A/N: Taking place after The Peanuts Movie, and based around a forgotten 90s Disney show called Adventures in Wonderland. For my very good friend, Dolores-the-Dip. Consider this a late or early birthday present. Enjoy the trip down the rabbit hole. Or into the looking glass. You get the picture. Enjoy.
It was a beautiful summer day in the Peanuts Gang's neighborhood, and everyone was outside, playing, swimming, running, having a good time. Well, almost everyone. Charlie Brown was inside his house, sitting at the kitchen table, trying to figure out an idea for a story. He wanted to go outside and play with his friends, including his first ever girlfriend, Heather. But he needed to get this task done. He tried hard to think of something, but so far, he had nothing.
His 6 year old sister, Sally Brown, came running into the kitchen with a big smile on her face. "BIG BROTHER!" Sally called out, knocking Charlie Brown off of the seat. "Did you hear the news?! There's a brand new kid in our neighborhood!" Sally then grabbed her older brother's arm and tried to get him to come outside with her. "Let's go meet them! Come on!"
"I can't right now, Sally." Charlie Brown frowned, walking back to the table while Sally frowned. "I gotta finish this homework assignment."
Sally's eyes went wide at that. Homework?! During summer vacation?! "But it's summer!" Sally exclaimed. "We don't have homework during summer!"
"Oh, I know." Charlie Brown said. "It's kind of an extra credit assignment for when school starts in a few weeks. I'm supposed to write a story about an interesting thing. But so far I have nothing!"
"Well, why don't you have your dog write it?" Sally suggested, pulling up the blinds to reveal Charlie Brown's beagle Snoopy reading a book about bunnies with his birdie friend, Woodstock. "He's good with writing stories!"
Up on Snoopy's doghouse in the backyard, the black and white beagle and yellow bird were giggling by all the funny bunnies inside the book. Charlie Brown took one glance and shook his head. "I don't know about that, Sally. I don't think it's a good idea to let your dog do your homework, let alone eat it." Charlie Brown said. Sally just shrugged. "I need to do the best I can with this. I can write this story on my own. If I can at least find something interesting to write about."
Just then, someone rang the doorbell. "I'll get it!" Sally shouted, running to answer the door. She then giggled before teasing, "Big Brother...your girlfriend's here..."
Charlie Brown then smiled and ran to the door to find Heather, the Little Red Haired Girl, smiling as she stood in the doorway. "Hi sweetie." Heather smiled as Charlie Brown blushed.
"ICK!" Sally said in disgust as she walked away to find something else to do.
"Hi Heather." Charlie Brown smiled. "Won't you please come in?"
"I'd love to." Heather smiled and kissed Charlie Brown on the cheek, making him smile wider. She then stepped inside. "So, what you been up to?"
"Not that much." Charlie Brown admitted. "I was kind in the middle of a special assignment. I need to write a story about an interesting thing. And I'm clearly having a lot of trouble." He then sighed as he slumped in the chair. "Good grief."
"Oh dear, you really seem frustrated." Heather said, concerned. She then tried to think of a way to cheer her boyfriend up. "Why don't you try going outside and explore a little bit? Maybe do something different? Hopefully that'll give you some ideas."
Charlie Brown just smiled, loving the fact that he had a girlfriend that not only liked him, but cared about his feelings. "Did I ever tell you that I love your positive attitude?" Charlie Brown smiled, then kissed Heather on the cheek, making her giggle. "Well, there's a new neighbor just a house down from mine. I can go over there and maybe get some advice from them."
"Great idea!" Heather smiled. "I'll go with you. Hopefully we might make a new friend along the way."
"Good!" Charlie Brown smiled as he grabbed his paper and pencil. "Sally, me and Heather are going to meet the new kid!"
"Fine! If you're not back in three hours, I'm taking your room!" Sally shouted back, making the former blockhead roll his eyes. He and Heather then went outside to the backyard, where Snoopy and Woodstock were still giggling over the bunny book.
"Snoopy, I'm going over with Heather to greet the new neighbor. You can come with us if you want." Charlie Brown offered. Snoopy thought about, then smiled, nodded and closed his book. He and Woodstock followed the young couple to the new neighbor's house.
Sally was in front of the TV, slouched in a beanbag when she heard someone knocking on the door. "Did Big Brother forget something?" Sally wondered before she went to answer it. She opened the door to find her seven year old crush, Linus Van Pelt, carrying his trusty security blanket.
"Hi Sally. Is Charlie Brown here?" Linus asked with a smile.
"Oh hi there my Sweet Baboo!" Sally smiled, making Linus groan in disgust. "No he's not. He went off with his girlfriend to the new kids' house."
"Really? Charlie Brown and Heather are going over to meet them?" Linus smiled. "That's great. We should join them. Maybe bring a housewarming gift."
"I think their house is warm enough. Besides, it's summer!" Sally said, cluelessly, making Linus roll his eyes.
"No. Not that. A housewarming gift is a rite of passage whenever someone new moves in. A present to welcome that someone into the neighborhood." Linus explained. "Let's find something that we can give and get over there."
"Okay!" Sally smiled as she let Linus in.
Charlie Brown was a bit nervous as he walked to the front door with Heather next to him, and Snoopy and Woodstock behind them. "I hope they don't mind that we didn't bring a housewarming gift. It is a rite of passage." Charlie Brown rambled. "What if they're mean? What if they don't want us there? What if-"
He was then silenced by Heather finger and smile. "Honey, relax. You made me feel welcome by just being you." Heather smiled, then kissed his boyfriend on the cheek, making him smile.
"You're right." Charlie Brown smiled as he knocked on the door. A lady then answered it. "Hello ma'am. I'm Charles Brown. This is Heather Wold, and behind me is my dog Snoopy, and his friend Woodstock. We happen to be your neighbors. Can we please come in?" The lady approved, making Heather smile alongside her boyfriend as the four stepped inside. They then glanced around their surroundings. It happened to be a normal looking house.
"What a very nice place you have here, Miss." Heather smiled.
"You wouldn't happen to have any children of your own, would you?" Charlie Brown asked. The lady then talked about her three children: Cathy, Alice, and Brian. "Oh, those are very good names. Can we speak to one of them?" The lady then told them that her middle child Alice was upstairs in her room. "Thank you. Nice meeting you ma'am." The four then went upstairs to meet Alice.
Upstairs, 11 year old Alice was busy playing with her cat Dina. "You're getting settled into our new home just fine. Aren't you, Dina?" Alice asked with a smile. Dina responded with a simple 'meow'. Just then, she heard a knock on her door. "Who can that be?" Alice then opened to reveal Charlie Brown, Heather, Snoopy, and Woodstock. "May I help you?"
"Hi there. I'm Charlie Brown, your neighbor. I just thought I'd stop by to welcome you to the neighborhood." Charlie Brown smiled.
"Nice to meet you, Charlie Brown. I'm Alice. Come on in." Alice smiled. Charlie Brown then entered with his girlfriend.
"This is my girlfriend, Heather." Charlie Brown said.
"Hi Heather. I love your dress. It's so pretty." Alice smiled.
"Why thank you." Heather smiled. "I love your hair bow."
"Why shucks." Alice blushed and smiled.
"And that's my dog Snoopy and his birdie friend Woodstock." Charlie Brown said as Snoopy extended his paw and smiled.
"Nice to meet you both." Alice smiled as he shook both Snoopy's paw and Woodstock's wing. Snoopy then saw Dina and groaned with disgust. "Uh, your dog's not gonna attack my cat, right?"
"No. Don't worry. He's not like regular dogs. Trust me." Charlie Brown said. Snoopy then searched around the room for something to do.
"Well, nice to meet you all. And thanks for coming." Alice smiled. "We practically moved here just seconds ago, and I haven't had any time to meet other kids. You two are basically the first kids in the neighborhood I've met."
"That's really great to know!" Heather smiled.
"So, are you gonna be in Miss Ophmore's class when school starts?" Charlie Brown asked, curiously.
"Oh no. That's a lower grade class. I'm quite too old for that." Alice said. Snoopy then peeked his head under the bed and found two books.
"Really? How old are you?" Charlie Brown asked.
"11." Alice smiled.
"Wow!" Charlie Brown and Heather smiled. Meeting a big kid was good for their reputation. Snoopy then pulled the books out and studied the covers. They read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. He giggled as he decided to sit on the bed and start reading.
"Since we've mentioned school, maybe you can help Charlie with a problem." Heather said.
"I can try. What's got you down kid?" Alice asked.
"Well, I have to write a story about an interesting thing, but so far, I got nothing." Charlie Brown said and sighed. "I just don't see why they like to pressure us little kids with so much work."
"I know how you feel." Alice smiled as Heather lovingly rubbed her boyfriend's head. "You just got to apply yourself. Just do the best you can. Hopefully it might turn out better then expected." Snoopy then smiled wider as he spotted his favorite character in the book: the Cheshire Cat. That gave Snoopy an idea.
"I guess I could at least give it a try and start it." Charlie Brown said. He then began to think of an idea. "I got it! Once upon a time, there was a beautiful ballerina. She went to France..." Heather and Alice weren't really paying attention now. They noticed Snoopy doing his famous Cheshire Beagle trick. Alice's eyes went wide as the beagle made his tail disappear, followed by his body. "Great! I still got nothing! What do I do now Alice?" He then noticed that both Alice and Heather weren't paying attention anymore. "Alice?"
"Oh sorry, Charlie Brown." Alice giggled. "You got to see what your dog is doing!" Charlie Brown sighed, then turned around to see Snoopy finishing his Cheshire Beagle trick, making Alice laugh. "That's amazing! How does he do that?"
"Well, ever since learning about Alice in Wonderland and the Cheshire Cat, he's become a Cheshire Beagle." Charlie Brown explained. Snoopy giggled.
"I think it's pretty funny." Heather giggled.
"Wait!" Alice said, remembering something. "Wonderland..." She then looked into the mirror and smiled as she came up with an idea. "I got it! If you're looking to write a story about an interesting thing, we can go to a place where interesting things happen."
"Really? That's great!" Charlie Brown smiled as Snoopy made himself reappear. "Where are we going?"
"Come over here!" Alice beckoned. The four then approached her. "I know this is gonna sound silly, and you might think I've probably flipped, but all you have to do is step through my mirror." Their eyes went wide at that. "Well, who wants to go first?" Charlie Brown just shrugged and stepped forward.
"Okay, but are you sure this will work?" Charlie Brown asked, a little timidly.
"Of course. Just use your imagination and you simply slip through." Alice assured.
"Okay." Charlie Brown shrugged before one last thought crossed his mind. "We're not gonna step into The Matrix, right?"
Alice just blinked. "No."
"Well, alright. Here we go." Charlie Brown said. He then used his imagination, and suddenly, his hand fit through the mirror, like it was a pool of water. "Whoa!" Snoopy, Woodstock, and Heather couldn't believe what they were seeing. Charlie Brown then smiled as he stepped through the mirror.
"Oooh!" Snoopy and Woodstock smiled. Woodstock then stepped through, followed by his beagle friend.
"This is going to be fun!" Heather said with an eager smile. "So, what's on the other side?"
"You'll see." Alice smiled as Sally and Linus were coming upstairs and noticed Alice's half opened door. They then peeked through to see what was happening. "After you." Heather then giggled as she stepped in. Linus and Sally gasped at seeing what was happening. Sally was so shocked that she dropped the plant that she was gonna give Alice, but luckily Linus caught it. They then burst through, but Alice didn't even notice them as she was the last to step inside the mirror.
"Did you see that?!" Sally asked in complete shock. "They stepped through a mirror!"
"I saw it and still trying to believe it." Linus said, as shocked as Sally was. He then noticed Dina. "You saw what happened, right?" Dini confirmed with a simply 'meow'.
"Well, where did they go?" Sally asked.
"Only one could wonder." Sally shrugged.