The first part of King Kai's training had been a hoot; almost literally. Applejack had told him the story of when Pinkie Pie was found out to be part of the Apple Family, and they'd set off on a wacky journey to make sure. Goten had told a silly joke he claimed to have heard from Trunks about a old lady and a car; Apple Bloom hadn't found it very funny, but she hadn't expected to after knowing Trunks came up with it. King Kai had only chuckled at it himself, but that counted so Goten passed.
Apple Bloom herself had told a joke she had heard from Scootaloo years ago; it had taken her a while to remember how it went, but once she remembered it right, King Kai hadn't stopped laughing for a full two minutes.
She thought of Scootaloo in that moment; her only surviving friend had learned how to fly a few weeks after Sweetie Belle was put to rest. Once she did that, she signed up for the Wonderbolts just like her idol, Rainbow Dash, had done. She passed the entrance exam and left for the academy a few months later. They'd sent each other letters, but after she got out of the academy, she was immediately deployed to Saddle Arabia; the letters to each other just got less and less frequent before it stopped all together.
As far as Apple Bloom knew, she just might actually be dead; killed in action, maybe. She wasn't totally sure in any case.
She shook herself out of the saddening memory and looked into the face of Goten, and her heart melted back into happiness as her eyes met his. The two had taken rest under the tree near King Kai's small abode, and she had snuggled up to Goten, who apparently hadn't minded one bit.
Apple Bloom started to say something, but stopped herself mid exhale.
Goten looked down to her, a small amount of confusion mixed with curiosity on his features. "What's up, Apple Bloom?"
"Oh.." she started to say. "..it's..."
She wanted to bring up the kiss again. She was just so bugged that he hadn't brought it up already as she was hoping he would; it had been a bold move on her part, and now all that boldness had long since left her.
"..Nothin'.." she smiled up at him, nuzzling against his chest. "I just...really like relaxin' with ya..."
Why was it she could fight ice-monsters and train with brutal saiyans, but couldn't tell Goten what she wanted to tell him? It didn't make good sense.
From across the yard, Applejack watched as her little sister cuddled up to the half-saiyan under the tree. She couldn't help but keep a little smile from working it's way across her mouth. Her little sister was absolutely infatuated with the biped.
She knew relationships like that were frowned upon in most circles of society, but it didn't bother her too much, so long as both of them truly felt for one another. But that was the thing that puzzled her; Goten didn't seem to be returning the same looks and smiles Apple Bloom was giving to him. His were more of the friendly variety; like ones she herself would've given to Rainbow Dash or Rarity back on Equestria.
He didn't have a clue about Apple Bloom's feelings, did he? If he did, he was doing an amazing job of friendzoning the young mare from Ponyville.
She decided when they had a moment after training, she'd ask him about it. She just hoped Apple Bloom wouldn't get upset when she did.
King Kai finally came out, and Goten, Apple Bloom, and Applejack walked awkwardly towards him, the gravity situation still plaguing them a bit. Judging by the look on King Kai's face, that was what he wanted.
"Ok, good work on the laugh part of the training." he began. "You really know some gut-busters! Hehe! Anyway, the next phase of training is simple."
"What is it?" Apple Bloom spoke up.
King Kai simply pointed to the right. The group followed his finger, and their eyes fell upon a monkey. The primate was standing upright, picking his nose, and inspecting what he pulled out like a jeweler.
"You're next training phase is to catch Bubbles."
They all looked at him unbelievingly; the kai didn't bust up laughing, but continued to point at Bubbles the Monkey. He was serious.
"How hard can this be?" Apple Bloom piped up. "I'll catch him in no time!"
She started to lumber heavily over to the monkey, the gravity still trying to drag her body down. As she neared the staring primate, he suddenly zipped around at took off at high speeds away from her.
All three trainees looked surprised at the monkey's speed in such extreme gravity. Maybe this was going to be harder than they originally thought.
* * *
Vegeta walked through the market place on the dusty, cracked earth that passed for a road in these parts. He was out in the middle of the desert, and this little vendor's meet was the only civilization within two-hundred miles. Well, he supposed it wasn't really small; there were hundreds upon hundreds of shops-on-wheels lined up in several long rows. Still, it was quant compared to his usual living habits; he hadn't had to "rough it" so to speak in a long time.
Everyone here was staring at him strangely, like he was a strange creature that had crawled from the depths of the sand. That didn't surprise him; they were all wearing dirty cloth, turbans, and other such desert-faring gear as opposed to his sleeveless leather jacket and jeans look and his hairstyle.
None of this really bothered him though; he merely kept staring at the dragon radar as he followed it coordinates to where it said the Dragon Ball was located. He swore if he found t in someone's "for sale" basket, he was going to--
"Miracle orb here! Fell straight from the sky; gives good luck! Offers are welcomed!" A noisy shopkeeper cried out.
Vegeta's eyes followed the sound of the voice, and he rolled them in their sockets as he noticed the peddler hoisting the three-star Dragon Ball into the air, obviously hoping to get a ton of money for it.
He took a deep breath, hoping he wouldn't have to haggle too much.
Walking over, he shouted over the many people shouting out offers of zeni for the orange orb. "Hey, you! How much would you take for that ball? Name your price."
The shopkeeper blinked at the newcomer, and put on a thoughtful face. After a moment, he laughed a little.
"You do not look like he type that can afford my highest asking price. Your wardrobe suggests low income, and most likely job with mechanics, namely motorcycles. No, no, I do not think you can afford tis magical orb."
Vegeta didn't change his calm and slightly bored expression. "Just name your price. Any price you want."
The vendor blinked, then grinned. "How does the price of five million zeni sound to your wallet?"
Without blinking, Vegeta opened his capsule wallet and pulled out several bundles of the paper bills. "Six million zeni, up front. How's that sound to your wallet?"
The old peddler was basically drooling over the massive amount of money the saiyan prince was holding. Without a second thought, the deal was closed. Marrying Bulma had more perks than just one, it seemed.
Vegeta began to walk off with the Dragon Ball in his possession, and prepared to fly off; a voice from behind him, low and slow sounding, stopped him.
"Excuse me," It said. "what would it take to get that Dragon Ball off your hands?"
Vegeta began to turn and face the stranger. "It's not for sa---a--ale-?!"
He lost all train of thought when he saw the person behind him; black clad in a coat and armor with an insignia of the three-star ball over his heart. It was one of "them."
His face was fairly pale, his eyes an impossibly brilliant purple with intense crow's feet under them; his dark brown hair, short and unkempt, somehow making his aged features look regal. He was tall as well; standing what Vegeta estimated to be nearly seven feet tall.
There seemed to be a small and barely visible whirlwind of sand particles orbiting around him as he look down on Vegeta, his head tilted upwards in a creepy fashion.
The saiyan prince started to back away slowly; the power level this ominous fighter was giving off was overwhelming.
Vegeta took off running; there was no use in flying, he'd just follow him. He needed to lose him in he maze of shops; only then could he safely flee from this fighter.
The tall man stared after the fleeing Vegeta, a strange look of bloodlust in his eyes. "I love when they run.."