“Follow me,” Sapphire said with a proud grin. The four of them trotted down the beach to a grassy bank where a large, red barn stood.
“That’s where we live!” Sapphire said, pointing to the barn with her horn. “But this is where we’ll stay!” She trotted over to a big blue tent. Her blue coat matched it so well, she almost blended in.
Wow. Shamrock was impressed by what his friend had done. String lights were hung up around the tent, and brightly colored rugs and pillows were arranged to make a sort of outdoor living room. In front, she’d made a firepit and even put out sticks and buckets of marshmallows. Shamrock only wondered where the telescope was.
“This is so cool,” Comet said. “I’ve never been camping before!”
“I’m glad you like it. I’ve been working on it all day,” Sapphire said. “But the best part is that my uncle Sea Star is in town. He’s taking my sisters out on his ship right now, but they should be back any minute. He tells the best stories. You’re all going to love him!”
Just as Sapphire finished speaking, a large, gray unicorn came rambling over. He wore his mane in loose braids like Sapphire’s and had one large, gold earring and a red bandanna tied around his neck. He chuckled. “Are you talking about me?”
“Uncle Sea Star! You’re back!” Sapphire said.
Shamrock noticed that four miniature versions of Sapphire had followed Uncle Sea Star over to the tent. They were all talking at once about their boat ride, and it was hard to hear what anyone was saying. Shamrock smiled. This was way different from how it was at his home. He and his dads were usually pretty quiet. Sapphire introduced Uncle Sea Star and her siblings—Ruby, Amber, Opal, and Gem—to her friends.
“Okay, everyone! Come inside for dinner,” a voice called from the red barn.
Shamrock looked up to see a light blue unicorn with a white mane standing in the open barn door, an apron hanging from her neck.
“Coming, Mom!” Sapphire shouted before turning back to her friends. “Come on! You’re going to love my mom’s famous seaweed soup.” Sapphire was saying that they were going to love a lot of things, and Shamrock believed her. His first sleepover was off to a great start.
The barn’s kitchen was huge, with big windows in the ceiling that you could see the first few stars of the night shine through. Everyone was gathered around a long, wooden table that looked like it was made of driftwood. They were so close to the ocean that you could even hear the waves. Well, only when everyone was slurping their soup and not talking. The soup was salty and delicious and unlike anything Shamrock had ever had before.
Comet licked up the last drop from her bowl and leaned back happily. “I have to have this recipe!”
“I know,” Shamrock agreed. “Is this a special seaweed?”
“It’s from the bay right there. I gathered it this morning,” Sapphire’s mom told them. “Seaweed is always better when it’s fresh.”
“You know, I once knew a unicorn who traveled the world and never went anywhere without a jar of salt water from the bay where she grew up,” Uncle Sea Star said, pushing his own bowl away from him. “Said it kept her mind fresh.”
From there, Uncle Sea Star’s story about the unicorn with the saltwater jar took many twists and turns that Shamrock did not find very believable, but he tried to be polite and listen without interrupting. Shamrock couldn’t help himself, though, when Uncle Sea Star said the unicorn had lived to be a thousand years old because of the water.
“That’s impossible!” Shamrock burst out, surprising everyone at the table.
“Perhaps,” Uncle Sea Star said with a grin. “Though, sea legends can have more truth to them than you might think.”
Shamrock didn’t know what to think, so he looked over at Sapphire, who just shrugged and smiled admiringly at Uncle Sea Star.
After dinner, Sapphire’s younger sisters went up to hear a bedtime story from their mom, and Shamrock and his friends went outside to roast marshmallows. Uncle Sea Star built a roaring fire and asked them if they’d like to hear a ghost story.
Comet and Sapphire gave an enthusiastic “YES!” Shamrock thought Uncle Sea Star’s stories seemed too fantastical, like they were tales for Sapphire’s younger sisters, not older kids who knew things about the world. But when everyone settled on the grass, Shamrock kept quiet and sat down next to Twilight.
The young unicorns waited as Uncle Sea Star gazed into the fire, clearly deep in thought. Probably making up a story on the spot, Shamrock said to himself. It was a cloudy night, and the stars peeked through the dark gray wisps in the sky. The waves washed ashore, creating gentle background music, and the peeping bugs got quieter, as if they were getting ready for the story too. The fire glowed brightly in the center of their small circle and crackled here and there. Shamrock had to admit, it was the perfect setting for a story. If only it were true, he thought.
Uncle Sea Star leaned back against a large boulder. “All righty. This is the oldest sea legend I know,” he began. “I think I first heard it when I was your age.”
Here we go, Shamrock thought. Uncle Sea Star must think we’re a bunch of little ponies.
“Legend has it that for as long as there’ve been unicorns living by the ocean,” Uncle Sea Star said, “the Glowing Horn has been floating along our shores, protecting an unknown treasure. Many, many unicorns have seen it when they’ve been out at sea. Even I have seen the Glowing Horn on a misty night—”
“Oh, come on!” Shamrock grumbled, unable to keep quiet any longer. “You did not really see a ghost.”
“Shush, Shamrock,” Comet said. “He’s telling the story!”
Shamrock felt his cheeks flush. That wasn’t very
