Things change. It's just a part of life, y'know? Like it or hate it, change happens eventually. We all gotta accept it, because to do otherwise would be to deny ourselves the opportunity to grow. And, nobody was getting to know that better than one Bartholomew Jojo Simpson. Since he'd turned eleven, his best friend Milhouse had started spending less time with him, especially because Samantha Stankey had come back to town.
"There's my special little birthday guy!" Marge smiled as her son came into the kitchen to join everyone else. "I'm so pumped for my party tonight."
"How many people are coming?" Bart asked eagerly as he ate the pancakes that were left for his breakfast. "50? A thousand?"
"I am a little concerned I haven't gotten any RSVPs," Marge admitted before facing her husband. "Homer, you did mail the invitations, right?"
"Marge, I could lie and tell you what you want to hear, but I won't," Homer replied. "I mailed the invitations, and the reason no one is coming is... because everybody hates Bart."
Of course, the invitations were found seconds later in a nearby basket, all wrapped up.
"Homer!" Marge fumed. "Here I thought you were making a change for the better! Especially after our adventure that summer!"
"Cut me a break, Marge," insisted Homer. "I was busy!"
"Oh, great," Bart groaned as he picked up his invitations in devastation. "I have eight hours to hand these out to all my friends or my birthday party's gonna be... ruined!"
"Also we have a couple of visitors." Lisa suddenly said.
"Huh?" Bart asked as he looked over. "LJ and Zofia? Where'd you guys come from?" he then asked.
"Special 5th-dimensional powers from our father~" Zofia stated ominously.
"Also we were just in the neighborhood and thought we'd pop by." LJ added.
"Oh. Hey there, guys," Bart smiled. "At least now you can celebrate my 11th birthday with me the right way."
"I guess we were due," shrugged LJ. "But yeah, I wouldn't mind."
"Well, you're just in time to come to school with me and hand out my invitations." Bart then told LJ.
"What about Milhouse?" Zofia wondered. "Is he coming too?"
Bart's only response was a cold, silent stare at the mention of Milhouse.
"What?" Zofia frowned.
"They, uh, I'll tell you later." Lisa told Zofia quietly.
"Let's just move it, okay?" asked Bart, putting on his cap. "The sooner we get rolling, the better."
LJ nodded. "I read ya loud and clear, dude." he replied.
And so, they went off together.
"Come on, Zofia you can help me out." Lisa told the girl urgently.
"Okay!" Zofia smiled as she then went away with Lisa and rubbed her head against the baby girl kindly.
Maggie cooed and giggled as she patted Zofia on the head cutely as LJ and Bart left with the latter boy being mostly disgusted at the sickening cuteness.
And so, the boys made it to Springfield Elementary School right into the auditorium where several other students had gathered.
"Here you go, come to my party," Bart said as he handed out invitations to students he saw. "Wendell, Lewis, sunglasses kid with no name. Uter! Look who's alive!"
"Students, I've called this assembly because... today is my last day as your principal." Skinner announced from the stage.
The students all gasped.
"You're looking at the new headmaster of the Sacramento Obedience Academy for the Meek!" declared Skinner. "At last, my diligence has finally paid off!"
"No more Skinner?" Bart asked. "Sweet! This is the best late birthday present ever!"
"Also, Groundskeeper Willie will be my roommate." Skinner added to the students.
"What an odd couple we'll make." Willie added as he put his arm around the former elementary school principal.
"And who knows, maybe I'll make an occasional appearance in Sacramento," Superintendent Chalmers chuckled as he came by. "I look forward to one hijink or more as part of this delightful midseason replacement of the retiring principal."
"Maybe I'll give you my famous steamed ham recipe." Skinner offered.
The three men all laughed and shared a group hug.
"School dismissed." Skinner then told the students, allowing them to file on out.
"Wait, don't leave!" Bart told them. "I still have more birthday invitations."
"I'm going to miss this place." Skinner sighed softly as he turned out the lights after that was that.
"Bart, why did that just sound like a series finale line?" LJ asked.
"I... I don't know." Bart replied out of confusion.
"Well, we'd better see if anything else weird is going on," LJ responded. "Something crazy could be happening... well, crazier than usual here."
"Yeah, we better find out what." Bart suggested.
So the boys left Springfield Elementary and went out to investigate some more. They passed by the nuclear power plant as the employees inside were cheering Homer's name after what happened inside.
"That's weird." Bart remarked.
"Wonder what happened in there?" LJ wondered as they continued to go along and passed the comic book shop.
"Call the doctor!" A woman's voice was heard as the boys came inside to see Comic Book Guy with a young woman. "The baby's coming!"
"Comic Book Guy has a girlfriend now?" LJ asked Bart in surprise.
"Yeah, long story." Bart replied, brushing that off for now.
"Help me, OB-GYN Kenobi, you're my only hope!" Comic Book Guy begged once he called the doctor on the phone.
"Wait, you guys are having a baby?" Bart asked.
"Not without a doctor!" Comic Book Guy blurted.
Then, the door flew open. "How about the only licensed midwife to win 16 WWE championships?" asked John Cena as he entered.
"What the hell is John Cena doing in Springfield?" asked Bart.
"You took the words right outta my mouth." responded LJ.
"I'm in town for the launch party of Otto the bus driver's line of THC energy drinks," John Cena stated as he brought out a can before popping the top and taking a giant swig of it. "THC!" he then announced before listing some demands. "I need sterile gloves, hot water, and something to cut the cord, stat!"
Comic Book Guy brought out a prop as John Cena soon put on some gloves and hot water was spread out.
"Klingon bat'leth? Nice." The wrestling star then asked before he would get to work on the woman in labor.
"So, are you like Graphic Novel Chick or something?" LJ asked Comic Book Guy's girlfriend.
"Actually, my name is Kumiko Albertson, but... I kinda like that nickname." The young woman replied wearily.
"Okay then." LJ decided.
Soon, Kumiko did her labored breathing as John Cena helped her give birth. Bart merely looked away, covering his eyes as much as he could since he was only 11 so this was a bit gross to him. LJ looked on, curious as the process continued. Finally, the baby was alive and healthy as it had been born.
John Cena handed over the baby to Kumiko. "You can't see me... you can't see me~" he gushed.
"And now, the world shall know 'Mini-Comic Tot'!" LJ remarked as Kumiko cradled the infant.
John Cena left as CBG and Kumiko walked towards the exit.
"I don't need toys anymore..." smiled Comic Book Guy. "I've got the ultimate limited edition collectible right here. I think I'm going to miss this place," he sighed as he clicked the lights off and left.
"...what is happening?!" Bart exclaimed.
"I don't know," LJ responded as he bought some more comics and merch. "But it seems like some outside force is trying to alter your world somehow."
They then left after LJ left some money out of respect and suddenly, Bart stopped dead in his tracks.
"Bart? What's up?" LJ asked out of concern.
Bart didn't answer, he just stared right across the street from where they ended up and was frozen in silence. LJ waved his hand in front of Bart's eyes and then took a look to see where the spiky-haired boy was looking. It turned out to be none other than the van Houten household.
"...ohhh," LJ mused. "You good, dude? We don't have to go over if you don't wanna."
"...I don't know how I feel honestly..." Bart explained softly. "I bet you anything though that Samantha Stankey is in there right now."
"You'd win that bet, then," said LJ. "C'mon, man, let's go."
So they passed by the church, but on the marquee it read:
TODAY'S WEDDINGS
PATTY AND EVELYN
NED FLANDERS AND RUTH POWERS
SELMA AND YES GUY
DUFFMAN AND MS. HOOVER
"A lifetime of monogamy!" declared Duffman as he came out and pelvic-thrusted. "OH-YEAH!"
"Why would you wanna be with Mrs. Hoover?! She sucks!" LJ jeered and glared.
"Oh, behave yourself, young man!" Ms. Hoover glared back in response.
"I'm not your student and no one punishes LJ Schwartz!" LJ shouted before turning away bashfully. "Except for Mom if I'm out and lie about where I was. So, your aunt's into girls?" he then asked Bart.
"Yeah, that's another story, wasn't sure how you'd react to that." Bart shrugged as he explained that.
"Eh, it's cool," LJ shrugged. "Good for her, I guess. Still, this proves my theory right. Nobody's exactly acting like they would be—which means someone is forcibly changing the world!"
"I finally got to move on after Maude." Ned told LJ proudly.
LJ looked confused until it hit him. "Oh, that's Rod and Todd's mother?" he then asked.
"Yes, indeedily!" Ned nodded. "Not to mention what happened between me and Mrs. Krabappel!"
"Speaking of which I don't think I've seen her around today," LJ remarked. "I wonder why."
Everyone suddenly got quiet at the mention of Mrs. Krabappel, but kept on going on with what they were doing.
"Closing time," Moe sighed as he was inside his tavern, going to turn out the lights. "Ooh, I'm gonna miss this place."
A rat squeaked in agreement and left out the hole after Moe as he put up a "SOLD" sign. As Bart and LJ went down the road, they saw Moe exiting the bar and leaving with a short woman named Maya. Then they passed by the Springfield Tire Fire.
"I'm gonna miss this fire." said the mustached man, Raphael, as he flicked a switch and shut off the fire.
Bart was, to say the least, bewildered.
"We better tell somebody." responded LJ.
AND SO...
"Mom, Dad, something weird is going on!" Bart exclaimed as he and LJ raced inside.
"Son, we need to talk to you." Homer suddenly said as he and his wife sat on the couch together.
"Oh, man, now what?" Bart asked in disbelief.
"Your father and I have been in couples counseling and we just had the most amazing session," Marge began to say. "We worked through so much pain."
"I've been withholding affection because... I was never given any." Homer said, sighing deeply at that last part before he said it.
"And I enabled it!" Marge cried before hugging her husband and they both cried emotionally.
Bart just felt disturbed at the sight of that.
"We love each other as we are," Homer then said. "And we love you exactly as you are. You kids are gonna be living in a functional, trauma-free household and I'm gonna take that miracle new diet drսg. I'll be skinny, but still have a huge head."
"From now on, you're going to see a lot of changes." Marge added warmly as they hugged their son sweetly.
"Change? That's it!" Bart exclaimed. "Everything's changing! And I don't like it!"
"Oh, I think Maggie's about to say her first word!" Marge exclaimed as she saw her youngest child approaching.
Maggie removed her pacifier and opened her mouth in excitement to her big brother's company.
"La-la-la-la!~, Not listening!" Bart said, clamping his ears shut and running away from his baby sister.
"So that just happened." Maggie remarked to her parents and LJ in plain English.
"NOTHING IS CHANGING!" Bart screamed as he ran outside. "And I'm gonna get to the bottom of it!"
"What is going on around here and how can we fix this?" LJ pondered as he followed Bart outside, feeling rather puzzled.
Bart and LJ then roamed around Springfield as more and more changes followed them everywhere they had gone.
"Dad?" Nelson asked from his trailer eagerly and reunited with a man who had been his estranged father.
"CHAAAAAAANGE!" Bart shrieked in horror as they continued to run for their lives.
"Real son~" Mrs. Skinner smiled fondly as a man named Armin Tamzarian approached her as she put up a "room to let" sign since her son was leaving town.
"MORE CHANGE!" Bart moaned as they passed by the church and saw the funeral listings of the day which were for Mr. Burns, Old Jewish Man, Disco Stu, and Hans Moleman.
The final man in question was shown to be looking at the marquee and adjusted his glasses, seeing that he was on that list and wasn't very happy about it for obvious reasons.
"Wait... I know one person in Springfield who will never change!" Bart beamed as he came to a stop.
"Yeah?" LJ asked.
"Yeah! Follow me!" Bart replied on the way to a certain TV Studio.
"Krusty the Clown?" LJ guessed based on where they were going.
"You know it!" Bart nodded. "Krusty's been around since forever, so what's gonna stop him from staying here?"
AND SO...
"Krusty!" Bart exclaimed as he and LJ arrived. "You're still doing your show, right?"
"You know it, kid!" said Krusty in a much easier voice than before. "All the classic bits!"
Bart sighed in relief.
"ONE LAST TIME!" Krusty continued. "On the Krusty Show Last Episode Ever Spectacular!"
"...how long has this show been on, anyway?" LJ asked.
"Let's just say it's been too long even back in 1994." Krusty explained dryly.
"Man, people always dump on the year 1994." LJ snarked to himself.
"No! A classic series like this can never end!" Bart begged.
"I've changed, kid," Krusty told him. "Even I can't run the same material into the ground forever."
"Ay, caramba!" Bart moaned.
"Haw-haw!" Nelson taunted him.
Barney Gumble belched in response.
"Good glavin!" Professor Frink yelped.
"Hi, everybody!" Dr. Nick greeted happily.
Dr. Hibbert merely gave a good-hearted chuckle. And then, the curtains opened, revealing a series of Krusty clips from his past shows and comedy bits.
"Wait, if I can ruin Krusty's finale, they can't air it," said Bart. "And the show can never end!"
"...that or the final episode will be regarded as a lost episode, and it will be unceremoniously cancelled." LJ shrugged as Bart raced up to the stage.
"Cheeks, don't fail me now," Bart said as he turned away from the camera. "How's this for a satisfying ending?"
LJ sighed and put his head in his hands from Bart's display as the audience gasped in horror.
Eventually, the police were called and Bart was being locked up for his crime.
"Guys? Bart got arrested." Zofia said as she answered the phone for the Simpsons family.
"Of course he did." Homer sighed at that.
"Mr. Simpson..." Zofia pouted.
"Alright, we'll go get him, it's his new birthday after all." Homer shrugged.
"Bart..." A voice said suddenly.
"...Milhouse." Bart blinked and saw his former best friend had come over to the stage along with a certain girl.
"...what's gotten into you?" Milhouse asked as he stood with Samantha. "This isn't the Bart Simpson I know."
"Yeah, well... how would you know?" Bart asked. "You'd rather hang out with a girl instead of your best friend!"
"You were a lousy best friend," Milhouse replied. "If anything, I was less than your sidekick, I was like your footstool! And the one time I actually felt happy, you had to ruin that for me."
"Yeah, well... forget you, man." Bart said as he turned away and crossed his arms.
"Forget you too!" Milhouse glared. "Come on, Samantha, I'll get you a drink from the Kwik-E-Mart."
"Okay." Samantha smiled and followed him as they went away.
Bart glared and looked a little soft and sad since he lost Milhouse now too, but that was even before this all started.
"Come on, kids, let's go." Chief Wiggum said to both Bart and LJ.
LJ just sighed, as he and Bart were carted off to the holding cell.
"Man, and I thought he was bad during the Itchy & Scratchy reboot." Milhouse whispered to Samantha.
"I guess it's a good thing you two let each other go." Samantha replied.
SHORTLY...
The Simpson family and Zofia had arrived to see the boys at the police station.
"Bart, what's going on with you?" asked Lisa. "Are you all right?"
"Lis, I know you're gonna think I'm crazy, but something super-duper weird is happening today," replied Bart.
"You mean how everyone's changing for the better, and moving on with their lives?" inquired Lisa.
"So I'm not crazy," replied Bart. "You see it, too!"
"Things do feel different," Lisa admitted. "Almost like a book that's slowly closing."
"So you'll help me stop it?" Bart asked hopefully.
"Well, I'd like to... but I just won a junior Juilliard Jazz scholarship and a MacArthur preteen genius grant!" Lisa said before bringing out a couple of papers that were just for her.
Bart groaned in response to that as things were just getting worse and worse for him. "Just get me out of here before any more stupid endings happen!" he then begged.
Zofia glanced at the spiky-haired boy at that before glancing at LJ. "Maybe you could invite him as your guest to come with us out of town when we go back home next week and start planning." he then suggested.
"Start planning?" LJ asked his sister. "For what?"
"Felicity wants to visit Cinderella and wants us to explore our own roots as descendants-" Zofia began to say.
"STOP USING DESCENDANTS IN EVERYTHING!" Bart complained during that.
Zofia narrowed her eyes and then continued. "As Cherry: The Adventurer's descendants, we should go back to where it all started with her and Uncle Atticus and that includes a visit to Cinderella." she then continued to explain to her brother.
"...I wouldn't be opposed," said LJ. "Always good seein' Felicity again. As for bringing him? ...I'd have to think."
"Simpson, we are finally sending you to Juvie and throwin' away the key!" declared Chief Wiggum. "...is what I would say if I wasn't about to start a whole new chapter in my life!"
Bart let out another groan of anger at this. Another hackneyed ending to send another character off in some new direction!
"That was such a Butch Hartman thing to say." LJ scoffed to himself.
"Don't get me started." Zofia replied in the same way. "Oh! And meet my new friend, Hazel speaking of that guy."
LJ looked a little unsure about meeting Hazel at first until she stepped out and seemed rather friendly, plus the design of her sweater being blue with pink stripes brought to the mind of a fond adventure he and Zofia's mother once had which was a journey into the Undertale.
"Hi, I'm Hazel Wells." The girl said as she held out her hand to LJ.
"Nice to meet you." said LJ as he shook hands with her.
"I'm joining the Chicago PD!" declared Chief Wiggum. "I'm gonna lead the ADU!"
"The All-Decapitations Unit?" asked Lou.
"Yeah, there won't be a lot of laughs," responded Chief Wiggum. "I think it's drama." And so, he walked over to the doorway. "One thing's for sure," he sniffled. "I'm sure gonna miss this—"
"ENOUGH WITH THE STUPID LIGHT SWITCH!" Bart screamed.
"Come on, sweetie," Marge told her son tenderly. "It's time for you to go home."
Bart just moaned at that even though they were free to go for the night.
The ride home wasn't much better as Evergreen Terrace was replaced on the street sign as End of the Road.
"Here, how about one of our mother's songs?" Zofia offered as she brought out her phone and played a song parody from their mother when she was younger as a reflection of ending a series.
"AND NOW WE'VE COME... TO THE EEEEEND OF THE SHOOOOW, STILL I CAAAAAN'T LEEEET GOOOO~" Cherry began to sing like the Boys II Men in beat of their song "End of the Road". "It's unnatural, what this show means to me, you belong to me, I belong to youuuu, giiiirl, TO THE EEEEND OF THE-"
"Okay, that's enough of that." Zofia said, stopping the parody right away.
Soon, they pulled up into the driveway right after that.
"Guys, it's okay. Change is healthy and inevitable, but whatever happens, nothing can take away the memories we had," Lisa advised. "Those will live in our hearts forever."
"Maybe you're right," said Bart, resignedly. "And I guess just because things change for everyone else, it doesn't mean I have to change."
So, everyone went inside. Lisa turned on the lights, revealing that somehow, everyone in Springfield was crammed into the house.
"SURPRISE!" They all bellowed. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
"Who's ready for cake?" asked Marge, as Homer brought in a cake with a big 11 on top.
"ELEVEN?!" Bart gasped like it was a curse word.
"Calm down, dude, I'm 11 and it's no big deal, I can't even wait to turn 12!" Lincoln Loud said as he was randomly there.
"This isn't supposed to happen!" Bart panicked. "I'm 10. I mean, I'm turning 10. I mean I've always been 10. I'M 10!"
"Come on, son, all these beloved characters from our past want to see you blow out your candles~" Homer encouraged kindly.
"But if I blow these candles out, there'll be no going back," Bart replied, very on edge right now. "That'll be it."
"Come on kid, do it for your Unkie Herb~" A man resembling Homer and sounding like Cherry's old friend Philoctetes encouraged.
"And for me, Unkie John Cena." John Cenna added.
"Just blow out the candles and have a happy birthday~" Lisa advised Bart. "Then everyone can be happy."
"NO!" Bart snapped. "Happy people don't exist in Springfield! Sea Captain, they're not casting you for the Love Boat reboot; you're NOT TV-pretty!"
That took the wind from his sails quickly.
"And you three can't raise a baby!" Bart told Jimbo, Kearney, and Nelson. "Not even after you move in with Hank Scorpio!"
The man in question looked down about that response.
Then Bart went over to Rabbi Krustofski, Frank Grimes, and Bleeding Gums Murphy. "And you guys are all dead!" he snapped.
"Son, I can see you're experiencing some pretty big feelings right now," said Homer calmly, as Marge shut the light off. "Let's try and center them. Now blow out your candles."
Bart scoffed. "You blow 'em out, dumbass." he shot back.
"I know, I know," smiled Homer. "It's a lot to process, suddenly having a great father."
But Bart wouldn't let up. "Dude, you are not capable of change," he insisted.
Homer clenched his teeth. "I hear you and I validate your feelings..." he said, trying to stay calm.
"You're not a great father, you'll never be one; you are Homer Simpson!" Bart spat. "A drunk, neglectful sack of crap, and that's why everyoe laughs at you!"
"Man, something about this feels really weird in my stomach," Zofia remarked as she grabbed her stomach. "I don't know how to describe it, Brother, but... it's like I'm on a rollercoaster into a house of horrors as I watch precious memory fade away into nothingness after tonight."
"THAT'S EXACTLY HOW I FEEL!" Bart replied.
"I know how you feel, Bart!" Hazel called out.
"...you do?" Bart asked, sounding touched, not realizing that Homer was panting heavily behind him, nearly turning as red as a red panda during that time of the month.
"Yeah, I-" Hazel was about to say until she gasped, looking scared to see such an abusive parent like Homer act out like this. "LOOK OUT!" she then shrieked for a potential new friend.
"Why... you... LITTLE!" Homer snarled as he reached out and grabbed his son by the throat, strangling him right in front of everyone which was never a pleasant sight to watch and the two then suddenly crashed through the cake on the table and soon out came what appeared to be Princess Luna from Equestria.
"...okay, what is going on?" LJ asked.
"Hello, LJ and Zofia." The soft-spoken voice of Princess Luna came.
"Princess Luna?!" The Schwartz siblings asked in disbelief.
"Oh, wait, you retired a long time ago." LJ then said.
"I'm fine with either, but thank goodness I've been freed from that cake," Princess Luna explained as they stared at her oddly for that sentence. "It makes sense in context."
"It almost usually does." Zofia nodded at that.
"Yes, I'm sure it does, but I have to warn you that none of this is real." The former Alicorn Princess of the Night explained to the two.
"Yeah, I gathered," said LJ. "But what the heck has been going on, anyways?"
"You still have to look into it before you wake up in time for Bart Simpson's real 11th birthday." Luna advised.
"Both of us?" Zofia wondered.
"Perhaps you can try as well, but this is mostly a task for your brother and mother," Luna suggested. "After all, you know what my gift was to Cherry after she became a student in Canterlot High School."
"Yes, she became your personal student in empathy and dreams like how Aunt Twilight studied under Celestia." LJ memorized and nodded.
"Well, maybe I could at least try to help out?" Zofia offered. "I feel like I don't have many adventures with LJ anymore."
"Yeah..." LJ responded. "I say we go for it!"
"Well, okay, I'm up for it," Zofia nodded. "Something has been feeling weird all day."
Suddenly, there was a glimmer in the air and appeared Cherry and Felicity.
"Mom!/Mother! Flick!/Felicity!" LJ and Zofia beamed and ran toward the two before hugging them.
"I've had enough change in my life when you left for Auradon to become more independent like cousins Akito, Estelle, and Vincent." Zofia said to her big sister softly.
"Even if they tend to show-off a lot of the time." LJ rolled his eyes.
"Luna called me over urgently, I had to leave Chip, but he promised to wait for me," Felicity replied. "Also, there are even bigger changes coming to my school's kingdom."
"But we'll worry about them later." Cherry added.
"In the meantime, let's get to the bottom of this!" declared LJ. "So... where do we start?"
"Perhaps you should go back into the living room as it really should be with Bart Simpson." Luna suggested.
"All right, kids, this might tickle a little," Cherry told her younger children in warning. "This never gets easy."
"It's time to wake up." Felicity added.
"Right," nodded LJ. "We'll see you when we see you."
"See you soon, dear." Cherry replied as she and Felicity left then.
LJ and Zofia then hugged each other and squeezed their eyes shut as some harp-like music began to play and everything suddenly went all wiggly into a ripple dissolve.
Suddenly, they opened their eyes and they were in the Simpsons living room, but suddenly the large crowd was gone and it was only a few people along with the family.
"Bart! Look what you did to your cake." Marge said, turning on the lights to show everything that was there.
"Floor cake~" Homer gushed as he picked up the cake pieces in the middle of the floor and ate them right away.
"...it worked! I'm still 10!" Bart laughed.
"Technically, you're still 11." responded LJ.
"Really?" Bart asked. "I still feel 10."
LJ shrugged. "Maybe you'll eventually adapt," he responded.
"Uh?" Zofia asked, gesturing to the one and zero on the cake.
"Sorry about that," Homer said. "Got a 0 candle instead of another 1."
"It's perfect, Dad, it's perfect." Bart said, sounding emotional and relieved.
"I'm still not sure what happened back there and what Felicity and Mother must be up to," Zofia said to her brother. "Does this mean we're still friends with Hazel and Lisa can hook up with a boy named Otto Osworth we've heard about and Lincoln Loud won't be turning 12?"
"Hard to say, Sis, let's just enjoy it for now until they find out what's going on," LJ replied before he faced the guests who were there. "Hey! I thought this was a party! Let's daaaance!" he then said as a distraction.
Suddenly, the song Footloose began to play as everyone broke out in song and dance like nothing weird had happened.
"Wasn't expecting that to work, but cool." LJ muttered.
"So you guys felt that too?" Bart asked them.
"Yeah, we're not sure what it was, but during my subplot with Lisa, I felt something pretty strange," Zofia remarked. "We were on the computer, trying to look up ways to impress Bart for his big 11th birthday and we came in contact with The Young Genius Association founded by James Isaac and Penelope Neutonium and found a young history whiz named Otto Osworth and after some collabing, we got really close with each other and we noticed the bizarre emotional roller-coaster of everything changing like this was going to be the end after Bart's birthday wish."
"So why didn't you say anything before?!" Bart asked with wide eyes.
"Lisa and I just wanted to make the most of it while we still could." Zofia explained.
"...okay, fair enough," shrugged LJ. "I guess that's understandable."
"In the meantime, why don't we watch the Itchy and Scratchy movie that Bart missed out on that one time in his letters?" Zofia suggested as she brought out a video copy of the movie.
"Is that when they befriend an orphan girl and start talking?" Bart asked. "I heard that one's not really good in the fanbase."
"Well, LJ and I are used to having an unpopular opinion and so are we." Zofia nodded.
"I'm just glad that Milhouse and I are still gonna be friends," Bart said before he looked among his many guests. "...where is Milhouse in the crowd anyway?"
LJ and Zofia frowned and shook their heads in silence.
Bart frowned back and remembered. "Oh, yeah... that still hurts a bit." he then admitted.
"...all things considered, I didn't mind Scott McNeil and Terry Klassen," commented LJ. "Although it is kinda weird that they chose to make a family movie about a murder-happy rodent working with a cat who's his most frequent victim. As for Milhouse...I guess the best thing you can do is think about where you mucked up and try to be better."
"Yeah, I guess." Bart replied.
"Simpson, I know you might not think of much, but losing friends sucks and you can't do anything about it, but it gets easier." Nelson advised in the nicest way he could.
"Thanks, Nelson." Bart said with a sigh.
"I mean, just look at me and my two weasels," Nelson then shrugged. "Until I hung out with Jimbo, Dolph, and Kearney."
"Good point," said LJ. "In the meantime, let's watch this movie!"
Everyone then settled in and watched the long-awaited Itchy & Scratchy movie.
"Oh, Homie, our little boy is growing up." Marge said proudly to her husband.
"And I'm glad to be here with you to see it all." Homer smiled as he held her hands.
"Oh, Homer~" Marge beamed as they had a sweet, passionate kiss after what felt like years without any.
"Oh, Marge~" Homer beamed in the same way before he brought out a slice of pizza. "Oh, stuffed crust pizza we ordered for the part on the Schwartz family's recommendation!"
Apparently there was a subplot about Scratchy quitting the cartoon business...so Itchy proceeded to terrorize the feline in every other job he tried until he decided to go back to his old job in cartoons. Homer and Marge eventually got bored, and left the room to go upstairs and snuggle. A certain girl was peeking out from the window with the company of a boy around her age along with a dog.
"Did they fix everything, Jane?" The boy asked the girl next to him. "Could this prevent the upcoming war against Wonderland with Auradon?"
"We'll have to see, Carlos," The girl replied. "I just feel bad this might mean we have to get rid of a new friend who seems a lot nicer than the one I grew up with, especially since our mothers being good friends and all."
"Chad and Cinderella?" Carlos guessed.
"Chad and Cinderella," Jane nodded. "It's up to former Princess Luna right now along with Felicity's mother and herself until they need LJ and Zofia's help."
"Man, plot twists are so confusing, aren't they?" Dude commented to Santa's Little Helper who whined in response.
LATER THAT NIGHT...
"Well, buddy, I think things are finally starting to go back to normal around here." Bart said to LJ as they began to get ready for bed after a big day of birthday fun which wasn't as bad as expected.
N"Yeah, seems like it," said LJ. "But... I guess it'd be pretty interesting if things did change. But not in that creepy way they did earlier, like...organically."
Nov 13, 2024"Yeah, maybe," Bart shrugged. "I just doubt Homer is capable of change so his was the worst and the most surreal in the whole experience. I mean, whatever happened at the Nuclear Power Plant anyway?"
The door suddenly opened and a PokéBall rolled out and out came Fishy Joe to deliver a random piece of exposition.
"Thanks, Fishy Joe," LJ told his Mudkip before glancing at him. "By the way, how did you do that?" he then asked.
"Pokémon know a lot more than just saying their names over and over," Fishy Joe explained. "Also, it's like when Ash Ketchum's sister found out she was destined to be a Pokémon Princess and one of the other Pokémon explained it to them when they wondered what that meant."
"Uh, well, okay then..." LJ shrugged. "Thanks, Fishy Joe."
"Anytime for a friend." Fishy Joe nodded with a smile.
"Come on, LJ, let's sleep this whole weird day off and get ready for a brand new day of me being 11." Bart suggested as he got ready to lie down in his bed for the night.
"Right." nodded LJ as he settled into his sleeping bag. "Good night."
"Good night." Bart replied as he got comfortable in his bed.
"And thank you for that unsolicited advise, Fishy Joe." LJ told his Pokémon as they got comfortable for the night.
"Anytime." Fishy Joe said before he curled up on the sleeping bag to get some sleep.
So they all drifted off to sleep.