Spike was completely speechless! How had it come to this? How had he allowed himself to give away the secret he'd gone to such great lengths to conceal? What should he say? What should he do?
Rarity, for her part, couldn't help but put a hoof to her mouth as she seemed to be trying not to giggle. "Really, I can't believe I didn't see it sooner. I mean, it was so obvious! To think, all it took was a mask and a cape, and even I couldn't recognize you."
"...Well," Spike struggled to think of how to respond. "T...that was the point, actually. I thought it was so obvious it would throw everypony off. And it seems it did, until now, anyway."
"Does Twilight know about this? Or have you been keeping her in the dark as well?" Rarity half questioned/half demanded. "Don't lie to me, Spike."
Swallowing hard, the little dragon confessed. "She knows. It'd be pretty hard for her not to know. I kind of needed her help to lead this double life," Then he sighed, hanging his head in shame. "It wasn't supposed to be like this. You weren't supposed to find out."
At that the fashionista humphed and swished her tail in protest. "Really, Spike? You really thought that keeping something like this a secret from me was a good idea? Did you think I wouldn't understand? After all we've been through together, after how long we've known each other, haven't we both learned not to keep secrets from one another? Or is your not-so-secret crush on me just a part of your act?"
Spike could only look at the ground in shame. This was the kind of conversation he'd been dreading to have, and it was why he'd repeatedly convinced himself not to tell Rarity. Yet the truth was out there now. He thought briefly about perhaps trying to find a way to erase Rarity's memories, only enough to make her forget what she'd just found out. But ultimately, he decided against it. "I can't take this back! I can't run away from the consequences!" He thought to himself.
The fashionista unicorn, for her part, just continued to glare at the little dragon. She was not going to be satisfied until she had answers. "Well, Spike, I'm waiting. Has everything I've ever known about you been a lie? This whole time, were you just fawning over me as a distraction, to keep me from finding out the truth?"
It took a while for the dragon to find the courage to speak, let alone the words. "No, Rarity, none of that was an act. It was all true. I didn't even find out about my powers, about who I really was, until a few years ago. And when I did, I realized that I had an obligation to save the world! To protect it from evil!" A sigh escaped his lips. "I regarded it as my burden and my burden alone. Even our... feelings towards each other was something that could be a distraction. And like I said earlier, I feared that if you found out, you'd be put in danger because of me."
"Well, I ended up being put in danger anyway, or have you forgotten what transpired with Filthy Rich a while back?" Rarity snorted and rolled her eyes. "Really, Spike? Do you really think so little of me that you think I can't protect myself or your secret?" But then, perhaps realizing how aggressive and confrontational she was being, she trotted forward and sweetly said to him. "I'm sorry, Spike. I know this must've been tearing you up inside. It's really my fault for prying. You should've never felt pressured or obligated to confess just for my sake."
Spike did his best to fight back a raging blush, and a guilty feeling welling up inside of him. "Well, I can't take it back now. Now you know, the truth is out there. I should feel relieved, like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. But..." He trailed off as his lips quivered, his body appearing to tremble ever so slightly.
Rarity simply pulled Spike into a hug and began stroking his scales with a hoof. "Oh, Spike," She sweetly and sympathetically said. "This is uncharted territory for the both of us, even more so than when I learned of your crush on me," A smile formed on her lips as she continued. "I think it's very brave and noble of you to do what you do. You're very much like a knight in shining armor. Even so, you can't always be everywhere at once. You can't always save everyone, no matter how hard you try. But that's why you have Twilight, and I, and all of our friends. This doesn't have to be just your burden anymore."
Spike stammered. "R-Rarity!"
The fashionista just replied. "I know, I know. You can't just give powers willy-nilly. And I've no interest in joining you. I'm simply saying that having others in on your secret isn't necessarily a bad thing. And things don't have to change between us just because I now know about your double life," Locking eyes with Spike, she added. "Whatever happens next, we can face it together. Don't we owe each other that much?"
Spike wanted to answer Rarity, but he couldn't think of whether or not he agreed with what she was saying. It all sounded so tempting to believe her, to believe that things could still work out. He found himself very conflicted, torn between his feelings to Rarity on the one claw, and the obligations he believed he owed to Equestria (and to the world as a whole) on the other.
As the dragon thought more about his dilemma, his heightened sense of hearing picked up a sound very familiar to him. "Rarity, can you hear that?" He asked her.
Rarity blinked in confusion. "Hear what, Spike? I can't hear a thing."
"Ponies are in danger! I know it!" Spike insisted as he turned around! "There's no time to lose! This is a job for Super Dragon!" With his mind made up on the matter, he began to race back down the stairs in a blur of motion! As he did so, it was possible to see parts of his costume start to materialize on him almost from out of nowhere: The all too familiar (to Rarity at least) black boots, long, flowing red cape, and dark blue shirt with red on the arm and neck bands, with a yellow shield with red on the outside corners. Inside the shield, a big, red S was emblazoned into the very center. And of course, there was the face mask. Amazing how a simple piece of black cloth could completely change his identity.
Rarity could only stand there in speechlessness, watching as the brave hero took to the skies. The whole process had taken only seconds. It had happened so fast she would've surely missed it had she blinked. She wanted to say something, to call out after him. But she couldn't think of what to say, or if her words would reach him at all. So she just continued to stand there, processing a whirlwind of emotions swirling around inside of her.
Now fully immersed into his alter ego, Super Dragon flew as fast as he could towards the source of distress! Yet even as he did so, he found that he couldn't stop his thoughts from drifting towards Rarity. The more he tried not to think about her, the more she kept creeping back into his mind. This is what he'd feared, why he'd put off telling her.
Eventually, with a groan, Super Dragon pressed on ahead. "I can't deal with this right now! I have to save the ponies!" He told himself, and continued to fly.
At last, the source of distress that had prompted the desperate cries for help revealed itself to the caped crusader. It was an out of control trolley wagon! Its brakes had completely failed, it wasn't slowing down! The ponies onboard clung desperately to their seats as their transport rolled along for mile after mile, buildings flashing by in the blink of an eye! All the while, it continued to pick up speed.
Yet suddenly, there was an audible whooshing sound! And then, who should appear alongside the rapidly accelerating trolley wagon but Super Dragon himself in all his glory?
"Super Dragon's here! We're saved!" Ponies began to clap and cheer!
"Is everypony alright?" Super Dragon asked as he flew alongside the trolley, effortlessly keeping up with it.
One of the ponies (who had a camera around his neck) nodded. "We are now, thanks to you! Hurry up and stop this trolley! It's out of control!"
Super Dragon silently nodded, then flew ahead of the trolley and put his entire body weight against it! Yet despite throwing every ounce of super strength he could muscle up, the trolley only just barely slowed. His legs dug into the ground as he scraped along, mile after mile passing by the trolley showed no signs of truly stopping. He pushed with all his might, but seemed to be making very little headway! It almost seemed like he was distracted.
Suddenly, as if realizing the futility of his actions, Super Dragon released his grip on the trolley and flew up! Then he swooped down again, flying back and forth to either side of it to snatch ponies out of their seats and deposit them safely on grass. He was just in time, because as soon as the last pony had safely been extracted from the trolley, the trolley itself began to roll down a steep and winding slope! At the end of said slope rested a huge cliff!
A horrified gasp escaped the masked, caped dragon's lips as he flew after the trolley! He grabbed it from behind, digging in and grunting as he scraped along the ground in a desperate attempt to bring it to a halt! But gravity itself was working against him, hindering his efforts.
Then, just as the trolley was about to plunge over the side of the cliff, Super Dragon got an idea! Still grasping the back end of the trolley, he shut his eyes and concentrated as he began trying to lift it!
The gathered crowd watched in awe and wonder as they saw the trolley slowly but surely began to rise into the air! Super Dragon was lifting it as if it were a toy. They continued to watch, their eyes following every movement as the trolley was floated along in mid-air, then slowly and safely set down with its back end facing forwards and its front facing towards the back. The trolley had been stopped! Everypony was saved!
"Amazing!" A tourist pony exclaimed as he readied his camera and snapped a picture! "The Super Dragon! Is there anything he can't do?"
Several other ponies began to whisper to themselves, awe struck by the incredible feats of strength and agility they had just witnessed. They had never seen anything like it anywhere before.
But Super Dragon showed little interest in basking in the crowd's admiration. He was looking down at them with uncertainty, almost as if his thoughts were elsewhere.
Suddenly, much to the shock of the crowd, Super Dragon flew off without saying a word! That wasn't like him at all.
As he flew along, Super Dragon found that yet again, Rarity was occupying his thoughts. Try as he might, he couldn't stop thinking about her. And he knew it'd be foolish to try to make her forget about what she'd learned, what she now knew.
By the time he reached Twilight's castle, Super Dragon's resolve had hardened. There was only one thing he could think to do to deal with this dilemma. And he knew there was one pony he had to talk this over with: Twilight herself.