The movie starts out the same. There's the almost deal between Rumpelstiltskin and the monarchs of Far Far Away, Shrek basically reliving the same bad day over and over again, and the gang going to Far Far Away for the triplets birthday.

But that's where the story diverges. Instead of going to the Poisoned Apple, they go to the castle, which is under construction.

"Sorry guys," Arthur says to the fairytale creatures, "the building of the Parliament House is taking longer than expected."

"That's ok." Fiona says with a smile, "Transitioning to a democracy isn't easy. Especially when the monarchy's so well entrenched."

"Yeah, so, me and Aunt Lilian decided to move the party to the Poisoned Apple!" Arthur happily explained.

"It's 'Aunt Lilian and I decided to move the party to the Poisoned Apple'." Lilian reprimands, "Remember, you are King. You must use proper English!"

"But it's just Shrek and the gang. No need to be formal!" Arthur protests.

Lilian gives him a stern look.

"C'mon! Language changes all the time!" Arthur whines, "Modern English sounds nothing like Old English!"

"True." Lilian concedes, "But there are expectations."

"Uh, Mom?" Fiona hesitates.

Lilian turns to face her daughter. "Yes Darling?"

"Arthur has a point." Fiona replies, "The world's changing. Language should change with it."

"And besides," Donkey interjects, "You're getting rid of the monarchy! You should treat expectations like rotten cheese. Either throw it out, or call the mold a feature. That's what they do with blue cheese."

Everyone looks at him weird.

"That's a special type of mold." Fiona says.

"So?" Donkey asks, "There's plenty of cheese out there that smells like rotten egg, or tastes terrible, but everyone loves it for some reason, and say the smelliness and bad taste are part of what makes the cheese so great."

"He's not wrong." Arthur points out.

The scene then shifts to the Poison Apple, where the only difference I can see is Arthur and a few more guards being there. Although I don't remember Fiona's exact speech to Shrek, it does seem different.

"Unbelievable." Fiona shames as she slams the back door of the tavern closed.

"Tell me about it!" Shrek yells, "Those villagers-"

"I'm not talking about the villagers Shrek." Fiona interrupts, "Yes, they were annoying, but is this really how you want to remember your kids first birthday? By being a stereotype we've tried to dismantle?"

"Well you know one of the perks of that stereotype? Not being a roadside attraction!" Shrek yells, "It used to be all," Shrek mimics people being scared while saying, "'Keep your distance', and 'Run away!'." He then looks angry as he continues, "Now it's," He then imitates a Carnival barker, "'Come see the dancing Ogre! Don't worry, he won't bite!'" He does some more mocking gestures, then glares at Fiona. He then rips his party hat off as he complains, "I used to be an Ogre," he crumples his hat in his hands as he sadly adds, "now I'm just a jolly green joke!"

Fiona sighs, then she approaches him from behind and gently says, "You may not be the ogre you used to be, but you're a hero." Shrek seems to perk up at this, "You saved me and countless others from Farquaad, Fairy Godmother and Prince Charming! You showed everyone that you don't have to stick to the labels people put on you."

Shrek looks like he's gonna say something, then he pauses. Finally he turns around and says, "That may be true, but think about our privacy. All I want is to take a mudbath in peace without some jester reject mocking me." He gets slightly angry, "Back in the old days, sure I was persecuted, but I could scare people. I could do whatever I wanted to do, when I wanted to. Back when the world made sense!"

Fiona frowns. "That may have been your life, but for me I was put under strict curfew, and locked away in a tower guarded by a dragon who would kill anyone. The only reason Donkey was spared was because he complimented and flirted with her. Remember how I was after you rescued me and was bringing me to Farquaad?"

Shrek relents a little. This version is better. "Yes." Shrek answers after a brief pause. "But that doesn't mean that you were without luxury."

"Shrek."

"Strict curfew, in a palace with servants catering to your every whim. Locked in a tower where you only had to deal with Dragon and boredom. I had to do mostly everything on my own after my parents kicked me out. And I was a kid."

"So was I!" Fiona counters, "You saw my tower, I had nothing."

Shrek still won't budge. "You had three meals a day brought to you via some magical catering service, while me, and the rest of our kind had to forage and farm just for one meal. Sure it was fun, but nothing like what you experienced."

"I experienced some of it while we were traveling." Fiona remarks.

"Not the same!" Shrek yells. "About a month of life on the road isn't the same as a lifetime of being persecuted!"

Fiona glares at him, "Just because I didn't have all the same hardships as you, didn't mean I didn't have any. And before you say something you'll bitterly regret, let me just say this:" I see her tone soften, "You have three healthy children who'll never know the indignity of being hated simply for what they look like; a wife who loves you, and had to learn to love herself; friends who adore you, and would never be where they are today without you. This is happily ever after, it may seem boring, but, it doesn't have to be."

Shrek doesn't look moved.

Fiona continues, "We can live the way we want without fear. The life we thought we could never achieve, is ours. We have everything."

Shrek still glares, "How come the only one who can't see that, is you?"

Shrek still glares. Fiona sighs, and goes back to the party. It kinda seems Shrek is mad just to be mad now.

"That's just great." Shrek mutters. Then he walks offscreen while the camera zooms in on Rumpelstiltskin.