Chapter 1: Another Beginning

I start the record of this world as I have done with every one, by giving my story. How I was, how I am, and how I came to be the second most powerful being in this universe.

My name is Felix and my mission starts after I died.

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..

…

Dark, I know. I remember it very well, surprisingly, how I died I mean. I remember the weight of the gun in my hand, the faint reflection of light off of the casing as I loaded the bullet. I recall the note I had left, how clean I had left my little apartment before I had decided to kill myself. I had been suffering from serious depression, a lack of social connectivity, and a lack of money beyond basic food and rent. All of this had worn on me and I pulled together the last of what I had to end it all.

All in all, my death was messy and unexciting. The gun went off and the bullet quickly tore through my gray matter, ending my time on the mortal coil. What made my death remarkable was that it was the last death in the entire universe. Not because immortality had been discovered, nor was it because I was the avatar of Death, or even some strange contrived reason that was the result of several failed science experiments, a rather loud jazz band and a poorly made pound cake.

No, the reason was because the universe was just removed, deleted, trashed, insert synonym here. The creator of the universe had simply decided, 'Well, that was a good run, now lets stop it.'

I can hear some of you wondering how I write this after the end of the universe, and that is because this document is being projected to you outside of time. The original copy of these words sits in a realm the does not technically exist anywhere, but can be accessed anywhere at the same time.

I digress, after my messy end I awoke to find myself in an endless plain of nothing. It was a strange combination of black and white, being both and neither at the same time. I looked down and saw my body, yet it was not my body. I had not lived a hard life, per say, but I did have scars and scratches that I knew very well. Yet, looking down at myself, I saw none of these. I saw my tanned skin was smooth and unblemished like it was new. The slight belly I had gained from eating terrible food was gone, instead replaced by lean muscle, the same going for my arms and legs.

Most remarkably, while looking at myself, I noticed that the usual fog that I saw everything through was gone. There wasn't any sort of looming sadness in my mind, no feeling like a shadow was hanging on my shoulders, pulling me down and away from the world. It was strange, unfamiliar to me, and yet I was grinning, for my depression had vanished.

“Ah, so you're the one this time?” Came a voice from behind me. Turning around I saw a... being that looked entirely unremarkable aside from being intensely beautiful. It's body was covered by undulating wraps of cloth, covering anything that might have betrayed notable details. I could not tell if it was male, female, or even human, the beauty of it seemingly beyond possibility. It came up to me, not so much moving so much as moving everything around it to bring me closer, at least, that's how it felt. The sheer power I felt radiating from it was suffocating, like holding a light bulb up to a star, it simply dwarfed anything I could conceive.

It looked me over and hummed to itself, “I see, I see, so you were the last being to die before I ended that instance.” It circled around my body once before stopping in front of me.

My throat was dry as I struggled to find my voice, “A-am I dead?” I asked, frozen in place from its proximity.

It's face betrayed something I would have liked to call surprise, “Oh? And you can still communicate? That's a good sign at least, better than the last few, they just went mad.” It sat on nothing, fingers steepled as it looked at me, “In a sense, yes you are dead, but you are also not dead.” My confusion must have been clear as it continued to speak, “You are currently sitting between the occurrence of universes or, to put it another way, you currently exist in non-existence.” It's gaze changed somehow and I felt It peering into my mind, my soul, the very make of my being, “...Felix Grimes, a good a name as any. I am what you could call the Ultimate Creator.” When it gave me it's title, I heard one thing and trillions of things at once, causing me to cry out in pain as it needled into my mind, “I made your universe, as I have made every other universe and will continue to do so.”

I was shaking as I beheld It, no doubt in mind as I felt the power it gave off, “G-guess the Christians were right about the one god thing, heheh....” Laughing weakly, I tried my best to look anywhere else, but I could feel It compelling me to maintain eye contact.

“Oh no, they were wrong. Were you more spiritually inclined in other directions, I would appear to you as your god, or gods, of worship. I am formless, only given form so that you may comprehend me without losing yourself.” It stood up, hand behind its back, “You are curious as to why you are here.” It said, speaking my mind for me, “You see, Felix, when I create a universe, I often have a set number of influential beings. For example, your instance had four hundred thirty two million, six hundred twenty five thousand, nine hundred seventy two races of creatures that were what you could call the universal superpowers. Each action they performed would affect the entire universe, if only slightly at times.” I nodded, the number of possible beings racing through my mind, “Now, I ended your instance for the simple fact that having so many races churning the universal waters caused it to grow muddled and tiresome. One race would perform one action that another race's actions would cancel out. It grew stagnant quite quickly, which does nothing for me.”

It grew quiet for a moment, staring out at infinity, “Ssso.... What now?” I asked, wincing as It's attention turned back to me.

“Now? Now I create another universe, but with only one being inside of a single race at a time and you,” It tilted its head and gave a strange smile, “You shall guard that being until I choose it's end.”

“.... Pardon?”

“I am going to make you into an observer and guard of sorts, you will be given abilities and talents to start out, but not many. Your true power shall come from what you gather from your time with the chosen being in each race.” It put a hand on my chest, a strange and wonderful energy permeating my body and mind, “I can tell you are confused. To reword it in terms you will understand: I am giving you immortality via regeneration. You cannot die and anything your body loses you will regrow in time. Along with that, I will give you enhanced physical abilities. Speed, strength, and durability. The final gift I will give you is immediate adaptation: Your body will instantly adapt to the world you are on while retaining your current form. Should you breathe what would normally be poison? Your lungs will accept it as normal. If the temperature averages beyond what you could originally believe capable, you will find it as temperate as a summer day.”

I was panting heavily through my teeth as the energy flowing into me felt like it was about to make my body burst, my teeth creaking as I set my jaw, “Now, Felix, the rest of your skills, abilities, and talents will be absorbed from those who you slay and the being you protect, upon its death. What I hope to achieve from all this is a more interesting universe, something I can let suffer its heat death instead of wiping it away.”

My body slumped as It's hand left my chest, “W-why me?” I panted, shaking as I felt my innards churning and changing.

It stood above me and shrugged, “Simple, you were the last to die before I ended your universe, instead of using your energy and returning it to the universe, I kept your form, fixed any errors that you had, then let you wake up.” It held out a hand, a small point of light hovering above its palm, “Now, witness the birth of a universe.”

I appeared on the outskirts of a forest, no flash of light or puff of smoke marking my appearance. As the eons had passed I found that a flashy entrance did nothing but draw unwanted attention, so I preferred to appear quickly and quietly if at all possible.

As my foot touched down, hundreds of passive magical spells analyzed the environment, telling me the make-up of the air and land. While the magic worked its way through the air, various forms of advanced technology clicked and scanned, giving me data on the energies that permeated the world I had entered. The readings from both forms of scanning appeared in front of my eyes, giving me lists of numbers, atomic elements, wave forms of energy. The amount of data would overwhelm many, but I had grown quite used to it, quickly reading through the information and shutting down the scans.

I took a deep breath of the air and nodded, smiling at the earthy scents that filled my nose. The moment of appreciation having passed, I took a look at myself to see if there were any obvious changes. Two arms? Check. Two legs? Check. Ten fingers and toes? Check. Holding a hand out, I summoned a floating, body length, mirror in order to check out my more cosmetic features. Two, dark brown eyes? Accounted for. Shaggy dark brown hair? Noted. Perpetually tan skin? A bit dusty, but all accounted for. If I were to take a guess, I would say that I was still about six feet tall, give or take an inch, but my size was a variable I learned to not try and keep track of.

I banished the mirror, the reflective surface fading away as I looked down at myself. The long, metallic blue robe I was wearing was a remnant of the last race Chosen I had followed, and I was not much a fan of it. With a small gesture, the cloth faded away, stored in my pocket dimension, and was replaced by my default outfit: Black and red running shoes of my own design, dark blue jeans (100% cotton), and a long sleeved shirt featuring a red torso and black sleeves. It had no defensive values, no enchantments, nothing at all special about it other than being unbelievably comfortable, a trait that I have grown fond of over time.

Properly situated, I decided to follow the Mark. It wasn't something any of my tech or magic could pick up, but I always knew where it was. The Creator made sure of that, so I would never lose the Chosen, no matter where they were in the universe. Making my way towards the Chosen I took careful note of the world I was going to occupy for the foreseeable future. True, I had readings and data, but little could replace actually looking around and taking in the sights. It seemed the forest was lush, full of flora and fauna that resembled life from my Earth, though proportions and coloration were different. Then again, I had seen many worlds that had resembled my Earth, some close but none were exactly the same.

“.... Gaudy.” The muttered phrase escaped my lips as I looked at the building ahead of me. A blue, purple and golden yellow affair that seemed to be made of some sort of stone or crystal. While I had seen many structures, this one was certainly unique in it's tackiness. Of course the Chosen was in there, not in the small set of rather quaint looking buildings nearby, but that seemed to be the way of it when it came to the Chosen. Either they were entirely unassuming or they stood out like a pair of binary stars.

Walking closer, I saw movement near the base of the... Castle, I suppose. Looking them over, I saw that the creatures were quadrupedal and wearing some form of golden armor. Probably military if I were to hazard a guess, and the leader was off to the side. As I neared the group, I saw that some had wings and were flying off or around the structure. They reminded me of the pegasi I had known and seen, if a bit smaller and more round. Others were performing some form of magic using an extension on their heads... Horns. They were using horns. Pegasi, unicorns and pastel colored ponies.

Oh my.

I let out a slight sigh of annoyance as I walked towards the castle, the colors biting into my eyes. With my approach, I was drawing more and more eyes. True, I could have gone invisible, or just teleported into the castle, but approaching from a distance was always better than just appearing in front of the Chosen. Surprising them never ended well for me in the past.

A few yards away from the door my progress was, unsurprisingly, stopped as group of the ponies in armor gathered in front of me, spears grasped with wings, mouths, and magic, from what I could assume. The way they were leveling said spears at me I quickly gathered that the noises they were making were attempts to tell me to fuck off the other way or explain my business. Then again, this may just be how they greet strangers. Until I either studied them at length, or killed one, their culture and language would escape me. Learning might take some time, but I had time to spare and then some. The group took a threatening stance, jabbing the spears at me as I continued to walk forward, but it did little to dissuade me. Rather I just kept walking forward, my gaze lock on the door behind them. I could hear them muttering to each other as I got closer, with a shout coming from somewhere off to my side. Probably their leader, since they immediately hopped from threatening to defensive.

Years ago, I might have cared as the sharpened points were pointed at my body, but now I just kept walking, the spear heads easily cutting into my flesh and muscles. The horrified looks the soldiers gave me as I continued walking into their spears made it obvious that these troops were all about shock, rather than action. Not that the spears currently jutting from my body didn't hurt, I had just experienced worse pains and this was more a light pinch by comparison. Then again, I could have killed them, hardened my skin, deflected the spears, anything. With the knowledge and power I had at my disposal, I could just wipe out the planet and leave the Chosen intact inside a stasis tube, but the Maker wouldn't like that as much.

Up the steps I went, tracking the Chosen as I left a substantial blood trail behind me. I could hear the faint echoes of shouting echoing from farther behind me, likely the commanding officer trying to gather some sort of order. Not my problem, if the attacked again, I'd kill them, learn the language, and move on. A win for me in the end, really. I was on the same floor as the Chosen, all that was left was navigating the halls. Looking around, I saw the same symbols being repeated. A six pointed star, three rhombi, three apples, three butterflies, three balloons, and a cloud with what looked like a rainbow lightning bolt coming from the bottom. Some form of noble houses? Perhaps each was the symbol of a nation in the land. Something else I would have to learn I suppose.

I stepped through the last door to see the same guards with more spears pointed at me, albeit shaking ones, one who had more decorated armor, what looked like a failed attempt at a chimera, and at least eight unarmored ponies, three of which bore both wings and horns. Each and every member of the group was giving me a look ranging from anger to horror.

The yellow one wasn't giving a look, but it had passed out almost as soon as I entered the room. It came to mind that I should get rid of the spears currently lodged inside me. With a thought, the shafts started to move, slowly getting pulled into my body as they were broken down into raw materials that were then used to repair the damage I had sustained. The process took a few minutes, the stares continuing from all ponies in the room.

“Those won't do you any good you know.” I pointed at their spears, “But you can't understand me, right?” A soft sigh escaped me as I finished talking. I looked and saw the Chosen, a purple pony with a six pointed star on its flank. It was taking an offensive stance, both forelegs spread, wings flared, low to the ground, and horn aglow? Tapping my heel on the ground, I quickly scanned the power she was using... Magic, pulling it from the ambient energy, filtering it through its body, adjusting its properties with its mind and then holding the final result in its horn. Nothing I had not seen before, but it was still very well done.

I felt a small tingle in my mind and looked over the group. The taller, dark blue one was attempting to read my mind. 'Well, give and take, right?' I thought as I pulled her into my mind, delving into hers and pulling out what I needed. To those watching, it took less than a second. For me, it felt like five minutes. For her? Heh, for her, I led her through the first ten million years I had existed. I had seen many proto-species in that time, and earned most of my survival abilities from the Chosen during those years. I had also suffered a lot, my worst pains and many of my would-be deaths happened then. I forced her to experience them all. I would have to apologize to.... Luna, later.

“.....-ot ask once again, leave the area immediately!” The guard captain was yelling at me, the clicking and whinnying language finally translated for me with the information I had taken.

“No.” They were taken aback at my response, “I've business with Princess Twilight Sparkle and nothing you say or do will turn me away.” My gaze moved over to Luna, who was looking ill, “As a side note, Celestia,” The white... alicorn? A strange word. The white alicorn's eyes widened when I said her name, “Your sister is feeling unwell, and she'll probably feel like that for a while yet.” At my mention, Luna started to fall over, several of the guards dropping their weapons to catch her.

“What have you done to Luna!” Celestia's hoof cracked on the crystal floor as she glared at me, her horn wreathed in gold, “I promise if you-”

The entire castle creaked and each of the ponies aside from the three alicorns fell to the ground as I let loose a fraction of my magical power, “Don't even try it Celestia.” I walked over to the group of ponies as I spoke, “I am infinitely stronger than you are, wiser than you are, older than you are...” I looked her in the eye, the white pony standing a foot taller than me easily, “I have lived longer than the sun you control has existed.” I stepped back and looked at the group, more of my power leaking out and forcing the alicorns to the floor, “I am known as The Star Eater, The First Born, That Which Broke The Dark, Master Of All Forms, Land Breaker, King Maker, Favorite Of The Hive Queen,” I let loose a low growl that shook the foundations of the castle, “I have collected the skills, memories, and lives of creatures you cannot even think of in your WORST NIGHTMARES!” The sky outside was turning a dark red as I spoke, tentacles made of bone and sinew emerging from dark holes in the air, while the ponies in front of me looked up at me with anger and tears “I AM THE TRUE GUARD, THE ETERNAL AEGIS, HE WHO WITNESSED CREATION ITSELF!” I cut off my power, the skies returning to normal as the ponies staggered to their hooves, “My name is Felix Grimes, the Servant God.” I walked over to Twilight and knelt down, my head bowed, “Twilight Sparkle, The Creator has chosen you. In doing so, I will protect you, teach you, and follow you for as long as you shall live.”

The purple alicorn looked at me, her legs shaking and chest heaving as she took it all in, “W-what?”

Author's Note

Hello folks!!!
As you might have read in the description, this is a story that will constantly reference worlds that Felix lived on. Some of these will be references to shows and books, others will be made up using the wonderful chaos that happens to be my brain.
However, I am only so imaginative so I implore you, dearest reader, please feel free to leave comments with opinions, criticisms, and ideas!!
Ideas for past Chosen, worlds and cultures!!!!

All that being said, please enjoy my story and Be Well!!!!