“That wasn’t supposed to happen!” they heard Mr. Robinson wail from the front row of the theater.
“It’s OK,” Rachel said soothingly, patting the pony closest to her on the nose. “Calm down.” As she stroked the pony, she noticed one extra-bright sparkle in the middle of its feathered headdress. Suddenly, Paige popped out from between the orange feathers.
“Hello, girls!” she whispered. As Rachel heard footsteps running across the stage toward them, Paige fluttered to hide on Kirsty’s shoulder.
Alison, the ponies’ owner, dashed over to Kirsty and Rachel, holding up the long skirt of her Fairy Godmother costume. “Oh, you managed to catch them!” she said gratefully. “Thanks, girls. I should have stopped them myself, but I wasn’t expecting them to bolt like that!”
“I think they’re fine now,” Kirsty replied, handing the lead ropes to Alison.
“I’ll just check them out,” Alison said, running her hand up and down the ponies’ legs. “Oh, no!” she exclaimed suddenly. “Snowflake lost one of her shoes!”
Kirsty and Rachel could see that the golden horseshoe on Snowflake’s front left hoof was missing.
“I don’t understand it,” Alison went on, shaking her head. “Both horses had all four of their shoes before the dress rehearsal!”
“Maybe Snowflake lost her shoe on the stage,” Rachel suggested.
“Or in the wings,” Kirsty added.
Alison nodded. “If I can find it, my blacksmith will be able to fit it for the performance,” she said, and hurried off.
The next moment, Paige peeked out from under Kirsty’s hair. “Girls, the missing horseshoe is no ordinary shoe,” she announced. “It’s the magic horseshoe!”
Kirsty and Rachel looked at each other.
“So that’s why the piece of scenery fell over!” exclaimed Rachel. “It’s because the magic horseshoe is missing!”
Paige nodded. “I think the goblins used some of Jack Frost’s magic to make the horseshoe fall off,” she explained. “Girls, we must get the horseshoe back—and fast!”
“So there are goblins around somewhere,” said Rachel, glancing over her shoulder. “We’d better keep our eyes open.”
Just then, Mr. Robinson called everyone onto the stage.
“We need to find the golden horseshoe as quickly as possible,” he declared. “Otherwise, Snowflake can’t perform in the play. Can someone please go get the rest of the cast so that everyone can help look?”
Rachel and Kirsty began searching for the horseshoe around the wings. Suddenly, Rachel jumped as she heard a door slam at the back of the auditorium, near the theater’s lobby. Rachel frowned. Why would anyone leave the auditorium to search the lobby? The ponies hadn’t been brought in through the main entrance.
Rachel nudged Kirsty. “I think that was a goblin going into the lobby,” she whispered.
“Let’s go and see,” Paige said eagerly.
The girls left the stage and hurried up the aisle. No one noticed—they were all too busy looking for the horseshoe! Rachel pulled the heavy door open and the two girls slipped into the lobby.
“Look!” Kirsty cried, pointing at the stairs leading up to the balcony seats. A goblin was just disappearing around the curve in the stairs. In his hand was a gleaming, glittering, golden horseshoe.
“We have to catch him, girls!” Paige called. “Let me turn you into fairies. We’ll be quicker that way.”
Rachel and Kirsty stood still as Paige showered them with fairy magic. Immediately, they found themselves shrinking until they were exactly the same size as the little fairy! Glittering wings shimmered on their backs. The girls fluttered into the air and followed Paige up the balcony staircase.
“I can’t see the goblin,” Rachel said anxiously as they reached the top of the stairs.
“He could be hiding in the rows of seats,” Kirsty pointed out. Paige and the girls flew slowly above the seats, searching for the goblin. Suddenly, Rachel spotted him. “There he is!” she whispered, pointing. On the right side of the balcony, a goblin’s head was poking up from behind a row of seats. The friends flew over and hovered high above him so he wouldn’t notice them. They could see both of his hands, and it was clear that he didn’t have the horseshoe. “He must have hidden it somewhere,” Paige declared.
“But look over there,” Kirsty said pointing at the back row of seats on the left side of the balcony. “There’s another goblin!”
Sure enough, another green head was peeking over the seats. Paige, Kirsty, and Rachel rushed over, but to their dismay, that goblin didn’t have the horseshoe, either.
“Oh, no!” Paige sighed. “How many goblins are there?”
“And which one has the horseshoe?” Rachel added.
The girls had to figure out what to do next—and fast!
“Let’s split up and each search a section of the balcony,” Kirsty suggested.
“Good idea,” Paige agreed.
Rachel flew over to the right side of the balcony, Kirsty to the left, and Paige took the middle. Kirsty flew along the rows, but she couldn’t see any other goblins. Just then, Kirsty caught sight of a burst of golden sparkles coming from Paige’s wand in the middle of the center row of seats. Paige was doing a little dance in the air, and pointing down. Paige found the magic horseshoe! Kirsty realized with excitement.
Rachel had noticed, too. Both girls zoomed over to Paige, who could hardly contain her excitement. Her cheeks rosy, she pointed her wand at a goblin crouched in the middle row. There, in his knobbly green hand, the magic golden horseshoe glittered!
But at that moment, the goblin glanced up. He gave a loud yelp when he saw Paige and the girls and immediately scrambled away. He ran to the end of the row, then dashed up the aisle and into a small booth at the back of the balcony.
“Where’s he going?” Kirsty asked as they flew after him.
“That’s the sound and lighting booth, Rachel explained. “It’s where the engineer controls all the microphones and spotlights and special effects for the play.”
The goblin had slammed the door of the booth shut behind him, so the girls flew to the front and looked in through the window. Hovering at the glass, Paige and the girls could see that the goblin had used a chair to wedge the door shut.
“There’s no way we can get in, not even if Paige makes us human-size again!” Kirsty pointed out. “How are we going to get the horseshoe now?”
The goblin inside the booth looked very pleased with himself. “Nah, nah!” He stuck out his tongue and wiggled his hands next to his ears. “Can’t catch me!”
The other two goblins on the balcony started laughing smugly, too.
“Not so great now without your fairy magic, are you?” one of them sneered at the girls.
“We have the magic horseshoe, and we’re not giving it back!” the other one jeered.
But Rachel had spotted something in the wall of the booth. “Look at this air vent,” she said, pointing. “The holes are big enough for a fairy to get through.” “You’re right. Follow me,” Paige called as she flew through the air vent into the booth. Rachel and Kirsty did the same. Once inside the booth, Paige sent a stream of sparkles over to Kirsty and Rachel, making them human-size again!
The goblin inside the booth was staring out the window, wondering where Paige and the girls had gone. A look of horror crossed his face when he turned and saw the girls inside the booth with him.
“Go away!” he yelled, hugging the horseshoe tightly. “You can’t have it! Help!” he called, backing away from the girls.
The two goblins outside dashed to the booth’s door and began rattling the handle. But they couldn’t get in.
“Give us the horseshoe, please,” said Kirsty as she and Rachel moved toward the goblin.
The goblin shook his head furiously. He had backed right up against the counter that controlled the lights. As the girls came closer, he jumped up onto the counter and glared at them.
Rachel tried to grab the horseshoe,
but the goblin danced out of her reach. As he did, his big green feet pressed a few of the light switches.
“Hey! What’s going on up there?” a loud voice demanded.
“That’s Mr. Robinson!” Rachel gasped. She turned to look out the window. Some of the lights on the stage were flashing on and off! The director was staring up at the balcony, and he didn’t look happy.
“We have to hurry and get the horseshoe back,” Rachel told Kirsty, “before Mr. Robinson sends someone here to check the lights!”
The goblins on the balcony were still trying to push their way in. But now the goblin inside the booth was determined to get out! He jumped down from the control panel, darted past Rachel and Kirsty, and dragged the chair away from the door.
Immediately, the door burst open and the two goblins tumbled in. They bumped right into their startled friend. The horseshoe was knocked out of his hand, and it flew across the booth! As the goblins crashed to the floor in a tangled heap, the magic horseshoe landed right at Kirsty’s feet.
“Thank you!” Kirsty smiled, picking it up.
Paige fluttered over to the door. Rachel and Kirsty followed, laughing as they stepped over the pile of groaning goblins.
“You’d better hurry up and go,” Rachel said to the goblins.
“Or we’ll put makeup and dresses on you, and make you part of the play!” Kirsty added with a grin.
The goblins scowled. Muttering and moaning, they picked themselves up as the girls left the booth.
Kirsty and Rachel hurried down the balcony stairs with Paige flying alongside them. “Thank you so much, girls!” Paige cried as they reached the lobby.
“Now I need to go back to Fairyland right away and tell everyone that the magic horseshoe is safe!” She smiled at Rachel and Kirsty. “I’ll ask India the Moonstone Fairy to send you sweet dreams so that you sleep well tonight, girls. After all, tomorrow is your big performance! Good-bye!” And with a kiss and a wave, Paige disappeared in shower of fairy magic.
Rachel and Kirsty hurried back into the auditorium and down the aisle toward the stage. Most of the cast and crew were gathered there together.
“We’ve looked everywhere,” the woman playing Cinderella was saying, “and we can’t find the horseshoe.”
“Mr. Robinson!” Kirsty called, walking up to the stage. “Rachel and I found it!” She held up the glittering horseshoe.
Alison rushed forward, looking very relieved. “Thank you, girls,” she said gratefully, taking the horseshoe from them.
Mr. Robinson clapped his hands. “Wonderful! Now we can get back to work. Let’s start at the pumpkin coach scene.”
Rachel and Kirsty hurried into the wings to watch as the rehearsal began again. This time, the ponies performed perfectly. They waited patiently as Cinderella, wearing a beautiful ball gown and glass slippers, climbed into the coach. Then, at a signal from the Fairy Godmother, they trotted off into the wings. A stagehand was waiting there to grab their lead ropes.
“Nice job!” Rachel exclaimed, as she and Kirsty gave the ponies a pat.
“The horseshoe’s magic is making sure all the props work and no scenery falls over!” Kirsty whispered happily. “Now I just have to make sure that I don’t fall over when we rehearse our dance.”
“You’ll be great,” Rachel said, putting an arm around Kirsty’s shoulder. “We’ll do whatever we can to keep the goblins from causing any more trouble before the performance tomorrow night!”
“I’m nervous!” Kirsty declared as she and Rachel joined the rest of the cast backstage. “I can’t believe the show is tonight. Two days ago, I wasn’t even in it!”
“No one would guess that,” Rachel said. “You didn’t make a single mistake in the dress rehearsal yesterday!”
It was Christmas Eve, and the cast of Cinderella had gathered backstage before the show.
“Well, this is it, everyone,” Mr. Robinson said. “Yesterday’s rehearsal was fantastic, and I’m sure you’ll be even better tonight with the audience cheering you on!”
Everyone clapped.
“We want the Christmas play to be fun and festive,” Mr. Robinson went on. “So don’t be afraid to improvise in little ways! And now, here’s something to get you all into the Christmas spirit….”
A stagehand stepped forward holding a box full of Christmas crackers! Rachel recognized them right away because her aunt in England sent her one every year. They looked like big, wrapped candies, but if you pulled both ends, they made a snapping noise! There were fun little prizes inside, too. Everyone gathered around to take one.
“It’s too bad my mom and dad couldn’t get tickets to the play,” said Rachel, selecting a silver cracker. Kirsty took a gold one and nodded in agreement.
“Good luck, everyone!” called Mr. Robinson, as they hurried off to their dressing rooms.
As soon as the girls had closed the door to their dressing room, Rachel held out her cracker. “Let’s see what’s inside,” she said with a grin.
Kirsty took the other end and pulled. The cracker snapped open with a bang, and a pretty pearl bracelet fell out.
“Now mine,” Kirsty said, holding out her cracker.
As Rachel tugged the other end, the cracker snapped open with a burst of golden sparkles. Paige zoomed out from inside! “It’s me again, girls!” she announced.
“Jack Frost is determined to ruin the play tonight, so the goblins will be looking for the most powerful magic shoe — Cinderella’s glass slipper!”
“That one makes sure that everyone remembers their lines, right?” asked Kirsty.
Paige nodded. “Think how awful it would be if nobody could remember what to say!” she replied. “We have to make sure that Jack Frost and his goblins don’t get their hands on that glass slipper!”
“Let’s go check on the glass slippers before we change into our costumes,” Rachel suggested.
Paige hid in Rachel’s pocket as the girls ran to the props area. Cinderella’s ball gown was hanging there, and on the floor below it was a shoe box. Kirsty lifted the lid. She, Rachel, and Paige all sighed with relief as they saw both glass slippers nestled inside.
“Can you tell which one is magic?” Paige asked.
Kirsty looked closely at the shoes and noticed that one gleamed with a rainbow-colored shimmer. She pointed to it.
“Yes, that’s the magic one,” Paige confirmed, nodding. “Please keep a close eye on it, girls.”
“The stagehands will put the dress and the shoes in the wings before the show starts,” Rachel explained as they hurried back to the dressing room. “Luckily, Kirsty and I enter from the same side of the stage for our dance.”
“So we’ll wait there and keep an eye on the shoes the whole time,” Kirsty promised.
“I haven’t seen any goblins so far,” Paige said as she helped Kirsty and Rachel into their costumes.
Rachel jumped as a bell sounded overhead. “That means it’s only fifteen minutes to showtime!”
“We’d better get our makeup done,” said Kirsty, looking nervous.
“I’ll meet you in the wings!” Paige smiled at them. “Good luck. I know you’re both going to be great!”
Ten minutes later, Kirsty and Rachel were ready. As they hurried to the wings, they could hear a loud buzz of anticipation coming from the audience on the other side of the curtain.
“There are the glass slippers,” Kirsty said, pointing. They had been placed neatly in the wings. “Hello, girls,” Paige whispered, fluttering over to join them.
“I’ve been guarding the slippers, and I haven’t seen a single goblin!”
“We’re just in time,” Rachel said as the opening music sounded. “The play is about to start.”
She and Kirsty watched as the ugly stepsisters pranced on stage. Their outrageous costumes made the audience roar with laughter! The girls glanced at each other in delight. The play was off to a great start.
As it got closer to the time for the glass slippers to make an appearance, the
girls began to feel nervous.
“They go out after the pumpkin coach and the ball gown,” Rachel whispered to Kirsty.
Back on stage, the ugly stepsisters had left for the palace, and Cinderella was all alone. “I wish I could go to the ball!” She sighed.
At just that moment, the Fairy Godmother glided onto the stage. She wore a sparkling silver dress and a wig of golden curls with a silver tiara on top. “I am your Fairy Godmother, and you will go to the ball!” she declared, raising her wand. “You will wear beautiful glass slippers to dance the night away,” she added, turning to the wings. “Bring me the glass slippers!” Rachel and Kirsty looked at each other, confused. “I thought the pumpkin coach was first,” Kirsty murmured to Rachel.
Cinderella also looked bewildered. “Not the shoes!” she whispered. “The pumpkin!” The Fairy Godmother scowled. “Fine,” she said sulkily. “Bring me a pumpkin!” Cinderella did. The girls watched as one of the crew members set off a smoke machine so the pumpkin could be removed from the stage. While the stage was covered in smoke, the ponies trotted on pulling the beautiful pumpkin coach. There was a huge burst of applause from the audience.
“Now for the glass slippers!” cried the Fairy Godmother, before the audience had even finished clapping.
Rachel and Kirsty could see that Cinderella was getting annoyed.
“No, the ball gown!” they heard her whisper.
“This is weird,” Rachel said. “Alison never gets her lines wrong.”
“Well, the goblins don’t have the magic slipper,” Paige said, pointing at the glass shoes waiting in the wings. “So that isn’t why Alison’s forgetting her lines!”
The Rainbow Magic Holiday Collection Page 12