And the winner is... · 10:15pm Jun 10th, 2018
The Canterlot Wedding (Flipped!)
So first off, the most major change is that this story would not have been introducing Shining Armor and Princess Cadence. My plan had always been to handle them somewhat more... elegantly than the show did. Hence several stories before this one would have brought up them and their relationship not only to the readers but to Spike and his friends.
One of the more concrete ideas I'd had involved a simple Hearth's Warming story where Shining brings Cadence with him to his parents' house spend the holiday with his family, and Spike and Twilight (also in town for the holiday) panic over the fact that they don't have a gift for her and even if they did what the heck do you get a princess...
Yeah, I digress. Suffice it to say the fact that Spike had an older brother wouldn't be a surprise to any of the Flipped Six or the audience.
The fic itself would open in Canterlot (I seem to put a lot of these season finales/openers up there as opposed to Ponyville). A rather inebriated Spike and only-slightly-less drunk Shining are making their way through the streets. Their conversation is vague, but the context would be clear to the readers: Shining proposed to Cadence and she accepted, so Spike took his brother out to celebrate. They've been doing quite a bit of celebrating, which is why neither pays much attention to the shadowy figure following them figuring he's just another pony.
Spike walks Shining home before tottering off to the place he and Twilight are staying. Shining comes in, looking to continue his celebration with Cadence herself but as he walks into their room he sees something that immediately sobers him up. The audience isn't made aware of what he sees, just that the scene ends with a bright green flash.
So time skips ahead about a week, and the scene transitions to Ponyville where the remaining Flipped Five are having a little lunch meeting. Apparently all of them are a bit confused as Spike's visit to Canterlot was only supposed to last a couple of days and any attempts to contact him have just been met with letters written by Twilight stating that everything is fine.
At that being brought up, Ditzy recalls she has another set of letters from Twilight in her mail delivery for the day. These are significantly fancier though and all five of them are shocked to find that these new letters are invitations to Cadence and Shining Armor's wedding! Suddenly the reason for Spike and Twilight's extended absence seems obvious (as they likely got caught up in helping their big brother plan for the wedding) and they decide to use these letters as an excuse to meet back up with Spike and see if they can do anything to help out.
Barring being extra busy with ponies running about turning the city into a massive party ground, there's nothing strange up in Canterlot. Though it is revealed to be the first time up there for many of the Flipped Six (Ditzy being the one exception having run emergency deliveries to and from the city before). They find Spike and Twilight in short order at the center of the hustle and bustle, talking to Shining Armor and Cadence.
As they run up though Spike is genuinely shocked. Shining Armor brings up that he never asked for any invitations to be sent to the other element bearers, and Twilight reveals that she came up with the idea herself. "It's a royal wedding and they're Equestrian heroes! Plus, I thought we could use the extra help."
If anypony else has objections they don't get to voice them. Time Turner reveals that he's already started putting together some more efficient schedules for the ponies working to prepare the wedding since arriving, Ditzy Doo jumps in to start running messages and supplies around the city, Thunderlane helps out the weather team, Mac handles heavy lifting, and Cheerilee volunteers for relief work preparing snacks and water for the other workers. Shining accepts the aid, finally, and starts assigning them more tasks while asking Spike to "stick with his friends and take care of things with them". He and Cadence then head off to speak with the royal wedding planner while Spike and Twilight join up with the others.
Of course the big question that most of Spike's friends have is why he was being so secretive about the whole thing. He should've realized he could have written for them to come help anytime and they'd have been happy to. Spike just brushes it off that he wanted to surprise them before Twilight butted in, but a rather telling moment is just how touched and genuinely surprised he seems by how eager the others are to help him out.
Then Thunderlane asks what date the wedding is set for and whether Spike's planned Shining's bachelor party yet. Since the answers turn out to be "In a few days (Shining and Cadence apparently can't bear the idea of waiting)" and "Umm.... not yet?" respectively Spike suddenly finds himself with the others jumping in to help him with Shining's sending off from bachelorhood (mostly from the other guys, though Ditzy and Cheerilee do volunteer to keep Cadence occupied as long as the boys promise to keep the party civil).
The next several days involve the Flipped Six now helping with two parties (Wedding and Bachelor) with Spike going from overwhelmed with work to overwhelmed by how much the others are helping out. There's an issue though as Cadence and Shining Armor prove difficult to deal with leading up to the eve before the wedding. Neither leaves the other's company for long if they can avoid it and Spike proves to have zero ideas about how to help with that. Twilight offers the idea of asking Celestia or Luna for assistance, which Spike tries to laugh off as he doubts the Princesses would have time to with all the work they're doing to help with the wedding.
As it turns out they're more than happy to do it. So it happens that Cadence is requested up to the castle the night before the wedding (for her own royal bachelorette party hosted by her dear aunties) while Shining receives a report that sends him to the other side of town. He arrives, finding Spike there who quickly apologizes...
Right before a retinue of Royal Guards bust out of a nearby bar and pull him in for the celebration. There's music, drinks, and plenty of good times (all overseen by Time Turner making sure things remain tasteful). Shining Armor doesn't seem to be enjoying himself though, continuously trying to make excuses to leave and go back to Cadence. Spike isn't much better as he keeps trying to go check on Shining only to get dragged back by Thunderlane or Mac assuring him that Shining should have his fun and that Spike should be thinking up a speech for the last night before his brother's big day.
Up at the Bachelorette party Cadence is being equally distant from the festivities despite Ditzy Doo and Cheerilee being there and (inadvertently) breaking up the usually stuffy atmosphere of a royal celebration (Twilight isn't at either party, having excused herself to bed well before being a baby dragon and all). Despite the Mares of Harmony's best efforts Cadence seems torn between trying to enjoy herself and asking when Shining will be back.
Neither party is as enjoyable as anypony hoped. Cadence eventually trots off to bed complaining off a headache despite everypony else insisting she try to enjoy herself.
Meanwhile Shining finally manages to storm out of his own party, giving Spike a dirty look as he does. Spike seems quite disturbed by that, but is assured by Time Turner and Mac that his brother's probably just nervous. Thunderlane (who's had a bit too much to drink at this point) loudly voices an opinion that Shining might just be a big jerk who doesn't appreciate how much trouble Spike is going through for him. Despite Shining's exit none of the guardsponies want to leave (and they do want to hang out with the Heroes of Harmony some more) but Spike volunteers to walk the over-inebriated Thunderlane back to his hotel.
On the way back Thunderlane is still on a drunken tirade, complaining about how ungrateful Shining Armor seems even as Spike tries to shush him. He eventually moves on to apologizing to Spike for all the guff he gives him despite them calling each other friends (this bit is more to address a pattern I was noticing emerging in my story plans where Spike and Thunderlane's interactions kept landing dangerously close to the "Vitriolic Best Buds" end of the friendship scale).
Spike, hesitantly, accepts the apology, then apologizes for something himself.
At which point a group of changelings jump out of the alley Spike's leading them by and attack.
[To be Continued...]
I wonder.....
Was Shinning replaced?!?!?!?!
Damn, this looks interesting. I really can't wait to see how they're connected to the changelings and what Chrysalis has been doing.