As featured on Equestria Daily, Canterlot's Finest and Las Pegasus Tribune's Fiction Illumination.
Rated Teen due to limited violence. Currently undergoing revisions.
Inspired by a piece of artwork by Jaaaaaaaz, and Stephen King's magnum opus "The Dark Tower," what follows is an alternate telling of a familiar tale.
For one-thousand years, Princess Celestia has fought a war of attrition against the armies of the Red, but now the rules are about to change, and Celestia must rely on her sheltered prized pupil and a living remnant of a secret order she once believed lost forever.
The one-thousandth anniversary of the Summer Sun Celebration is approaching, a time when Twilight Sparkle believes Equestria's worst nightmare will finally be realised. While she strives to warn the kingdom of impending disaster, the peace of Canterlot is thrown further into disarray by the arrival of an earth pony carrying totems of fierce power, and an even more terrible legacy.
Darker mysteries from Canterlot's past bubble to the surface, as Twilight spins headlong towards a destiny that will mean their salvation, or their damnation.
And the Tower is closer...
New cover art by marking.
It's clear to me that you have put a tremendous amount of effort into this story. Your grammar and structure are practically flawless.
If this turns out to be an epic-tier adventure fic, I may just cry of happiness. I haven't actually read any of the Master's works (save for Cujo), but this story already has me hooked in.
Maybe, I can help you reach a larger audience. I know all too well what it's like to struggle for recognition. I post a weekly blog on the fansite Las Pegasus Tribune, which is centered around illuminating quality, underrated fiction. You've demonstrated to me that this qualifies in spades. Here's a sample of my work. Feel free to pm me if you have any further queries.
For now, take my like and my favourite, I'll be keeping an eye on you
I can't believe it took someone this long to crossover MLP with The Dark Tower. I'm just glad it was done well.
I'm interested in seeing where this story goes.
Well dang, this is pretty awesome! You captured the tone and style of The Gunslinger ridiculously well.
Stick around, I shall...
I know I get to beta most of these, but it's still awesome to see you post a new chapter, DT. Hope you're having a happy holiday and I can't wait to take a look at the next one!
3552862 We don't celebrate Thanksgiving on my side of the pond, B.H., but thank you very much all the same. Hope yours was good. I think you'll enjoy what I have planned, but we'll see what happens when it does, eh?
I'm seriously excited to see how this all plays out...
3554565 Ka willing, you won't be waiting long to see.
Loved it.
The 'flavor' of this story was very strong, still keeping up that very nice blend of both series you're drawing from. Applejack and her family were still very strongly recognizable, but with that extra touch of King's style that seems to flow so well here. And Tongs is SUCH a Stephen King bully antagonist. Apple Bloom pelting him with apples was priceless.
Welcome, welcome, to my group! This looks great, you're no nincompoop! Keep this up, and, I might add, this could go so greatly "bad."
But terrible poetry aside, this fic looks interesting, and I can't wait to see how much it actually references The Dark Tower. Eeeee~~
3574940 Wow. I hope my poetry wasn't that bad. Ha-ha-ha. Glad to know you're enjoying it so far. I hope I don't disappoint.
3574993 I usually come up with these rhymes on the fly, but this time I just couldn't get by. The story is good, and striving towards great! What is in store, I can hardly wait!
The fact that you're drawing off Henry Bowers for Tongs excites me to a level you can't possibly understand.
3587672 I suppose I'll have to re-read some of It fairly soon, then. My word has working on this given me cause to go back over a lot of books.
DOUGHY?!
Seriously, though, good stuff. Your concerns about the possible romance angle between Applejack and Peacemaker aren't anything to worry about, because they're still in the first-impression "mutual appreciation" stage, and one can see it as a natural reaction for both of them. It doesn't feel unnatural unless you're just opposed to OC/Mane6 shipping on principle.
Love it so far. The fusion of the two universes is done really well and I don't think the changes are jarring. I look forward to seeing more.
Turnabout Storm reference?
Another great chapter. This one had me pleased as punch to read.
3601516 Funnily enough, I've never actually watched that, although I have heard of it. I just wanted to use a name for a race or competition that sounded genuine. Apparently I achieved that better than I thought I would.
I'm trying to picture Roland getting himself subjected to a high-velocity makeover.
That burst of far-off laughter you just heard was me.
3603440 Funny thing is, I genuinely did hear laughter from somewhere. I thought it was my mum watching the Royal Variety Performance on telly, but you've put me to rights.
FIRST AND FOREMOST
Thank you. Finally, someone who uses this correctly. Too often do I see storys, or stories, or some other variant. A house level is not generally something that is read for its potentially interesting content.
...I just had an idea for a great story. Holy sisters.
To quote Rainbow Dash in EqG:
Did not mean?
Anyway, this gets more compelling with every chapter. Please sir, continue.
3612115 Thanks for catching those two for me. I've fixed them now. Doesn't matter how many times your stuff is checked over, there's always the chance one or two little beggars slip past, eh?
As for the discrepancy of storeys and stories, I think it's just another one of those things British English and American English will always do differently, like football and soccer, or basil and bay-sil, or how integral the letter Z (that's zed not zee for anyone wanting to know how I'm actually pronouncing it) is to the language as a whole.
Ya killed me with the inclusion of "Sharp Dressed Man".
I love it, and as a bar song it makes every bit as much sense as "Hey Jude."
And Tongs seriously has something broken inside his head. It got creepy reading Jackie's slowly-growing realization that he was in a situation he can't joke is way out of. I can't imagine Peacemaker's guns are going to stay quiet for much longer.
I knew there was a reason I chose you, Dutch. This is one of the greater adventure stories I've read in recent times. You emulate Mr. King perfectly, writing incredible characters and graphic, exciting scenes. That bar scene was like something out of a true wild west movie.
Continue your epic story-telling, and I'll continue promoting you every week. So far, since I featured you, you haven't missed an update post; that's the best thing for me. I know I never have long to wait for more Peacemaker.
Great Zecora dialogue. Beautiful prose. Twilight is great. I absolutely love Spike's POV, especially the part with the gems. And a very strong end to the first chapter. I cannot thumbs up this hard enough.
3657197 Thank you kindly. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story just as much.
You know, I myself am a huge fan of The Dark Tower, if you can't tell from the fact that Roland Deschain himself is my profile pic or how I pay great homage to King's masterful story in the junk I write. When Amacita down here showed me this fic, and I jumped all thereinto with high hopes I was sure would be dashed. And do you know what? This fic is... rather amazing. Your prose is beyond fantastic and perfectly reminiscent of Stephen King while still feeling fresh and original. Like, I sometimes hate reading, and I adore this fic. A brilliant little gem, amen, though and through. The action here feels fresh, an interesting take on the "OC in ponyvile" nonsense you see os often. And the fact that the characters are all the seam if slightly different (Hellooo, Eddie Dean of New—er, I mean, Jack-a-Nape of Manehattan) makes this fic even more appealing to me. Like, gah, this fic is so fun to read. And the Gunslinger here is as once as badass as Roland and yet not overpowered, as you clearly and brilliantly showed through your competition with Rainbow Dash, which he pointédly does not win hand-over-fist but makes a mistaken gets a tie. I adored that. And you show that what he is as Roland Deschain, he is not Roland Deschain. He is his now unique thing with lots of Roland infused within him, and I love that.
You, Dutch Tilt, have remembered the face of your father.
Oh, and, uh, some minor BS that I must get outta the way
As a Southerner who does, in fact, use words like "yonder" unironically, this sentence is odd to me. I would have used "yon" instead of "yonder", since "yon" sounds more natural here, but it might just be my Dixieland accent.
You also have Applejack drop the T in "must", and I would like to ask you to please stop doing that. That T is certainly there. As a Southern myself, that really grates on my nerves. Also, there was a line wherein the Southerners spoke but had a certain word spelt as "favour", and I just laughed my ass off. It's just so... wrong to see my Dixieland accent with British spelling. In fact, while your Southern accents are generally okay, the minor things do grate me. Your use of "yer" just makes me grind my teeth, for example, since even though I might say it like that, I hate seeing it writ as such, as it makes us look... stupid, for want of a better term.
Still, thankee big-big, sai, for allowing me to attempt to hold palaver down in yon comments, and to offer my high praise of this little gem. And till next comment, I shall let thee alone, sai.
3658590 Noted for future reference. I'll sweep up a bit after I finish writing the current chapter. It was never my intent to offend any speakers. Thank you for the review, though, it's really made my day. Long days and pleasant nights to you.
Aye, when I heard mention in Daring Don't of a "Dark Tower", I had that same feeling, d'ya kennit? I went off to message my friends, "OMG, Dark Tower!" and then freaked out with joy because it was so cool. Meant noting, aye, but was cool nevertheless.
Also in this chapter, I'm starting to rather appreciate how you've blended the stuff from Wizard and Glass with the timeframe of The Gunslinger. Truly, this blending on in-universe events and time makes this story more interesting, as, like with Fallout Equestria, I might have a general idea of how it ends, but I have no idea how it would possibly get there, for the world has moved on from the source material of both elements.
Hm. Took me a moment to equate Far South with Farson. And
Rhea of the CöosBindle Punk here seems interesting. At once, again, you blend elements from all over Roland's past into this one now, and I love that. I only have a few complaint herein.Should be "thy". In every other case, you used it right, but for the record I'll state it here. "Thine" (and mine) is to be used before words being in with vowels. Thy for words with consonants at the start. EG, "Thine eyes see that thy woeful countenance burn mine empty soul."
Should be "thereby".
Take it from me, sai. In my corner of the American South, we still speak somewhat like this. Not the "thees" and "thous", mind you, but the other stuff. "preposition + it" becomes "therepreposition". Ditto for "preposition + which". A typically sentence from me sounds like, "If it ain't gon' be a problem f' y'all, would y'all take the barrel thereto, over yonder, wherefor I'm set up a little dropoff place?" That honesty how I speak, hand to God. I still sometimes (without thinking thereabout) use "wherefor" for "why". I've been told it sounds lovingly formal, and boy do I get peeved when folken ask if I'm British therebecause. "They speak not in such a way as I," I say, "and for that matter, I pronounce my R's."
Point being, when
RheaBindle Punk fails to do with arcane but still-used-whence-I-come speaking thing, I thought it was weird.And that's my Southern rant of the day.
Oh, an have you ever heard of a band called Blind Guardian? Well, if not, then this is for you: Somewhere Far Beyond, a song about the first two books of The Dark Tower. The other song they have about these books in one about Jake's eulogy, and then the singer of Blind Guardian had a side project band, "Demons and Wizards", who had three songs about The Dark Tower: which were The Gunslinger, Terror Train (because Blaine is a pain, and that is the truth), & "Crimson King", all three whereof come from the album "Touched by the Crimson King"
In fact, by God, now I really wanna see your take on Blaine the Mono. Loved Blaine, so I did. Jack-a-Nape, save the day by being Ka-Mai!
3660684 Fixed those mistakes. I do try with the dialogue, but I'm not a native speaker so I'm bound to suffer the odd foul-up despite my intentions, and it's always wonderful to have someone who can educate me. I'm very grateful for the clarifications and I'll try to better engineer my dialects.
Yes, I have heard of both Blind Guardian and Demons & Wizards. I thoroughly enjoy their literature-based work. In fact when I was pitching some of my ideas for Roses and any stories which might follow it to some friends of mine (Cutie Mark Crusaders + The Losers Club, anyone?
), I showed them the Touched by the Crimson King album. We sort of forgot what we were talking about after a few minutes and started acting out the roles within the songs. Heh, heh, heh.
I have an idea for how to bring in a version of Blaine the Mono, as well as other factors from the books, but I need to iron out some of the wrinkles first. He was a lot of fun, one of my favourite antagonists, and I'd like to do him justice. Frank Muller put on an excellent performance in the audiobook version, and if an audiobook version of this ever arises (it may very well happen), I'd like my Blaine to be on par.
Still reading on...
I thought it fitting that Fluttershy was a Sister of Oriza. Mind you, this might be because when I read the chapter title, I had this little pit of fear in my gut that it would have something to do with the Little Sisters of Eluria. I don't know why, I just did. Now then, Fluttershy: throw your disk and decapitate the Wolves!
Also, I know it's your dialect, but being in both King's work and the show, the story was sort of set in a place with American dialects, might I recommend spelling "mom" instead of "mum"? It's just really jarring to see hints of the wrong accent in these character.
Still enjoying Jack-a-Nape. I really did love Eddie Dean, and I really wished that Cuthbert Allgood would have had more screen time in Wizard and Glass, because I liked him, and honestly cared a bit more for him that Roland literally screwing around. Both had their greats lines, though Eddie had more screen time. I look forwards to when Jack-a-Nape talks "the Devil into setting himself on fire", d'ya kenn?
Speaking of nothing, I dare now wonder when will come the time when Peacemaker mentions the "face of one's father" thing. I really, really loved that. It just sounded cool, and needed to b examined in-depth because of how cool it was. I did my best therewith in what meager crap I try to write, but I look forwards to it actually being examined from a proper Dark Tower thing.
Hmm. One more thought. Will there be a Tull here, or will you say nothing because of "spoilers", which is to say, "because I want to leave my options open." I just had the horrible thought earlier on whilst reading this story that Ponyville would somehow turn into Peacemaker's Tull.
Oh, and one last question. Should have asked it earlier, but back in the very first line of this story, why is it a black alicorn that Peacemaker is following? Why not, say, "the Mare in Black"? Really hoping this alicorn is basically Luna, else... Else nothing, really. I just would rather not have any more non-canon alicorns running around in any story.
But, as always, this story is badass and you have so clearly when writing this remembered the face of your father.
3662569 I'll take that mom vs. mum thing into account. Truth be told I agree with you. Habits are irritating. I'm currently carrying out some extensive typographical edits recommended by amacita, but I'll get to that soon. You're right about Tull, or rather, you're right that I can't really say anything at this time. In the beginning I had planned to craft aspects of Father Callahan into Fluttershy, but the Sisters of Oriza naturally added themselves to the mix as well, so I went back and gave her that sigul. Finally, the first draft did refer simply to "the mare in black" but it was by personal preference that I went with "the black alicorn." Once again, I cannot say too much, but you'll know soon enough. Don't worry.
Ah, you referenced BggProductions! Long ago had I found him (before I had read The Waste Land), and I rather liked the music he made greatly. You, sai, have fair tastes. Ditto for ZZ Top. You know, ever since I read The Dark Tower, I've actually been seeing a few people in my life make ZZ Top references, and just think that's dapper.
Well, I've got to the end of what you have, and I agree with everything Cerulean Voice down there says. Fantastic Story,. Fantastic Writing. Fantastic fantasy. I look forwards to when you fix up with all of Amacita's little notes, then get yourself published (more or less). Really, this kind of writing is quality, proper-novel writing. You should be proud of yourself. I needn't state here how clearly you've remember the face of your father, now do I? I await further chapters with eagerness, great eagerness, sai.
I didn't think it could exist, but it does. A crossover with the Dark Tower. You sir, have earned yourself a place on the tippy top of my reading list. But before I go into the first chapter, tell me: Is this spoiler free for someone who has only read as far as the middle of Wolves of the Calla?
I KNEW THIS WAS WORTH IT!
My faith in your ability to make EqD was evident from the very beginning. Prepare to have your viewership skyrocket! A very happy Christmas to you, Dutch-sai.
Edit: welcome to the family. Also, remember this?
Let the celebrations commence!
I am loving this immensely. So Applejack is like Susan, hopefully that doesn't end the same way
Also, Derpy is filling the role as Sheemie, I love that, hopefully she'll have Psychic abilities as well
As for Jackie, I am currently reading him in Jesse Pinkman's (Breaking Bad) voice since his character reminds me of Eddie a lot.
I just can't wait for Peacemaker to be standing over some idiot and scolding them saying "You have forgotten the face of your father"
Keep up the great work man
DARK TOWER OH MY GOD
3678741 At the moment, yes. The book mostly includes elements of the first and fourth books, with a couple of tiny bits from the fifth. There are no spoilers regarding Book VI: Song of Susannah or Book VII: The Dark Tower.
This has got the feel of an epic adventure to come.
Seeing that dreaded red bar on this story without any explanation:
3699201 I wouldn't worry about it. I reckon Randall Flagg is probably reading this story. Being a cosmological git is sort of his thing. Pick up Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands, Eyes of the Dragon or The Stand, you'll see what I mean.
This line, to me, came across as terribly snarky and I thoroughly enjoyed it. And I can't say anything herein is, as you put it, "out-of-character". In the books, Roland was perfectly capable of speaking at length, it's just that he rarely ever saw the need (as I see it). Roland speaks most when spoken to, so when paired with a character who speaks a lot to him about relevant things, Roland has shown himself perfectly capable of speaking well. I mean, the majority of the fourth book, Wizard and Glass, was basically just Roland monologing about his past (with a few interruptions).
Plus, Peacemaker isn't Roland. Based off him, aye, but as I see it, he's not Roland. And being that this is our technically first glimpses of him throughout this story, there's no reason a more verbose version of this bit could have been that OOC to what we've seen. He spoke at length with Granny Smith and Applejack, more or less, so there's that. As we've seen, this is just him reacting differently to different environments. And though Peacemaker is no Cuthbert (although, I do wander what The Dark Tower would be like if the Gunslinger was Cuthbert, not Roland), he has his moments of speech. So, were he to have been more verbose but to-the-point, it'd've just been Peacemaker's character being used.
Heck, on a sort of personal level, I wish that Cuthbert had survived, for the sole purpose of being more verbose, and thus more willing to explain background and worldbuilding to the rest of the ka-tet. That's just me, though. I love worldbuilding. Although Cuthbert and Eddie Dean in the same room... Hmmn... That itself might be so awesome as to destroy one of the beams, d'ya kenn?
That's my ten cents (which is worth $2.53 in change, so I hear)
3710660 You do raise a good point. Perhaps "verbose" was not quite the right word for it in my author's note, or simply not elaborate enough. The initial draft seemed a bit too flowery, it went on a bit too long and took away from the intensity of the scene for me as a reader as much as a writer. I just don't think Ramrod would be willing to let Peacemaker talk as long as he originally did in the scene, you know? It might be better placed in a future conversation. The details will return and it won't be too long before they do, but there's a better time and place for them than here. Letting a hero monologue runs the same risks as letting a villain.
Dark Tower crossover! Yes! You don't know how happy this makes me!
All my gods on the hill, I have been looking for this ever since I found MLP fanfic. Don't you dare stop.
I want nothing more than to see this turn into the next Fallout: Equestria, and you've got the chops to do it.
I find it sad that I had all but forgotten about De Curry.
I will say I very much enjoy the slight deviations from Roland in Peacemaker.
Most of all I love the way you have managed to mix Gunslinger, Wizard and Glass, and Friendship is Magic together into a cohesive whole.
Bravo so far keep up the good work.
3779682 That's rather ambitious, but it warms the cockles of my heart to know someone has that much faith in me. Thank you.
3779702 Don't feel too bad. Jamie Red Hand never made much of an impression on me, either. I think the only character with less development than him is Thomas Whitman, whose single defining trait was a genocidal hatred of Slow Mutants. I'm glad you're enjoying the story, and I hope you'll continue to do so.
i have yet to read any of The Dark Tower will i miss some stuff?(i know i know but i gots no moneys)