Celestia's Sun glared down brightly upon the dusty fields of Dodge City, a small, junction town, northwest of Appleloosa. Through the hot, afternoon air, through the sweet smell of fruits and pastries at vendor's booths, an assaulting, yet refreshing smell was breaking the tranquility of the air.
The smell was not an uncommon one. In fact, right about that time every day it started up. It was the smell of coal burning, but not the smell of trains or refractories, no. This was the smell of love and diligence. Not industry and machines. This was the smell of the local smith, marking a new day's work with fire in the forge. Everyone to just about the farthest reaches of the town could smell the sulfurous smoke coming from the struggling fire, which burned the noses of the young fillies and colts playing in the streets. But, nobody ever complained. The smith, Iron Bolt, made items for all the townsfolk, and often gave trinkets to the children, who loved to watch him work.
"Dinner!" shouted Iron Bolt's mother.
"In a second!" He shouted back. He hastily beat out the final part of his piece, quenched it, then gave the small ornament to one of the little colts that were watching him. He hung up his apron on the rack in the kitchen as he walked inside.
"Iron Bolt!" She scolded, "Look at how filthy you are! Go wash up! And don't track your soot everywhere!" Her motherly command was swiftly executed.
All of Bolt's family was very tightly knit. Everyone in the family especially loved the youngest child, Steel Rivet.
Though the family did not have much, they were probably the happiest family in all of Dodge City. Bolt's family, which consisted of himself, his mother and Rivet was dependent on his blacksmithing, which was the majority of the income. His mother wool, cotton and thread into cloth to sell. Their father, Wrought Iron, died in a coal mine collapse shortly after rivet was born, leaving the family destitute. They all got jobs that they could, and tried to make up for what was lost.
Though his mother wanted him to become a priest, Rivet himself wanted to be a smith like his older brother, but his mother would have none of it.
"Blacksmithing is dangerous work. You can get burned, choked or even squished while doing those things. You need to be in the church." She would tell him. She would barely let him near the forge when it was cold, and would not even let him be within 20 feet of it when it was alight. She had already lost one beloved family member in a work-related accident, the thought of anything, anything happening to Rivet crushed her soul with the very idea of it.
Iron bolt shut down the forge after dinner, and headed to go get a bath. Just as he was getting the water prepared, he heard his mother yell, in the way she did when she got stressed out, something about a late delivery. He rushed out of the bathroom, to see what was the matter.
"Iron Bolt! Can you watch Rivet?" She asked, "I forgot about an order by the Unicorn merchants! We need to get the order to the next junction by today!" She scrambled around the house gathering various things for the order. She took her things, and then ran out the door as fast as she could down to the station.
Rivet came out of his little room after they closed the door and left. It was just him and Iron Bolt. He saw an opportunity to show his mother that he could be a blacksmith. He walked up to Bolt, and pleaded with him.
"Bolt, will you please teach me how to be a blacksmith, so I can show mom and make things like you?" He made the most convincing face, that no loving brother could resist.
"Uh... I don't know. It really is dangerous, and mom will -- "
"If you get in trouble, I'll tell mom it was my idea!"
"I... I don't know..." Iron Bolt was weakening.
"Pleeeease?" The way he pleaded was too much for Iron.
"If I teach you, you have to stop getting into my stuff. Deal?"
"Deal!" Rivet said, his face lighting up. It could not have had more excitement on it if Celestia herself appeared and gave him her throne.
They went out and started up the forge, pouring coal onto the stone structure. They got the billows pumping, and the light of the fire brightened up the night around them.
As long as mother never finds out... Iron thought to himself.
Black smoke billowed from the roaring fire, as it gradually turned to yellow, and disappeared altogether. Iron Bolt and Rivet prepared the metal to go into the fire.