The hustle and bustle of the school cafeteria was about on par with what most students expected of it, with many of them having difficulty even hearing themselves think over all of the chatter of the different groups packed in here. But, in spite of that, things were of a friendly tone here today, with not a sour face to be seen amongst the large crowd of youths eating their lunches. In the middle of it all, at their usual table, Rainbow, Applejack and the rest of the group locally known as the "Rainbooms" were all happily sitting beside one another, as they usually did at this time. After a good deal of silence amongst them, however, it was Rainbow who finally broke it.

"So, I hear you've got some big gig coming up, eh, Rares?"

Rarity cracked a smile to that, sweeping aside some of her hair before replying to her friend.

"Indeed I do! Coco has been very kind to put my name forward for a local fashion showcase being held in the city. With any luck, I'll be catching some noteworthy eyes here and there."

Looking to her companion, Pinkie broke out into her usual wide grin.

"That's super-great, Rarity!"

And, as expected, the pink-haired girl moved closer and embraced the young fashionista in a tight hug, which the latter, at this point, took in stride, much to the amusement of their friends. But, moments after the hug had ended, it was then Fluttershy's turn to speak, having scoured the rest of their table beforehand.

"Um...has anybody seen Sunset?"

It was as if they'd only now realised the absence of their former unicorn colleague, as many of the girls started looking around themselves, a look of surprise upon their faces.

"Huh...now that you mention it, I guess I haven't, Flutters," Rainbow replied.

But, before anybody else had a chance to say anything, Applejack, with a smile of her own, pointed ahead and spoke first.

"Hold up, y'all. There she is!"

The girls all turned in unison, and sure enough, there she was. Sunset was just a few tables over from where they were, and while they were, at first, confused as to why she was not sitting with them, they soon got their explanation. For it was mere seconds later that they noticed that she was not alone over there, as Flash, her boyfriend, was seated beside her. Realising this, Rarity let out a sigh, observing the couple with an almost admiring glance.

"Well, far be it from me to interrupt a happy couple."

Rainbow chuckled.

"Yeah. Sunset spends a lot of time with us, so I guess it's only fair she spend lunch with her BF every once in a while."

There was a round of nods to that statement, which ended when the girls all noticed that Pinkie, in a rather uncharacteristic fashion, was looking to the far-away couple with some confusion.

"Hmmm...is it me...or are they really happy over there?"

As before, the group turned, and saw, just as Pinkie said, that there was indeed a jovial tone to Sunset and Flash over there. They were leaning close to each other, whispering a few things, even laughing together. Looking back to Pinkie, it was Rarity who spoke next.

"Well, they are dating, Pinkie. It's only natural for them to have that kind of joy around each other."

Pinkie nodded, but kept her more serious expression.

"Yeah...but I know happy, and that over there is really happy."

It was as if curiosity had suddenly taken control of the group, as they yet again looked over to their two friends across the lunch room. They couldn't put their finger on it, but there was something about their interactions that seemed even more close than what they were used to seeing from them. It was made all the more suspicious when, all of a sudden, Flash leaned closer to Sunset, whispering something in her ear. Sunset covered her mouth afterwards, playfully pushing him away, all while stifling a giggle of her own, with a blush right across her face as she did so. Seeing that, Applejack raised an eyebrow.

"Huh...that does seem a bit more...chummy than usual."

While there was yet again a chorus of agreeing murmurs amongst the group, none of them said anything. No, that duty went to the one who now approached their table without them noticing.

"Yeah...they've done it."

Immediately, all girls turned, and saw that it was their ex-enemy, Aria. The Siren had her hands upon her hips, looking out to Sunset and Flash, and wore a knowing smirk.

"That kind of stuff? And at their age? Oh yeah, we've got some action going on there."

Many of the girls seemed utterly shocked to hear such a thing, Rarity especially, who stifled a gasp before looking to Aria in a somewhat indignant manner.

"I'll grant you that they seem a touch more...affectionate than normal, but...that's no reason to go and assume that they've...done that sort of thing."

Looking to her, Aria let out a dry laugh.

"Trust me, Rares, if there's anyone who's going to recognise a just-done-it face, it's a Siren."

Naturally, none of the others seemed willing to accept the kind of massive news their friend had just bestowed upon them. But, as they turned once more in the direction of Sunset, they did so just in time to witness yet more affectionate behaviour between her and Flash. Sunset had taken to looking down at her plate of food, which contained, at this moment, a small cherry tomato. She gave Flash a look that could only be described as sultry, before picking up her nearby fork and picking up the tomato with it. Carefully, she offered it to Flash, who gave her a similarly sly grin, before opening his mouth and just letting her put the thing in. As one would expect, this led to blushes and hanging jaws for all of the other girls.

"Okay...I'm no relationship expert, but...that seems like a pretty big red light to me," Rainbow commented.

This time, Rarity seemed to stumble.

"Well...erm...I suppose. But...maybe she just felt Flash hadn't eaten enough?"

She was stretching at this point, as evidenced by the incredulous look Rainbow gave her. But, she didn't get the opportunity to respond, as yet another unexpected voice suddenly spoke up.

"What's that about my brother?"

All heads turned, and beside their table, they saw Scootaloo, looking up at them innocently.

"Scoots?! How long have you been there?!" Rainbow asked.

Scootaloo shrugged her shoulders.

"A few seconds. Why?"

Rainbow opened her mouth to speak, only to be shot a dark look by her other friends, Aria included, which prompted her to shut herself up. Instead, she scratched the back of her head in a nervous manner, before speaking to the youth in a similar tone.

"Um...so Scoots? Have you noticed anything, you know...odd about your brother?"

Scootaloo then tilted her head.

"Flash? Er...no, not really."

There was a round of unsure glances around the table, which ended when the younger girl spoke up again.

"Although...there was that time earlier this week when he stayed over at Sunset's."

The moment she'd spoken those words, all of the girls widened their eyes.

"Um...stayed over?" Fluttershy asked nervously.

Scootaloo nodded.

"Yep. Must have been doing some kind of study thing or something."

As before, nervousness was the order of the day on the faces of all the other girls. That is, except for Aria, who simply bore a clear and unmistakeable "I told you so" look about her. The Siren gave the others a little wave, then started to move off, looking very pleased with herself. As for the others girls they stayed silent for a bit, only to be interrupted when Scootaloo spoke up in a more urgent tone.

"Oh! I see Sweetie and Bloom over there! Gotta go!"

And go she did, running off in the direction of her friends, leaving the Rainbooms alone with their thoughts. After almost a full minute of silence amongst them, it was Applejack who finally said something.

"Well...that about settles it."

Pinkie looked to her and nodded.

"Yeah, but...why wouldn't Sunset tell us about this?"

Turning, Rarity spoke in a softer tone.

"Well, as much as I trust you girls, I must confess that, were I to have a lover of my own, I would feel at least somewhat inclined to keep it to myself, for a time anyway."

Fluttershy nodded.

"Maybe...they just wanted to have this to themselves for a bit?"

Leaning back into her chair, Rainbow sighed.

"Yeah...makes sense, I guess."

Then, slowly, a smirk crept upon her face.

"So...they finally bumped uglies? Nice."

Rarity snapped her head in her direction.

"Rainbow!"

The athlete chuckled.

"Hey, I'm just joking! Besides...I know you want to talk about it!"

Turning away, Rarity gave a little "hmph" before answering.

"Yes, well...I like to think I'd do it with a little more grace than you."

While Rainbow would have probably spoken further on that point, she was briefly interrupted by Twilight, formerly of Crystal Prep, who had been silent for this entire conversation thus far. The spectacled girl clasped her hands together and had a look that would not have been out-of-place with stars in her eyes.

"Oooh! This is so exciting! I could write an entire thesis on this! The effects and outcomes of inter-dimensional relationships and breeding! Think of the grants!"

But, her joy was short-lived, as she glanced around the table, seeing the incredulous look on the faces of all of her friends, leading to her smile fading somewhat.

"Or...maybe...you know...just let them have their privacy for a bit."

A chuckle emerged from Rainbow at that, and she gave the girl a friendly pat on the shoulder, much to her appreciation. Soon afterwards, the girls, after looking at each other awkwardly, started to huddle closer together, with looks of hesitancy and excitement abound for each of them. Many things were discussed between them, like what this might mean for the two lovers, or even, on Rainbow's part, what kind of jokes they can make in future.

But, as they discussed the matter, they failed to notice that, even with all of the chatter and noise of the cafeteria around them, the ears of the surrounding tables were not as dull as they would have hoped.