Immovable

by Purplescales42

Telling My Past

“Copper?” asked Applejack. “That’s who you were shoutin’ fer that one night?” Iron nodded.

“Yeah. His full name was Copper Ore.”

“Was?”

“Ugh,” sighed Iron. “Sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself. I guess I’ll start from the beginning.”

***

12 years ago. . .

“Aw, come on, Dad, can’t I come?” asked Iron for what must have been the fifth time in the last half hour. An older black stallion with a graying mane and tail and a Cutie Mark of a gray piece of coal, sighed in frustration.

“For the final time, no!” he said. Iron grumbled in frustration. He had just gotten his own Cutie Mark which, as far as the ten-year-old colt was concerned, meant he was old enough to start working in the mines. His father, Charcoal, didn't seem to agree. “You’re not old enough.”

“You let Copper do it at my age!” Iron argued.

“No, he was two years older,” Charcoal reminded his son.

“But-”

“I’m done arguing about this with you, Iron ore,” said Charcoal stomping his hoof on the ground for effect. Iron sat down, folded his ears back, and looked off to the side with an annoyed glare. Charcoal put his hoof under Iron’s chin and directed his son’s gaze to his. “I need you here, alright? Somepony has to watch your sister, right?”

“I guess,” said Iron avoiding his father’s gaze. Charcoal smiled and ruffled Iron’s mane.

“And you’re just the pony to do it,” Charcoal assured him. Iron huffed in annoyance. Babysitting his sister wasn't his idea of important no matter how much his dad told him it was. “Now go do your homework.”

“Yes, Sir.” Iron went into his room he shared with his brother, Copper Ore. Copper was sitting on his bed reading. He had a copper colored, black mane and tail, tan colored hooves, and a Cutie Mark of a pick ax.

“Didn't convince him, huh?” asked Copper.

“No,” said Iron dejectedly. He climbed onto his bed and grabbed a textbook. “It’s not fair.”

“Ah, the mines aren't that fun anyway,” said Copper trying to cheer Iron up.

“I don’t want to do it for the fun of it,” said Iron. “I want to help earn more bits for the family. I want to be able to help. I can’t do that by babysitting.” Copper rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“You don’t have to be earning bits to be helpful to the family,” Copper assured him. “You might actually have the most important job of all of us.”

“Hmph. Whatever,” said Iron turning his attention to his book. He hated it when his dad and brother tried to make it sound like he was doing something important when he wasn't. Why can’t somepony else watch, Goldie?

***

Present day. . .

“Ah hate to interrupt,” said Applejack, “but why couldn’t your ma watch yer sister.” Iron looked down. Applejack though she saw a tear forming in his eye but he wiped it away.

“She, um, wasn’t around,” he explained. “Most of the neighbors had their own responsibilities and I really wasn't old enough to work in the mines despite the fact I thought I was. I was really the best choice to watch my sister.”

“Ah’m sorry,” apologized Applejack. “Ah didn't mean to bring up somethin’ so painful.”

“Forget about it,” said Iron waving the comment off. “I didn't really know my mom very well anyway.” Applejack could tell he was lying but decided to let him face one painful memory at a time.

“So what happened next?” asked Applejack.

“I. . .went and took matters into my own hooves.”

***

12 years ago. . .

“Come on, Iron, play with me!” whined Gold Nugget. The light brown filly with golden mane and tail pushed her brother’s barrel with her forehooves. Iron was laying under a tree trying to take a nap.

“Go bug one of your friends,” said Iron pushing his sister away. She fell on her rump.

“Oof,” she grunted. She just sat there with an annoyed glare. “Daddy said you had to keep an eye on me!” She stood up and pulled on Iron’s mane with her teeth. “So cme play wif meh!”

“Ow, hey!” shouted Iron standing up. He shook his head vigorously. “Get off of me!”

“Excuse me, foals,” asked a voice. Goldie and Iron looked up a blue earth pony mare with a red mane and lantern Cutie Mark.

“Hewo, Mif Bright!” greeted Goldie still chewing on her brother’s mane. Iron whacked the top of her head with his hoof making her fall off. “Ow!”

“Can we help you?” asked Iron ignoring his sister’s glare.

“Maybe,” said Bright. “My husband is supposed to be delivering some supplies to the miner’s but her hurt his leg yesterday and can’t bring them. I believe your brother, Copper Ore, was supposed to come for them but he’s late.” Irom smiled wide and gasped loudly.

“Oh, oh! I can bring them!” he offered jumping up and down. Bright didn’t look so sure.

“Actually, I was wondering if you knew where-”

“No, no, let me!” insisted Iron. Goldie poked him with her hoof.

“You’re supposed to be watching me, Iron,” she reminded him. Iron shot her a glare than looked at Bright.

“If you watch my sister, I’ll deliver the supplies!”

“I don’t know,” said Bright. “I could always bring them myself I suppose.”

“But you got to watch your husband,” said Iron. “I won’t be long. I’ll bring the supplies up and then be right back, I promise!” He stared at Bright with wide pleading eyes and a huge toothy grin.

“Well. . .alright,” she relented. “I’ll even give you a few spare bits for your troubles.”

“Even better!” said Iron. He wouldn’t have done it for free anyway but better that she offered payment rather than he ask for it. Bright took the two foals back to her house where there was a cart with some lanterns, pick axes, and other supplies.

“Are you sure you can pull this?” asked Bright. Iron hitched himself up to the wagon.

“Yep!” he answered confidently. He began to pull the cart. It was a struggle at first, but Iron refused to be beaten by a cart and soon managed to get it to follow him. “Ta-da!”

“You better not let Daddy catch you,” warned Goldie. Iron was about to tell her to be quiet but stopped when she saw the look of genuine concern in her eyes. He smiled softly at her.

“I’ll be okay, Sis,” he assured her. He started towards the path up the mountains to the mines.

I finally get to help! he thought. Maybe even if Dad does see me it’ll convince him to let me help out more. He pushed himself harder up the path determined to complete his task as efficiently as possible. He could soon see the small town beneath him at the foot of the mountain. He had never been up so high. I wonder if I could see my house from here? No! I’m working right now. He laughed giddily when he realized what he was thinking. He soon found himself at the entrance to the mines but nopony there to greet him. Iron weighed his options: leave the cart there for somepony to find or go in the mine and leave it with somepony. He got a mischievous smile on his face and trotted into the mine.

Lantern were set up along the cave walls lighting up the mine. Earth ponies were bucking the walls with their mighty hooves while unicorns used pick axes with their magic to chip away at the rocks. Iron noticed that both types of ponies were working separate from each other. I wonder why that is. As he wandered further into the cave, he noticed ponies taking supplies from the cart. They didn’t seem to be paying much attention to him though. Finally, Iron spotted a familiar pony.

“Hey, Copper!” shouted Iron. Copper stopped mid-buck and looked at Iron. His mouth dropped and his eye went wide in shock.

“I-Iron?” he asked. He trotted up to his brother. “What are you doing? Where’s Gold Nugget?”

“She’s with Miss Bright,” answered Iron. “Somepony needed to bring the supplies so I offered.” Copper sighed and facehoofed. He looked at Iron like he was about to scold him but, slowly, a smile crept onto his face and he laughed instead.

“There’s just no stopping you is there, Bro?” he asked. Iron puffed his chest out.

“Nope!” he said confidently. Copper shook his head.

“Well, now that your task is done, let’s get you out of here before somepony who can get you into trouble catches you.”

“Okay,” said Iron a little disappointed. The two brothers head to the cave entrance. “So, do you think I can do this again soon?”

“Don’t count on it, Bro.”

“Oh, come on I-”

*RUMBLE*

“What’s going on?” asked Iron. Suddenly, rocks and debris falling.

“Cave in!” shouted somepony. Soon everypony was making a mad dash for the exit.

“We got to get you out of here!” shouted Copper trying to get Iron free from the cart.

“It’ll take too long, just go!” cried Iron.

“Oh, shut up, drama queen!” Copper freed Iron from the cart. “See? Now come on!” He put Iron on his back and ran towards the exit. Iron hung onto Copper for dear life as the older colt tried to avoid the debris. A rock landed in front of him causing him to trip and knock Iron off.

“Oof!” grunted Iron as he landed on the ground. He scrambled to his feet and saw Copper try to get up. He stumbled and winced. His right foreleg was bleeding.

“Run!” shouted Copper.

“But-”

“Ruuun!” Iron turned and made a dash for the exit! He didn’t have time to look back as he tried to avoid debris. He dived out of the cave and looked back to see rocks blocking the exit.

“C-Copper?” he asked. He looked around for his brother but didn't see him. “Has anypony seen Copper?”

***

Present day. . .

“H-He didn’t make it out did he?” asked Applejack.

“No,” said Iron. “It was two weeks before we were able to clear out the debris and find his body.” It was quiet between the two ponies for a while.

“It wasn't yer fault,” said Applejack finally.

“Yeah, it was,” said Iron. “But my story isn’t done yet.”

***

12 years ago. . .

“What were you doing!” Charcoal shouted. He and Iron stood in front of the cave entrance. Iron was cowering before his father.

“I-I was-”

“I told you not to come here!”

“I know but-”

“But nothing!” interrupted Charcoal. “I told you to stay and watch your sister! I told you you weren’t old enough to be here!” Tears pricked his eyes. “Now, Copper is dead and it’s your fault!”

Silence. Cruel unforgiving silence.

Iron waited for Charcoal to realize what he said. To say that he didn’t mean it. But there was nothing. Just silence. Tear began to well up in Iron’s eyes. Charcoal just continued to glare at him. Iron didn’t say anything as he turned and ran as fast as he could go. He ran down the path and through the town towards the forest. He didn’t care where he went as long as it was away.

“I-I didn’t mean it!” he shouted to himself. “I didn’t mean to kill him!” He stopped and looked at his Cutie Mark. He thought it was supposed to mean defense. To protect what he cared about. But now his brother was dead and it was his fault. He curled up in a ball and wept. “I wish I could just die right now.” There was rustling in the woods. Iron didn’t move as the rustling got closer. Soon, a large timberwolf came out of the woods. It growled as I walked up to the colt. Iron closed his eyes and waited for the end.

“NO!” he shouted. He rolled out of the way as the timberwolf brought his claws down. Iron stood up on his hooves. He wasn’t going to die here. He wasn’t going to give in. The timberwolf snarled and dove at him Iron got out of the way making the timberwolf crash into the tree. It turned around and chased after him. Iron ran as faced as he could. He failed to see a large tree root and tripped over it. The timberwolf was on top of him in an instant. It swiped at him with his claws. Iron tried to avoid but his left eye was hit. “AAAAAAAAHHHH!”

“Raaaawwwrr!”

Iron and the timberwolf looked in the direction of the noise and saw a manticore approach the two. The timberwolf growled at the manticore trying to scare it off. The manticore wasn’t having it. It tackled the timberwolf giving Iron a chance to escape. Iron wondered what got the manticore after them. Maybe the noise disturbed it. Whatever, the reason, Iron wasn’t going to complain. He ignored the pain in his eye as he headed home.

***

Present day. . .

“So, was yer pa happy to see ya when ya got back?” asked Applejack.

“Not exactly,” answered Iron. “It’s hard to explain. We never spoke of it again. Actually, we hardly ever spoke to each other unless we had to. Usually, our conversations were arguing.”

“Over what?”

“Me causing trouble for him.” Iron sighed. “It wasn’t intentional. But that moment when I almost died, I realized something.” Applejack tilted her head. “I couldn’t give up like that. I still had ponies who relied on me. I also knew I had to make up for my brother’s death. So I went back. I couldn’t let life’s trials weigh me down. I promised I would stand in spite of them. I would defy them. From then on, I stood firmly against any injustice or unfairness I found.”

“Ah fail to see how that’s bad.”

“The problem is that standing for what you believe in sometimes means stepping on somepony’s hoof. I wasn’t rebellious and I really didn’t try to cause a scene but sometimes it couldn’t be helped. It was those moments that tended to get my family in trouble. My dad didn’t appreciate getting in trouble because I didn’t know when to back off.”

“So what happened next?”

“It all came to a head one day. The day I was cast out.”

***

Three years ago. . .

“Are you really doing this, Iron Ore?” asked Quarry. The red stallion and his gang surrounded Iron Ore. A young green unicorn colt cowered behind Iron. The colt had made the mistake of stealing bits from Quarry’s family who also happened to own the mines.

“He’s a scared colt, Quarry,” said Iron. “He already said he would work to pay back the money. You don’t need to rough him up like this.”

“No,” said Quarry. “These unicorn slackers need to figure out who’s boss around here.”

“Quarry, it doesn’t need to be like this!” shouted Iron. “Just take it out of my pay or something.”

“Like your family can afford it,” spat Quarry. Iron was silent. His family was having trouble making ends meet. Taking bits out of Iron’s paycheck wouldn’t help their situation.

“Maybe he wouldn’t have to steal if your dad would pay the unicorn workers the same as the earth pony workers.”

“Leave my dad out of this, Iron,” warned Quarry. “In fact, just leave.”

“No! You don’t have to make a fuss out of this! We can all walk away and nopony has to be hurt.”

“Don’t be naïve! If we let this brat go, what’s to keep the other unicorns from acting up. We need to maintain the chain of command.”

“They aren’t your property, Quarry. They don’t owe you anything.”

“If that’s true then they can leave!” said Quarry. “But I don’t see them doing that. Not exactly a whole lot of mines nearby where they could work.”

“Then you should be doing whatever you can to help them here!” said Iron. “You could start with-”

“Shut up!” interrupted Quarry. “I’m sick of your high and mighty attitude! You aren’t in charge. You don’t tell me or my family how to run things. Now back off.”

“I won’t!” shouted Iron standing tall. Quarry was silent for a moment. He could try to fight Iron but it wouldn’t help. Iron was the strongest pony around the mines. If he wanted Iron to back off, he’d have to hurt him some other way. He got a wicked smile on his face.

“Back off or you and your dad are fired.”

"You can’t do that,” said Iron unintimidated.

“Watch me.” He turned to leave. “Come on, boys. I know how to make this all better.”

The next morning, Iron was woken up by a hoof slapping his face. He sat up in bed and saw his dad holding a piece of paper in front of his face.

“What did you do?!” shouted Charcoal.

“What do you mean?” asked Iron rubbing his face. Charcoal struck him again. “Ow! Will you stop it!”

“No! In fact I’m getting ready to do it again!” Iron got out of bed and stood in front of his dad. Iron was taller but Charcoal wasn’t intimidated. “We both just got fired! Steel just came by personally to do it!” Steel was Quarry’s father.

“He actually did it,” muttered Iron.

“I’m surprised it took this long,” said Charcoal. “But you actually got me fired as well!”

“I didn’t think he’d do it!”

“You knew!” shouted Charcoal. He hit Iron again. “You knew this would happen and you still couldn’t back off? What, do you want to ruin us? How do you think I support you and your sister?”

“Don’t turn this around on me!” shouted Iron. “I wasn’t trying to hurt you two!”

“Oh, really? Because it seems you get your sister and me in trouble all the time!” He raised his hoof. “And now it’s costing us everything!” He was about to strike but Iron blocked with his own hoof. Gold Nugget ran into the room.

“Will you two stop!” she screamed. “We can talk to Steel. We can fix this.”

“Not with him around,” said Charcoal looking Iron directly in the eyes.

“What do you mean?” asked Iron.

“As long as you’re here, you’ll just keep getting us in trouble,” said Charcoal. “You’re a liability.”

“Daddy!” shouted Gold Nugget.

“Don’t interrupt!” snapped Charcoal. Gold Nugget lowered her head and backed up.

“Don’t yell at her!” shouted Iron. Charcoal just hit him again.

“You shut up! Ever since Copper died, you’ve been nothing but trouble! It wasn’t enough to kill your brother was it!” Iron was speechless. This was the first time Charcoal ever mentioned Copper since his death. Even after all these years, he still held that against Iron.

“AAAAAHHHHH!” shouted Iron as he hit Charcoal as hard as he could. The old stallion fell to the ground. Iron jumped on him and began to beat him mercilessly. “How about I just kill you too?! Then I wouldn’t have to listen to your-”

“Iron!” screamed Gold Nugget as she grabbed her brother’s hoof. He looked at her then at Charcoal. The older stallion’s face was bruised and swollen. His jaw looked broken too. Iron looked back at his sister. “Leave,” she told him.

“Goldie I didn’t mean-”

“You never mean to,” said Gold Nugget. “You never mean to but you do it anyway.” She narrowed her eyes at him looking at him like he was some monster. “And now you’ve actually threatened to hurt one of us. To hurt me.”

“Him not you,” said Iron. Gold Nugget smacked him.

“It’s the same thing!” she screamed. “And you don’t even regret saying it do you? You are not my brother anymore. Get out.”

“But-”

“Get out!” Iron backed away from the two ponies. For the first time since he got his Cutie Mark he felt intimidated and weak.
Later that morning, he packed his things. He grabbed his mother’s old cloak and left.

***

Present day. . .

“And I never looked back,” said Iron.

“Y-You really threatened to kill yer own pa?” asked Applejack in disbelief.

“I was hurt and angry.” Iron sighed. Applejack saw another tear. He let it flow down his cheek this time. “I felt so betrayed at that moment. I just lashed out. I-I don’t even know if I would have done it.”

“Ah do,” said Applejack. She smiled and wiped his tear away. “You’re a gentle soul deep down, Iron. Ah know you wouldn’t hurt anypony close to ya. Yer all too protective to be violent.” Iron smiled at her.

“That’s kind of you to say.”

“So what did you do fer three years?”

“Wandered around. Tried to find a place where I fit in. Nothing was ever a good fit. I always found something I didn’t like. It usually ended with me being kicked out.”

“Well. . .what about here in Ponyville?” asked Applejack. “Is here a good fit?” Iron was quiet for a moment.

“Yeah,” he said. “I think it is. This is the first place I found where it’s genuinely peaceful. I like it here.”

“Well, then you can stay here with us as long as you like. Even after yer debts paid off.”

“Applejack, I couldn’t do that to you.”

“Ya ain’t doin’ nothin’ to us,” Applejack insisted. “Ya’ll finally found a place ya fit in. I ain’t about to let you just up and leave if ya don’t have to.”

“You sure you don’t just like having me around?” asked Iron with a mischievous smirk.

“Wh-what are ya talkin about?” asked Applejack with a slight blush.

“Just messing with you,” said Iron elbowing her lightly. “Thank you for making me talk about this, Applejack. My past is a part of me. I really shouldn’t try to hide from it. But I won’t let it weigh me down either.” Applejack smiled at him.

“Glad to hear it, Iron,” she said. “And yer welcome.”

Author's Note:

So now we know Iron's story. This was kinda of a downer of a chapter I admit. Hopefully, the next one will be more lighthearted.
Thanks to all of you who have been reading my story so far. I hope you'll stick with it as it goes on.