran directly from Paradise Estate to a secluded part of Dream Valley behind the water fall. He read Shady's note and wrote one back right away. He and Shady played Note Tag for a long time.

"I know who Shady's Secret Admirer is!" Heart Throb squealed in delight. "I've known for the longest time!"

"Well, don't keep us in suspense, Heart Throb," Paradise said.

"Who is it?" Buttons asked.

"Oh darlings, I can't tell you!" Heart Throb said. "It will spoil everything!"

Paradise looked at Buttons and shrugged (as best she could, since she was a pony for crying out loud). The next evening, Heart Throb arranged for Shady to meet her Secret Admirer. She would have Steamer walk by Shady and ask what she was doing. When she told him, he would say that he was her Secret Admirer. Shady waited by a tree, patiently.

"H-hi, Sh-sh-sh-shady," Steamer managed to say.

"Hi, Steamer," Shady said.

"Um, what are you doing?"

"Oh, waiting for my Secret Admirer. I wish I knew who he was."

"Uh, um, well, um, I uh . . ."

"Yes?"

"I . . . . I . . . . I hope you find him! See ya! Bye!"

Steamer took off. Shady looked after him and giggled. He could be so cute sometimes. She continued to wait. The entire evening went by and her Secret Admirer never showed up. Heart Throb wanted to hear all about the night before the next morning.

"I choked," Steamer said. "I couldn't tell her."

"Oh this is awful," Heart Throb said. "Poor Shady will never know who her Secret Admirer is!"

"What are we going to do?"

"Hmm, I think I might have an idea. And I'll get to throw a party, too! Oh! This is so exciting!"

Heart Throb flew off, leaving Steamer puzzled. Heart Throb went and told everyone she was going to have a masquerade ball.

"And everyone must wear a mask!" Heart Throb said.

"Oh, goody," Gusty said, sarcastically. "Can I at least wear a football helmet?"

"You want to dress up as a football player?" Score asked.

"Yeah. Why not?"

"No reason."

Heart Throb, Paradise, and Fire Fly then flew down the rainbow so they could invite Megan, Danny, and Molly to the party.

"We're throwing it so Shady can meet her Secret Admirer," Heart Throb said.

"Heart Throb knows who he is," Fire Fly said. "But she won't tell us."

"And it's driving us crazy," Paradise said.

"We'll come," Megan said.

"Don't forget to wear a mask, darlings!" Heart Throb said. "Oh! This is so wonderful! We'll be back!"

The three pegasi took off. That evening, everyone was ready. It was easy to tell some ponies from others, (like Shady and most of the Twinkle-eyed ponies) some were difficult. Gusty was having trouble seeing, since she borrowed Score's football helmet and the thing was nearly bigger than her head! However, it kept her from wearing a mask.

"That's a great costume, Gusty," Shady said, who was dressed as a princess pony.

"Yeah, it's a great costume," Gusty said. "But I can hardly see a thing! Is your Secret Admirer coming?"

"Oh, Heart Throb said he would. I'm so nervous. What if when he comes, I choke? What if he asks me to dance and I step all over his hooves or his tail? What if he doesn't come at all?"

"Shady, relax! It'll be all right. For now, let's just walk around, and see if we recognize anybody."

Shady giggled. A lot of the costumes were a little obvious. Slugger was dressed as a baseball player and Buttons was a cheerleader.

"Did you guys come up with those together?" Masquerade, who was dressed as a clown, asked.

"Yes," Buttons said, sheepishly.

Other obvious costumes included Lickety Split, who was dressed as an ice cream cone (her costume took a lot of work), Heart Throb decked out in a red and white dress with red and white hearts all over it, and Wind Whistler was dressed up as a dictionary.

"Wind Whistler, you're a regular walking dictionary!" Danny, who was dressed as a vampire (fangs and all), joked.

Even though the party was a masquerade ball, only a few of the guests came in actual costumes. Some where just dressed up fancy wearing masks, like Megan, Molly, Heart Throb, and a couple others. There was one guest whom nobody knew, who was at least ten feet high, and very clumsy.

"Are we going to get to reveal ourselves?" Paradise, who was dressed up, asked.

"Oh, of course, darling!" Heart Throb shouted. "And I'm hoping midnight will come soon. I'm dying to know who that ten foot tall pony is."

"Maybe it's one of the Big Brothers on stilts."

"Oh no, darling. All of the Big Brothers are scattered around."

"Oh. Well, what about Lofty?"

"Lofty's over there, talking to Gusty."

Some of the ponies began dancing to some music. Slugger, of course, danced with Buttons. Score (who was wearing a white sheet) had asked Gusty to dance. Tex, dressed as a cowboy, had invited Truly, dressed as Scarlet O' Hara, to dance. 4-Speed actually found a truck costume and waltzed around (as best he could) with Heart Throb. Salty was dressed as a sailor and he was dancing with Lickety Split. Steamer had just entered the ballroom. He was dressed up as a king (when Heart Throb found out what Shady wanted to go to the ball as, she insisted Steamer dress up as some sort of matching article). The costume was very good, too. It was hard to tell who he was. Steamer cleared his throat and approached Shady.

"Excuse me," he said. "May I have this dance?" Shady looked around her to see if the king wasn't asking someone else to dance.

"Who me?" she asked.

"Yeah, you."

"Well, um, sure!"

Steamer and Shady walked onto the dance floor and began to dance. Finally, at five minutes to midnight, Heart Throb walked up to Megan.

"It's almost midnight," she said. "Almost time to unmask."

Megan nodded and joined her sister, who was talking to Sundance, who was dressed as a pony version of Miss America (including the banner). Danny snuck behind his younger sister, and screamed at her.

"I'm going to bite your neck!" he shouted.

"Ahh!" Molly screamed in fear.

"Danny!" Megan shouted, sternly.

"I was just having a little fun!" Danny protested.

"Almost time to unmask!" Magic Star called. She was dressed as a sorceress (Mickey Mouse style).

"Five, four, three, two, one!" all the ponies, Megan, Danny, and Molly shouted together. Everyone unmasked. They were all shocked about the ten foot pony. It was all fourteen baby ponies, excluding the newborn twins.

"I thought they weren't invited!" Buttons shouted.

"Surprise!" Ember, who was at the top of the stack, giggled.

"You called?" Surprise, dressed as another clown, laughed.

Everyone laughed. Well, everyone except Shady and Steamer. Steamer had just unmasked. Shady was staring in total shock.

"You're my Secret Admirer?" she asked.

"Yeah," Steamer said. "I-- you, well . . . you were hoping it was someone else?"

"No. I . . . just never would have guessed you, Steamer. I mean . . . oh, I make it sound like I didn't want you as a Secret Admirer."

"No you don't. If you didn't want me for a Secret Admirer, you'd probably scream something like, 'ew! Gross!' and you didn't."

Shady laughed. She was happy she found out who her Secret Admirer is. And frankly so were the other ponies.

"Well, it's Steamer," Masquerade said.

"After anticipating for such a polysyllabic period of time," Wind Whistler said. "We finally discovered who Shady's Confidential Suitor is."

"Huh?" Fizzy asked.

"We finally found out who Shady's Secret Admirer is after such a long time," Gusty translated.

"Oh. Why didn't she say so?" Fizzy asked.

"I did," Wind Whistler said.

The other ponies went over and gave their congratulations. Gusty managed to pry Score's football helmet off her head.

"You can have this back," she said. Score pushed his helmet aside with his hoof.

"What would you say if I asked you to be my date at Heart Throb's next party?" he asked.

"I'd probably say get a life. Why? Heart Throb having a party sometime soon?"

"No. I was just curious. I have no romantic interest in anyone right about now."

"Oh. Okay."

In the days that passed, Steamer and Shady were often seen together. Sometimes, they would "double date" with Buttons and Slugger. Other times, they were seen alone. And sometimes, Heart Throb would spy on them.

"Oh, it's so romantic!" she shouted. She turned to face Gusty. "I saw that."

Gusty was mocking Heart Throb when she said her "how romantic" line. When she was caught, Gusty grinned sheepishly and ran off. As the days went by, Shady and Steamer were practically inseparable. One time, Steamer took Shady for a ride on a train he had. Baby Shady went with them.

"This fun!" she laughed.

"I could do this all day," Shady said.

"Me too," Steamer said.

A few more days passed. One evening, Shady practically floated into the estate. All the other ponies stared at her.

"I declare," Truly said. "That pony's definitely in love."

"Shady, are you all right?" Paradise asked.

"Am I all right?" Shady asked, unable to stop smiling. "I had the most wonderful day of my life today, and you ask if I'm all right."

"Well . . ." Paradise said.

"Oh, my day was just wonderful!" Shady sighed. "Of course I'm all right!"

"What happened today, Shady?" Buttons asked. "You're leaving us in terrible suspense!"

"I'm engaged! Steamer asked me to marry him!"

Shady lifted one of her hooves. Slipped on her leg was a diamond engagement ring, made for a pony. Every single one of the ponies gasped and began to talk at once.

"No kidding?" Lickety Split asked.

"Oh, darling! Congratulations!" Heart Throb exclaimed.

"A wedding!" Fizzy squealed in delight. "Can I be a bridesmaid?"

"I always thought Buttons was gonna be the one to get married first," Gusty remarked.

"This is a great surprise!" Surprise shouted.

"Who's going to be the maid of honor?" Bow-Tie asked.

"Is Baby Shady going to be the flower girl?" Magic Star asked.

Everyone began to talk at once. Wind Whistler whistled loudly.

"It appears to me that everyone of you is overly invigorated about the ceremonial occasion," she said. "However, we must congregate all this ecstasy so Shady can estivate."

"Huh?" Fizzy said.

"She said we're overly excited about the wedding," Gusty translated. "But we've got to calm down so Shady can get some sleep."

"Why didn't she say so?" Fizzy asked.

"I did," Wind Whistler said.

Fizzy nodded, but she was still left confused. The next morning, everyone in Ponyland new about the engagement. The Big Brothers spent most of the day congratulated Steamer and giving Slugger grief (just as the Little Ponies were giving Buttons grief).

"I always thought you'd end up gettin' hitched first," Tex said.

"Yeah!" Salty shouted. "What happened?"

"No comment," Slugger said, blushing a little. The other Big Brothers laughed.

In the meantime, Paradise flew down to Megan's world and looked for her.

"Megan!" she shouted. "Boy, do I have news!"

"What is it, Paradise?" Megan asked. Molly and Danny were right behind her.

"It's big news," Paradise said. "Shady's getting married."

"No kidding," Danny said.

"Wow, that is big news!" Molly shouted. "Are we invited to the wedding?"

"Of course!" Paradise shouted. "But she told me she needed you guys to get the rings. However, it's going to be kind of hard to explain why you need rings for a pony wedding."

"No problem," Megan said. "We'll just say the rings are bracelets for our mother's birthday. I know it's lying, but what else can we do?"

"True," Paradise said. "We'll see you tomorrow!"

"The wedding's tomorrow?!" Molly asked.

"No," Paradise said. "We might need help planning it."

"Oh."

That happened to be right. Cupcake was busy trying to decide on the perfect wedding cake.

"This is going to be the best wedding cake I've ever baked!" she shouted.

"It's going to be the only wedding cake you've ever baked," Gingerbread replied. Cupcake threw a little bit of frosting in her twinkle-eyed friend's face. Gingerbread simply licked it off.

"Hmm," she said. "Not bad."

Cupcake giggled and continued on baking. Meanwhile, Truly, Megan, Molly, and Gusty were with Shady, taking measurements and talking about what to wear for the wedding.

"Do we really have to get dressed up?" Gusty asked.

"Well, y'all can't go to a wedding ceremony naked!" Truly declared, taking things out of her closet.

"Why not? We go around naked all the time. We're ponies for crying out loud!"

"If it bothers you to put on a dress, Gusty," Shady said, "maybe you could just wear a hat or tie a ribbon in your hair or something like that."

"It's not that I don't want to put on a dress," Gusty said. "There's nothing wrong with wearing a dress, it's just that tough ponies don't wear dresses."

"Yeah," Molly agreed. "When's the last time you saw one of the Big Brothers in a dress?"

Everyone fell silent and stared at Megan's little sister. Molly's cheeks turned pink, and she started gathering fabric samples she brought with her. As they were taking measurements, Lickety Split, Ribbon, and Surprise came into the room, pulling something in a wagon, covered by a sheet.

"We've got a surprise for you, Shady," Lickety Split said.

"What is it?" Shady asked.

"If we told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, silly!" Surprise giggled.

"Take the sheet off of it and look," Ribbon said.

Shady shrugged, grabbed the sheet by her teeth, and pulled it off. Underneath the sheet, was a dress maker's pony dummy.

"Interesting," Gusty said. "Megan, you might want to measure this to make sure they got the right size."

"Oops," Lickety Split said. "Never thought of that."

Luckily, Megan took notes on Shady. The dummy was the perfect size.

"I don't know how you guys made it," Megan said, "but it works perfectly."

"Now we can make a wedding gown fit for a queen!" Truly shouted.

"There are a lot of things to do before the wedding," Ribbon said. "Shady, have you decided on the flower pony, the bridesmaids, and the maid of honor?"

"I'm working on it," Shady said. However, Ribbon didn't believe her, and she made her horn light up.

Oh, gosh, I never even thought about it, Shady thought. How can I pick just one pony to be my maid of honor? Oh dear! If I pick one, someone else will be mad at me!

"Don't worry, Shady," Ribbon smiled. "No one will be mad at you if you don't pick them. Trust me."

"I wish you hadn't read my mind, Ribbon," Shady said.

Meanwhile, Posey, Buttons, Apple Jack, and Moon Dancer were gathering flowers.

"I hope Shady likes these for her bouquet," Buttons said.

"I'm sure she will," Moon Dancer replied, putting some flowers in a basket. "We can't get to Flutter Valley, so these will just have to do."

"Do the Flutter Ponies know about the wedding?" Posey asked.

"We'll send a Bushwoolie telegram," Apple Jack joked. The four ponies giggled.

Everyone was busy preparing for the wedding. Lickety Split, Ribbon, and Surprise made another dummy for Steamer.

"This way you can get your tux fixed up to fit perfectly," Lickety Split said.

"Good idea," Steamer said.

"I thought you'd make these for Buttons and Slugger first," 4-Speed teased. Slugger glared.

"We told the same thing to Buttons," Ribbon said. "She got mad at us."

Masquerade and Sky Dancer were circling Dream Valley, trying to find a good place to hold the ceremony.

"We've got to find some place!" Masquerade said.

"They wanted an outdoor wedding," Sky Dancer replied. "Wait a minute! I just got an idea! Why don't we set up everything by the waterfall?"

"Ooh, good idea! That way, we won't need to build a special tank for the Sea Ponies!"

"Let's go tell the others!"

About ten minutes later, Steamer and Shady gathered by the waterfall and looked around. Locket and Heart Throb were with them.

"Perfect," Shady said, smiling.

"I agree," Locket said. "A wedding by the waterfall."

"How romantic!" Heart Throb sighed.

"There she goes again," Locket said, rolling her eyes.

Within minutes, Posey and the others managed to get an entire cart full of flowers to the Estate.

"These flowers are perfect!" Shady exclaimed.

"I can't wait to start decorating!" Moon Dancer said.

Meanwhile, Megan, Danny, and Molly were in town of their world, doing some shopping. Megan had already picked up the rings and now they had to think of a wedding present to get Shady and Steamer.

"Why don't we just get them what Mom and Dad got Aunt Jo when she got married?" Danny asked.

"What did they get them?" Molly asked.

"A blender," Danny said.

"I don't think Shady could use a blender," Megan said. "We'd better look around a little more."

The three of them looked and looked until they saw a picture frame, with sort of a hearts and flowers motif.

"This is perfect!" Molly said.

"What's Shady and Steamer gonna use a picture frame for?" Danny asked.

"Their wedding picture! Megan can bring her camera and take pictures!"

It was settled. They bought the frame and went back to their farm. Then, North Star and Paradise arrived.

"I hope you've got the rings, Megan," Paradise said.

"Right here," Megan said, holding up the box. "We've also got a wedding present for Shady and Steamer."

"Wonderful! And Shady's already picked her bridesmaids and maid of honor. Only she wouldn't tell us until all of us got back to Ponyland."

Within minutes, everyone sat outside Paradise Estate, waiting for Shady to lay her choices on them.

"First of all," Shady said. "I don't want any of you to get mad about my choices."

"We won't get mad, Shady," Lickety Split reassured.

"Okay," Shady said. She took a deep breath. "My bridesmaids are Heart Throb because she got me and Steamer together, Sweet Stuff because she's been a really great friend, and Buttons because Steamer chose Slugger to be his best man."

"I'm gonna be a bridesmaid!" Buttons shouted, excitedly. "Oooh, thank you thank you thank you, Shady!"

"Oh, darling! How exciting!" Heart Throb exclaimed. "We must get our gowns immediately!"

"What about maid of honor?" Gusty asked.

"I was saving the best for last," Shady said. "I want Molly to be my maid of honor."

"Me?" Molly asked.

"Her?!" Danny shouted. "She's too young to be the maid of honor in a wedding!"

"Am not!" Molly yelled.

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Both of you, quiet!" Megan ordered. "It's Shady's wedding and she has the right to pick who's going to be the maid of honor."

"Want to be the ring bearer, Danny?" Gusty teased.

"I'll pass," Danny said.

"Good," Steamer said. "We already asked Spike, anyway."

"All we need is a flower girl," Shady said.

"Is Baby Shady going to be the flower girl?" Sweet Stuff asked.

"No," Shady said. "She doesn't want to be part of the wedding. We asked the other baby ponies if any of them would be interested in the job. They took a vote, and Ember's going to be the flower girl."

That was the entire wedding party. Slugger, as you know, was the best man, and Tex, Score, and Salty were the rest of the wedding party.

"As much as I love to help plan," Cupcake said, "I have a cake to bake."

"She's going to make this giant wedding cake," Lickety Split said.

Danny nodded and followed Lickety Split follow Cupcake into the kitchen. Megan got to work making Shady's wedding gown and Buttons, Sweet Stuff, and Heart Throb's bridesmaid dresses. She was also going to make one for Molly to wear and a smaller pony version for Ember. The Big Brother Ponies had to build some sort of wall (or something) so they could decorate around the waterfall. Not to mention they had to set up chairs. Gingerbread, Masquerade, and Mimic helped with the wedding dinner. However, Cupcake wouldn't let them help make the cake!

"I want to do this on my own!" she said.

"Okay, okay, don't have a cow!" Masquerade said. "Sheesh!"

Bow-Tie and Apple Jack were decorating the Estate for the wedding reception. Truly walked in and looked around.

"It looks as if we're preparing for a royal ball!" she laughed.

"Well, weddings are kind of special," Bow-Tie said. "I already know what I'm going to wear."

"Oh, gracious," Truly said. "I haven't even decided yet! Oh what am I gonna do?!"

"There's time to decide, Truly," Apple Jack said. "Don't worry about it."

Truly ran into her closet immediately afterwards, trying to find the right outfit for a wedding. The next day, Molly brought over "the essentials" as she called them.

"What do you mean essentials?" Shady asked.

"You know," Molly said. "Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue."

"I hate to hear what the something borrowed is," Megan said, as she was sewing a peach sleeve on Heart Throb's bridesmaid dress. Shady wanted the dresses to be peach.

"What did you bring?" Buttons asked, as she was modeling her dress in front of a mirror.

"I brought Grandma's old veil," Molly said, pulling a veil out of her bag. "That's old, but it's still good. I bought some barrettes last night for Shady to wear in her hair. They'll also help keep the veil in place. I also got a garter. It's got some blue in it."

"That's very nice, Molly," Megan said. "What's borrowed?"

"Mommy's pearls."

"Oh Molly! Does Mom know you took them?"

"Yeah. She knows about all this stuff. She said I can play with the pearls for as long as I want, but I have to put them back when I'm done."

"Just so long as we don't lose them. Then Mom's going to have a fit!"

Buttons giggled. The next day, Shady was pacing around, nervous.

"What's the matter, Shady?" Gusty asked. "Pre-wedding jitters?"

"I don't know, Gusty," Shady said. "I have an awful feeling something's going to go wrong! What if it rains?"

"Then we'll hold the wedding inside the Estate. Bow-Tie and Apple Jack decorated it real nice."

"What if the dresses and the tuxes aren't ready in time?"

"Megan promised us they'd be ready, and we're helping her make everything."

"What if all the flowers wilt?"

"Posey's taking care of the flowers."

"What if killer bees arrive and fly off with all the wedding food?"

"Then we'll . . . . killer bees?!"

Shady blushed. Maybe it was a little silly of her to worry about everything. She just wished she had Gusty's confidence. Gusty dropped by the kitchen to see what was going on. Fizzy and Galaxy handed the punch bowl to the Bushwoolies.

"Try not to drop it," Fizzy said. "It's made out of glass! You can get hurt if you drop it."

"We won't drop it," a Bushwoolie said.

"No, won't drop it, won't drop it," the other Bushwoolies said. "Uh uh. Won't drop it. No."

"They talk really weird," Gusty said.

"It's the way they are," Galaxy said.

"By the way," Gusty said. "I was just talking to Shady. Do you sense anything about the wedding, Galaxy?"

"Yes," Galaxy said. "I sense that it's going to be a beautiful day for it and nothing is going to go wrong."

Gusty smiled and went over to the other end of the kitchen. She found Cupcake running around the rim of a giant bowl with a giant wooden spoon in her mouth. Gusty winked up.

"Cupcake," Gusty said. Just then, Cupcake plowed into her and Gusty fell into the bowl! Cupcake didn't even notice!

Hours later, the cake was finally finished. Cupcake had to put it outside because it was so huge.

"Wow," Baby Tiddlywinks said.

"That biggest cake I ever saw!" Baby Cuddles shouted.

"I think you made it a little too big, Cupcake," Lickety Split said.

"What makes you say that?" Cupcake asked. Suddenly, Gusty's head popped out of the bottom. She glared at Cupcake.

"You accidently baked Gusty into it," Lickety Split continued. Cupcake blushed. "Besides, the wedding's in two days! You'll never have it decorated by then!"

"Maybe I'd better get to work on a smaller one," Cupcake said, still blushing. She ran back into the kitchen.

Everyone was going crazy the next morning. Megan still had to make a few alterations on Shady's gown. The baby ponies were trying to find out what to wear to the wedding. Buttons and Ribbon were helping them. Steamer was pacing back and forth inside the Estate. 4-Speed and Tex were trying to calm him down. Molly was running around out of sheer excitement.

"Molly, settle down!" Megan shouted. As she was shouting at Molly, she accidently stuck herself with the needle. "Ouch!"

"Sorry, Megan," Molly said. "I'm just excited!"

"Okay, Shady, you're all set," Megan said, as she finished the stitching.

"Thanks," Shady said. She looked in the mirror. "Do I really look all right?"

"You look beautiful, Shady," Molly said. She started to straighten out Shady's veil and the pearls. She accidently pulled on the pearls and they broke. They scattered across the floor.

"Oh no!" Shady shouted.

"Mom's pearls!" Megan shouted. "If we don't get these restrung, she'll kill us!"

"Sorry, Megan," Molly said.

"Why don't you go help Posey and Moon Dancer with the flowers?"

"Okay. Sorry."

Megan gathered up the pearls one by one.

"Have they been broken before?" Shady asked.

"Yes," Megan said. "Hopefully, Danny's nearby so he can restring these. You stay here and finish getting ready."

Shady nodded. She was nervous. Molly, in the meantime, just ran into Posey and Moon Dancer. They were working with the flowers, with Sky Dancer's help. She was hanging them in the places Posey and Moon Dancer couldn't reach.

"Hi, you guys," Molly said.

"Hi, Molly," Moon Dancer said.

"Megan said I should help you guys."

"Sure. Grab some flowers and help make the bouquets."

Molly took some flowers and the baskets and started arranging the flowers in it. At that moment, Whizzer came zooming in with colored ribbons in her mouth.

"Whizzer!" both Fire Fly and Medley shouted behind her.

"Slow down!" Medley pleaded.

"You'll crash!" Fire Fly shouted.

Whizzer didn't hear them and she didn't slow down, either. She zoomed in and landed in the flowers, crushing them. The crash was so loud, Megan, Heart Throb, and Shady raced out to see what happened. They saw Whizzer among the flowers.

"Oh, Whizzer!" Heart Throb shouted.

"Oops," Whizzer said (rather quickly, I might add). "Sorry you guys. Really and honest I didn't mean to ruin the flowers, I didn't really I'm sorry."

"I can't pick some more flowers," Posey said. "There isn't enough time!"

Suddenly, the Flutter Ponies arrived in Dream Valley all of a sudden.

"Hi," Morning Glory said.

"I hope we're not late," Rose Dust said.

"No," Sky Dancer said. "You're early, but we're out of flowers. Whizzer crushed them and we don't have too much time to go to Posey's garden and get more."

"That's no problem," Honey Suckle said. "Peach Blossom, Lily, and I can go back to Flutter Valley and get as many as you need!"

"That would be great!" Moon Dancer said. "Are you sure you don't mind?"

"Of course not!" Peach Blossom smiled. "We'll be back in a few moments!"

The three Flutter Ponies flew off. In the kitchen, meanwhile, Cupcake just finished decorating the cake. Fizzy had the bride and groom ponies ready to stick on the top.

"This is the best wedding cake you've ever baked, Cupcake!" she said.

"It's the only wedding cake I've ever baked," Cupcake replied. "All that's left to do is put the bride and groom figures on the top and take it into the ballroom of the Estate for the reception. But let's wait until we get the cake into the reception for that."

"Right," Fizzy said.

Cupcake took one end of the plate and Fizzy took the other. They did their best to carry it into the Estate. At that exact moment, Honey Suckle, Peach Blossom, and Lily returned with a plethora of colorful flowers. They couldn't see where they were going and they crashed into Fizzy and Cupcake, who were putting their full attention into not dropping the cake. They weren't even aware the three Flutter Ponies were behind them.

"Oh no!" Lily shouted.

"MY CAKE!" Cupcake shrieked.

"And we didn't even get to see how the little bride and groom looked on it," Fizzy said. At that moment, Morning Glory, Heart Throb and Shady ran over and saw the cake.

"Oh no!" Heart Throb yelled. "The flowers, the cake, they're ruined! Absolutely ruined!"

"I knew something awful would happen on my wedding day!" Shady cried.

"Cheer up, you two," Morning Glory (or should I say Miss Sunshine?) said. "The flowers are okay. Just a little frosting on them. Us Flutter Ponies can get it off."

"Of course," Peach Blossom said. "We can use a little Utter Flutter."

"And Cupcake can just bake another cake," Morning Glory continued.

"Sure I can," Cupcake said. "Come on, Fizzy."

"Thanks, Morning Glory!" Shady said. "You're a life saver!"

Morning Glory smiled and was off. The Flutter Ponies got all the frosting off of the flowers and even helped decorate. About an hour later, they saw Fizzy and Cupcake put the cake on the table in the Estate.

"Everything looks great," Glory said.

"What time does the wedding start?" Forget-Me-Not asked.

"Noon," Megan said. "Thank goodness you and the other Flutter Ponies arrived five hours before it started!"

"We figured we could be of some help," Rose Dust said. "I figured right."

Megan laughed. She took pictures of the wedding party. She got one of the bridesmaids and maid of honor together. She got one of Ember and Spike. Then she took one of Shady, Buttons, Heart Throb, Sweet Stuff , Molly, and Ember together. Then she led Spike to the Big Brothers and took a picture of them.

"I hope you have a lot of film," Sweet Stuff said.

"Plenty," Megan said. "Come on, everybody it's time to start."

Twilight was standing in the back, waiting for everyone to get ready. Danny brought his tape recorder complete with a tape of "Here Comes The Bride" (since the ponies can't play piano and Spike was in the wedding party).

"You look cute Spike," Twilight said.

"Thanks," Spike said. "But this bow tie itches!"

Ember giggled. Danny started the tape and Ember walked down the isle, doing her best to scatter flower petals. Megan snapped a lot of pictures. After that, Buttons and Sweet Stuff came down the isle, followed by Heart Throb and Molly. Finally, Shady walked down the isle. Magic Star cleared her throat and got ready once Shady stopped walking.

"Dearly beloved," she started. She was interrupted by Heart Throb sniffling. She started over.

"Dearly beloved," and once again, Heart Throb interrupted her. This time, she wailed. Magic Star was getting impatient.

"Dearly beloved," she started again, this time with her teeth clenched. She was cut off once more by Heart Throb. This time Heart Throb held a handkerchief to her nose and blew. What came out of that was a honk that would rival a flock of Canada geese!

"HEART THROB!" Magic Star screamed. "DO YOU MIND?! I'M TRYING TO PERFORM THE CEREMONY HERE!"

"Sorry, Magic Star," Heart Throb said. "But I always cry at weddings!"

"Ho boy."

Apparently, so did almost every other pony at the wedding. Magic Star did her best to keep her temper while she performed the ceremony. It wasn't easy with everyone (except the Big Brother Ponies) crying. Danny was never going to get why people cried at weddings. Molly was even crying over it.

"Oh brother!" Danny groaned. He turned to his older sister. "Isn't she a cry baby, Megan? Megan? Megan!"

Much to Danny's surprise, Megan was crying herself!

"Sorry, Danny," she said. "But I always cry at weddings."

Finally, Magic Star got to the good part.

"Steamer, do you take Shady to be your lawful wedded wife and so on and so on?" she said.

"Sure," Steamer said. Ember tugged on his tux leg.

"You're supposed to say I do," she said.

"Oh, sorry," Steamer said. "I mean I do."

"Shady, do you take Steamer to be your lawful wedded husband and all that stuff?" Magic Star asked.

"I do," Shady said.

"By the power vested in me," Magic Star continued. "I now pronounce you pony and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

Steamer and Shady kissed. Danny made a face.

"Mush," he said. Megan smacked him on the arm.

"That was a beautiful ceremony!" Truly said, crying a little.

"Indeed," Wind Whistler said, sniffling. "Weddings are so . . . . so . . . ."

"Beautiful?" Fizzy asked, misty eyed.

"Yes!" Wind Whistler wailed.

At that moment, a lot of the ponies started to wail in sheer happiness. Then they went back to the Estate for the reception. Bow-Tie came up to Apple Jack and Cherries Jubilee. They were wearing the same design of dress, but in different colors.

"You two look cute," Bow-Tie said. "Interesting colors, too. What are they?"

"Well, this is cherry pink," Cherries Jubilee said.

"And mine's apple blossom white," Apple Jack said.

"Should've guessed," Bow-Tie said.

(AUTHOR'S NOTE: Only if you listen to oldies (and I mean OLD oldies), you'll get it. If not, ask your parents or someone other than me.)

Some of the ponies were still wailing over the wedding. Heart Throb especially!

"Heart Throb, you have to stop being so romantic!" Gusty shouted. "You're hopeless!"

"I know, darling!" Heart Throb said. "I can't help it! Weddings are so romantic!"

"Oh brother!"

Gusty went off away from Heart Throb. Buttons was standing around, talking to some of the other unicorns.

"I always thought you'd be the one to get married first, Buttons," Mimic said.

"Is that all anyone can say to me today?!" Buttons screamed. She turned to Shady. "Hey, Shady! Why don't you throw your bouquet?"

"I don't know," Shady said. "What if it hits the ceiling fan and gets stuck?"

"Shady, don't worry about it and toss that sucker!" Gusty shouted.

"All right." Shady sighed and picked up her bouquet. She tossed it and it hit the fan, sliced it in two, and fell. Buttons caught one half and Molly caught the other.

"I caught it!" Buttons screamed. "Well, half of it, anyway."

The others laughed. It was then time for Steamer to throw the garter. He did, only he threw it like a slingshot, it snapped in half, and clobbered Slugger in the face. Slugger picked it up with his teeth.

"I got it!" he shouted. Then he realized Buttons caught the bouquet (well, half of it, anyway).

"Oh good grief," he groaned.

"Oh gosh," Buttons said, blushing. Everyone started to laugh.

"Looks like we're going to have another wedding," Cotton Candy giggled.

"Oh darling!" Heart Throb shouted. "Can I be a bridesmaid?"

Buttons wanted to disappear and so did Slugger. Everyone laughed like crazy. After that incident, everyone went outside to walk around Dream Valley under a starlit sky, and to give Steamer and Shady a chance to be alone. Glory actually started to make fireworks from her horn.

(AUTHOR'S NOTE: I don't really know what kind of power Glory, Moon Dancer, Twilight, and Mimic can do besides winking in and out. I just thought this fireworks idea for Glory. If anyone knows what they do other than wink in and out, tell me)

"This is the happiest day of my life," Steamer said.

"Mine too," Shady smiled. "Mine too."