All discussions regarding the original chapters will be held at the end of every chapter so as to not distract you ponies from comparing and contrasting between the original and the retelling.

Also, please read the retelling of this chapter before you read the discussion. If you want to read the old one first and compare it to the retelling, feel free to do so, but at least read both before reading the discussion.

It was a quiet summer morning throughout the small town of Ponyville, one of thousands of towns or provinces that belonged to the world of Equestria. This world was much more different than what many could understand, as the majority of the world was inhabited by ponies. Their ruler was known as the majestic Alicorn, Princess Celestia, who had been ruler in conjunction with her sister, Princess Luna, for thousands upon thousands of years. Today, she had been thinking about how to liven up the quiet and somewhat boring town of Ponyville. She stood at the balcony that overlooked a grand portion of the world she ruled over with a soft smile on her face, observing the beautiful vista that splayed across Canterlot and beyond.

She stared off into the vista for a while until she realized a real good way to freshen things up for the Mane 6 and Spike. She tapped her chin with her hoof, a notion that fit enchantingly with her beautiful long blue, green, purple and pink colored mane and tail, along with her soft features and enticing magenta eyes that could allure the shyest of people to approach her. An idea came to her mind and she realized exactly what could liven things up; another human or two, new companions who could learn from the Mane 6 as much as the mares could from them about the meaning of friendship. Celestia summoned forth a scroll from her vast magical resources, and used her telekinesis to pry it open and keep it levitating in place. She peered inside and saw two young men who must have been close to the age of twenty with an air of sadness and grief that resonated clearly within her and reminded her of the sadness she felt at losing her sister to something so sinful, that she thanked her lucky stars her sister was still alive. The princess couldn't tell for sure who was the more emotionally and mentally anguished, but was curious to learn more about them.

One of the young men sat in a rather ragged recliner, wearing a pair of faded blue jeans with many varying rips of different sizes from the knees down to his dark brown combat boots. He wore a classic white t-shirt on, along with a currently unfastened button-up that almost reached his knees. The edges were decorated with a red Chinese dragon that wrapped around the bottom of it and pulled up onto the back of his button-up. His hands were partially covered by black fingerless gloves, with stainless steel plating over the knuckles in case he got into a fight. He had a strong, sharp facial outline that made his deep forest-green eyes stand out while also being well-framed by his short brown hair that created some bangs over his forehead and sides, but shorter towards the back. A small patch of light orange hair adorned his chin, which gave him the overall appearance of a tough cowboy, but even he knew deep down that he couldn't ignore the loneliness he felt many a time.

The next person she saw was a boy of a tanner complexion who laid flat on the raggedy carpeting in a comfortable, yet form-fitting red zipper hoodie. His short black hair was trimmed and lined up in such a way that it sharpened his features ever moreso. His eyes were a steel-honey brown mix that was accentuated by his sharp cheekbones. He was lean and stood at a tall 5'11, although he was still slightly shorter than his companion who measured up to a stunning 6'2. He wore long black jeans with short chains and a pair of black boots. If there was one feature that really made him stand out in a way he didn't like to stand out, it would be his eyes. It wasn't just the odd color combination that got many people staring, but it was just how lifeless his eyes appeared. No matter how hard he tried to smile, that smile could never truly reach his empty eyes, it was as if his eyes killed any emotion that dared to show itself. A black Labrador dog lay next to him, slowly wagging its tail while he scratched the dog behind the ears. A very small, subtle smile splayed across his face.

"Hmm" A smile danced across her face and she chuckled to herself lightly. "This one may just definitely work… a boy, his close friend, and their dog." She smiled and then closed her eyes as she began to chant in a language not known by many. The few who DID happen to understand the language she was speaking would've known that she was practicing a magical art.

-
"I'm glad we have you here, Gypsy. Who knows where Graham and I would be without you" he whispered to the dog, her ears perking up at the genuine praise. The dog had completely black fur, and was about 7 years old but still played like a young puppy. She carried a chew toy in the shape of a candy cane. The only thing she wore was a red collar, with some identification on a little slate of metal. Both of them lived in a small apartment, but the place was a dump. The sad part was that neither of them could hold up a job; Graham because he wasn't too keen on the people he was working for, and the still-unnamed young man because people were routinely disturbed and in the end didn't like interacting with him.

"Hey Aramis, looks like none of us are eating anything today. We're completely out… I'm sorry" he looked down guiltily from the last cabinet he had checked. Gypsy approached her master and whined a little, but nuzzled his leg to reassure him she was fine. All it did was make him frown further at how he had let down the only two people he would consider family.

"Don't feel bad, bro. It certainly isn't anyone's fault and you know it." Aramis replied in support. He smiled and then sighed a bit as he got up from his chair and looked at the city of New York.

"What a city...to think we came here to find a good job, all for naught..." Gypsy whined a bit with her chew toy, knowing that playing with her would cheer him right up. He looked down at her and chuckled. Aramis slowly got up and walked over to him. Graham gave him a look and he knew that it was time to play a little.

"OK girl, OK. Here, fetch!"

He chucked it across the room as the dog grabbed it with her teeth gently and skipped over to him. He took the toy and raised it over him. "Want it? Hm? Go get it." He said as he whipped it across the room to Aramis, who caught it one-handed. She sat on her hind legs and waited for him to hand it over.

"If you want it, ya' gotta earn it girl. Roll over!" he commanded with a rare playful laugh. She rolled over back and forth as if she was playing on grass. When she finished, she barked and started begging for the toy.

"Here you go girl. You earned it. Haha" he laughed quietly. She trotted off with her chew toy to the kitchen where the two headed over. The two close friends sat at the table and relaxed while Aramis quietly drank from his cup of water he had left on the table. A bright light began to fill the room, but they dismissed it as the sunset beginning to shine on their window. It kept getting more and more intense. The two men and Gypsy stood up in alert and looked at the light that absorbed the three of them.

"Huh?" was all Graham said before he felt a pulling sensation.

"The hell is going on?" Aramis spoke out loud, as he too was pulled in, Gypsy barking after them shortly before also being pulled in.

What was this white light?

Where was he being dragged to?

They could only imagine...

Tennis with Thoughts: Note 1

Doomlord1234: When I first started this series, I wanted to have a sort of humble beginning for the main character. It was originally supposed to be a trip through a dream, but I found it lacking in detail as I went along. When I restarted the chapter, it ended up like this. Nothing much to see here. The Updated chapter however, will be boosted with more emotion and life, in my view. I hope you share the same feeling like I do upon this mastered retelling of the story. The old chapter was renamed to "Three is a Lucky Number". The reason why the dream story was so lacking was because nopony likes a story where nothing truly happened. So I went with the reality toss. And it worked. A lot of you guys really liked this pitch, so when nothings broke why fix it, you know?

Henry Anthony Courtler: Although I'm relatively new to the concept of FiM stories (I've only been reading them since last Saturday, December 3rd, 2011), I knew some information here and there regarding the back story, the characters, and the bit of plot that carries on; I was never too keen on digging in on it. The show was still very new and fresh off the oven, and I have a tendency to wait for things to cool down and see how good they are. Once I started reading fics, I really couldn't stop if I tried. One day, I ran across Friendship is a Miracle by Doomlord while browsing through the M category (as I'm not a fan of kiddy works and I prefer downright moody stories), and I was instantly hooked on it. Sadly, I walked in towards the last two chapters remaining, but I enjoyed reading it. His author notes left me giggling and almost waking up the house at night. The story felt more down to earth and sincere than some of the other human in Equestria stories that seems to make the human the most beloved and amazing creature they've seen since sliced bread. I understand that people like those kinds of stories, but I'm more into plot and development than the whole "perfect day" kind of story.

Before I even had the chance to start re-writing this chapter, Doomlord had begged me to make a character to join his sporadic adventure and thus Aramis was born. He is a character that will make a big entry on the second story in the series as a main character. I figured main character needs a true close friend with them; otherwise it would be very hollow and rather empty. You'll see many adventures with Aramis in tow, but one specific thing should be kept in mind: He will be getting his own adventure and very plot, and character orientated story that will keep only a small portion of the core cast of our series, which will hopefully be growing soon.

This isn't the average rehash that most authors usually do eventually to attract more people. No, this is a total remastering of the original source and although my character may make you think otherwise, believe us when we say, It is only for the best, since the original source needed some good iron working and major tweaks. Both of us agreed on this, and here is the fruition of our work. We hope you enjoy it!