//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2 - Ground Rules 
// Story: Glint Stones: Meeting 
// by Middle Ground 
//------------------------------//

After the Q&A, Pinkie Pie quickly prepared a big welcome party for the Spellbind Brothers. There were many sweets to eat, ribbons, and music began playing. And she did it in no time at all.
"Well, this is nice...."
"SO COOL!"
"Thank you, Miss Pinkie!"
"I've seen better...." The Spellbind Brothers were amazed by the party. Sparx was just hiding his excitement.
"Welcome to the Pie Family Rock Farm! My name is Pinkie Pie! Party Planner Extraordinaire!" She then quickly ran to her three sisters.
"This is Maud, this is Limestone, and this is Marble! I hope we can all be friends!"
"Nice to meet you." Marble bowed her head to greet them.
"Hi...." Marble gave them a nervous smile out of fear.
"Hmph." Limestone looked away from them. She was still un-trusting towards the four brothers. The party then began and they began interacting well with one another.
"So...um...Mister Ashes...um...." Marble approached Ashes feeling really nervous.
"HI! WHAT'S UP?!" He was having too much fun. His outburst then scared Marble and she fled underneath the party table.
"Ash, you need to use your inside voice...."
"Oh right...! Sorry Chilly!" Ashes then looked underneath the table and sees a scared Marble.
"Hi...! Sorry for scaring you! You were saying something?!"
Marble stuttered a little and said, "I....u-um....d-do you...um...li-like knitting...?" She was still scared of Ashes.
"What's knitting?!" Ashes was confused.
"It's...um...ha-having string...ma-made into....uh...blankets and...st-stuff...."
"That sounds SUPER BORING!" Marble then became depressed from what Ashes just said.
"I'M GONNA DO SOMETHING SUPER AWESOME! I'M GONNA STAND ON THE SUN SOMEDAY!!!" His body then began burning wildly. Then he got encased in an ice cube.
"Ash, calm down." Chilly then poured himself a glass of punch.
"So what about you? What are your crazy dreams?" Limestone walked up to Chilly with a grumpy expression on her face.
"Heh...I don't have any dreams or ambitions. I prefer to just sleep all day and be lazy." He then conjured little ice cubes in his drink.
"I'm already living the dream! Being powerful, awesome, and undefeated!" Sparx laughed arrogantly.
"But...you lose to Chilly every time."
"SHUT UP, GUST!" He then electrocuted Gust out of anger.
"That wasn't very nice, Sparx." Maud walked up to Sparx to confront him.
Sparx then stuck his tongue at Maud and said, "F#$% you, I do what I want." He then got punched by Maud, was sent flying, and he left a Sparx-shaped hole in the barn wall.
"HOLY CRAP...!" Ashes and his brothers were amazed at how strong Maud was. Ashes had already melted his way out of the ice cube.
"I'll go check and see is Sparky is alright." Pinkie then went outside carrying a plate with three cookies on it.
"Wow...! You're so strong! Only Chilly has ever beaten Sparx in a fight! You're so awesome!" Maud then gave a slight blush from Gust's compliments.
"Hey Maud, can you teach me how to do that too?!" Ashes jumped at Maud out of excitement.
"Hey Chilly, do you guys only think about fighting...?" Limestone felt a little concerned for these stallions at the thought.
"Hey now, don't lump me or Gust with those two bone heads. They pick fights all the time. And they just don't know any better...." He then re-filled Limestone's cup of punch with his magic.
"Hmph...show-off." Limestone then began drinking her newly re-filled punch. Outside the barn, Pinkie walked over to the defeated Sparx with her cookie plate. Sparx was sent flying a quarter of a mile away from the barn.
"Are you ok, Sparky? You kinda asked for that...." Pinkie then sat next to him and presented him with the cookies.
"My body is, but my pride isn't.... And I regret everything now. Hmm? What's that on the plate?" Sparx looked at the plate of cookies like he had no idea what it was.
"Um...those are cookies. Try them." Pinkie was actually surprised to see how curious Sparx was about cookies of all things. Sparx sat upright and levitated one of the cookies to his face and examined it.
"Hmm...these 'cookies' look a lot like bread yet they have these brown crumbs on them." He then took a bite out of the one he examined and his eyes suddenly opened wide and he began eating it like he hadn't eaten in ages.
"HOLY S@$+, THIS IS WONDERFUL! IT'S SO SWEET! SO CRUNCHY! SO WARM TO THE TOUCH OF YOUR TONGUE! I LOVE IT!" Sparx then began eating the cookies off the plate without stopping. Finally every one of the cookies on the plate were eaten without a single crumb left.
"Did you like it, Sparky?"
"LIKE IT?! I LOVE IT! IS THERE ANY MORE?! I MUST HAVE MORE!" Sparx then literally bolted back to the barn wanting more cookies. Pinkie was glad that Sparx loved the cookies, but she felt empty at how unfamiliar Sparx was about cookies. She could tell something was wrong. She then heard the sound of shouting and yelling coming from the barn. She ran to the barn to see Sparx and Ashes fighting.
"ASHES, YOU ASSHOLE! YOU ATE ALL THE COOKIES!"
"AND I'LL DO IT AGAIN, JACKASS!" Sparx and Ashes were fighting over cookies of all things....
"How do you live with those two?" Limestone and the others watched as they fought.
"It's much easier than you think...." Chilly then froze them solid to stop their fighting.
"At least they it's quiet again." Gust then ate the very last cookie they didn't see.
"Mister Chilly...will they be alright...?" Marble was worried about Spark and Ashes being frozen. The ice then shattered with an angry Sparx and Ashes at Chilly's face.
"THAT WAS NOT COOL, CHILLY!!!"
"Yeah, and neither is disrupting a good party." Sparx and Ashes could feel the stares of every pony in the barn.
"Uh...sorry."
"Fine...." Sparx and Ashes both stopped fighting and the party continued like normally.
"What is going on here?!" The party was then stopped when both Igneous and Cloudy Quartz arrived.
"Hi Mom! Hi Dad! We made friends who came out of a rock!" Pinkie said as she welcomed them back. Igneous and Cloudy Quartz were more confused with such a vague answer.
Limestone sighed and said, "Let me and Maud explain." Maud agreed and they explained everything that happened earlier today and how Sparx and his brothers showed up.
"So you're telling us that while we were out getting our replacement tools for the mine, you examined the black stone we found and it was actually holding these four ponies and they don't remember how they even got their in the first place?" The Pie Sisters all nodded. Igneous and Cloudy Quartz felt un-easy knowing that they each have dangerous magic.
"Um...can they...stay with us...?" They all looked at Marble like she lost her mind.
"Marble dear, we do not have an extra room for such...tall stallions." Cloudy Quartz felt small as she looked at the four brothers.
"And I don't want them fighting in our house." Limestone said harshly.
"We can't just leave them outside! They have nowhere to go and nopony to turn to...!" Pinkie then hugged Sparx out of concern.
"Don't touch me...!" Sparx was feeling uncomfortable. Igneous thought about it for a moment and then came to a solution.
"There is the old barn we don't use behind the house. Perhaps you four can stay there until you find a place for yourselves."
"Thank you, Mister Pie!" Gust then hugged Igneous out of affection.
"SWEET! WE GOT A PLACE TO STAY!" Ashes was so happy that he caught on fire.
"Better than sleeping outside...."
"Sparx, be thankful they're willing to let us stay at all...." Sparx and Chilly were relieved.
"But if you four want to stay here, there are some ground rules you four must follow." Cloudy Quartz declared.
"Ground rules...? What?" Sparx and his brothers were confused.
"You're not allowed to fight each other. If you want to stay here, then work off your rent. And do not use your magic for anything but work."
"F#$% you, I do what I want!" Sparx declared rudely.
"What did you say?" Cloudy Quartz glared at him intensely and all of a sudden Sparx, Ashes, and Gust froze in terror. They lowered their heads without hesitation.
"I'm sorry...! I'm sorry...! We'll behave...! I promise...!"
"Please don't kick us out...!"
"We'll work really hard...!" The three brothers were acting as if they were being threatened by a killer. This was very strange and concerning to the Pie family.
"Guys, it's fine.... As long as we follow the ground rules, everything will be fine." Chilly began nudging his four brothers off the ground. Sparx, Gust, and Ashes had terrified expressions on their faces. Even Chilly was having a hard time keeping a cool head.
Igneous cleared his throat, "Well, as long as we understand each other, follow me to the old barn. You'll start working tomorrow. No slacking off." He began making his way to the old barn.
"We'll work really hard, sir."
"You're the last pony I expected to hear that from...." Sparx said considering how lazy Chilly is. The colts left the barn while the mares stayed.
"Mom...did you notice something...odd about them?" Marble was really worried about them.
"Yes, I did. There is indeed something wrong with them. Like...something that happened to them in the past. But...what?"
"I wish we knew. But they don't remember anything. But I'm sure they'll remember soon." Maud then left to follow them and the mares followed them. They then arrived to see the old barn and it was indeed pretty old. There were rusty tools, lots of old hay, and even some old chairs. It was so dusty that just opening the door scattered the dust into the air.
"It isn't much, but I'm sure it will do. There are no holes in the ceiling and it should be sturdy against any storms."
"Thanks, Mister Pie. I'm sure we'll manage." The four brothers went inside and looked around the place.
"Hey...! I found some pillows and blankets!" Ashes found them in the rear-right side of the old barn.
"Yaay...! Hay beds!" Gust began preparing the beds.
"You four behave yourselves and don't break anything. This is an old place after all."
"Yes, Miss Pie." Sparx said nervously. The four brothers were still nervous from earlier. This was very strange to the Pie Family.
"We'll be having dinner in the evening. Be sure to wash up before arriving." Igneous and Cloudy Quartz began to leave the old barn.
"Yes sir." The four brothers agreed without any objection. They were still quite hungry. Igneous and Cloudy Quartz left them to get dinner ready.
"Dear, you noticed something was too, right?" Cloudy Quartz was very worried about the four brothers. Her motherly instincts were in full affect.
"Yes, I did notice. But right now, we should have them stay with us until we figure out who they are and why they were in that black rock. With powers like theirs, they may end up hurting other ponies by mistake." Cloudy Quartz agreed with her husband. As of now, the mystery of the black stone needed to be solved. But right now, getting to know each other is the first step.