As Spike woke up in his old bedroom, having stayed the night in the castle he called home, he was met by Ember as he exited his room. Ember was the captain of Equestria's Order of the Dragoons, which meant she she was in command of all the dragon soldiers of the Royal Navy and Army. She saluted him and said, "Greetings my prince. I was made aware of your arrival last night, but I didn't want to disturb you at the time."

Spike stretched his arms yawning, "And you thought disturbing me as I just woke up would be a better idea?"

Ember flinched lightly and cleared her throat, "I just wanted to inform you that the time has come for the test."

Spike's eyes widened, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was about to earn his wings, an old dragon tradition to celebrate a young dragon's coming of age by testing the dragon to see if their wings will grow or if they are still too young to grow their wings. He smiled, "I suppose that's enough to be woken up so early. I suppose we'll be going to The Forge?"

Ember nodded, "Yes, right after you've had breakfast, I've assembled a squad of my best Dragoons to accompany you to the Forge to oversee your trials."

Spike smiled, "Thank you Ember. I assume my mother and crew have been notified?"

Ember nodded, "Yes, I've informed your family as well as the crew of the HMS Pinafore. The pirates you recruited in Skull Island seem to be avoiding the guard. Are they perhaps criminals? I mean, other than piracy of course."

Spike shook his head, "No, they're not wanted criminals, the guards are just making them a bit uncomfortable, watching them as if they're waiting for them to screw up so they can arrest them."

Ember sighed, "I suppose we have been suspicious of our guests. I will inform the Dragoons to be more polite to them. I will see you at the private docks when you are ready to head to The Forge. I'll be off." before leaving.

Spike went down to the dining hall and saw his crew eating breakfast, and asked, "Have you guys been being hassled with the guards?"

Time Turner took a bite of his bacon and said, "I know royal guards are supposed to protect the royal family, but they're being terrible hosts. Your family is much different though, I'll say that."

Spike sighed, "Yeah, I'll have my mother talk to them. Ember just met me upstairs, and I need to tell you guys something. I'm going to be going away for a few days, on my own."

Adagio raised an eyebrow, "What's this about? Is it some sort of royal thing?"

Morgan thought for a moment before saying, "If I remember my lessons on Equestrian traditions, I believe the captain might be going to a place called 'The Forge.' It's a place in Equestria where all dragons go to earn their wings, a sign of maturity within dragon culture."

Spike was surprised at how much Morgan knew about Equestrian traditions, but nodded, "She's right. I'm heading out to The Forge after breakfast. My family and the girls are already aware of this, but Ember said it'd be best if I tell you because of how uncomfortable you are with the guards."

The crew nodded in agreement, and Morgan said, "I completely understand, The Forge is restricted to dragons only by some sort of magic, even if Spike wants us to come, we can't, it's taboo to bring outsiders to The Forge. Even the Queen herself isn't allowed."

Spike nodded, "She's right, I have to do this on my own. I'll be back in about a week, and hopefully when I'm back, I'll have earned my wings."

Bulk Biceps raised his glass and said, "A toast for good luck to you captain."

Spike smiled and rose his own glass to clink with his crew's glasses and then sat down to eat his breakfast. When he was finished, he headed out to the Royal Family's private dock to meet Ember and the other Dragoons.

As Spike arrived, some of the older Dragoons gave their words of encouragement, as well as retelling their own trip to The Forge to earn their own wings.

Ember smiled as Spike made his way onto the boat, only for her to frown when another Dragoon, easily the most annoying and cocky of them, Garble, laughed and said, "We're taking the runt to The Forge? What a joke!" before being surrounded by other Dragoons

Ember walked up on to the ship and said, "Don't forget Garble, you've been to The Forge three times now, and you still don't have your wings." before moving behind the disrespectful Dragoon and ripping off his fake wings, causing everyone, including Spike, to laugh. "Now, if you're going to be like this during Spike's first trip to The Forge, you can stay home."

Garble gulped and looked down as the others laughed, "Screw you guys! I don't need my wings to be a good Dragoon!"

One of the Dragoons rolled his eyes, "Don't forget, you're still at the bottom of the totem pole, and that's because you've failed your trials three times. Honestly, you're a disgrace to the Dragoons."

Garble growled and before he could punch the other Dragoon, Spike intervened and said, "That's enough out of you, Garble. I should have done this a long time ago." before ripping the Dragoon Emblem from Garble's uniform, "You're relieved of your status as a Dragoon, so get the hell out of here. You've been bullying me since I was young, you have no respect for the royal family or anyone other than yourself. Get out, before I throw you off this ship myself."

Garble growled, and yelled, "You can't relieve me of duty, you little runt! What sort of prince gets rid of his best Dragoon!?"

Spike rolled his eyes, "I'm not getting rid of Ember, I'm getting rid of you, now piss off and leave or I'll throw you off myself."

Garble laughed, "I'd like to see you-" before Spike walked up to him, grabbed him by the collar of his uniform and flipped him over his back and off the ship. Garble stood up and said, "Ah to Tartarus with this! I took an oath to protect the Royal Family, not some little brat! If Queen Celestia wasn't your mother, I'd-" When he saw the other Dragoons salute, he looked behind him to see that the Queen was standing right behind him.

Celestia said, "At ease Dragoons. As for you Garble, my son's decision stands, you are disrespectful not only to the royal family, but to your commanding officers, and the people you also serve to protect. You are no longer a member of the Royal Dragoons. You're lucky, because one of the butlers retired and you'll make a fine replacement."

Garble gulped and bowed, "Y-Yes my queen... I... I understand." before walking back into the castle, sniffling and shedding a few tears.

Ember smiled, "Thank you my queen, Garble has been getting on my last nerves, so it's much better we don't have him on our trip to The Forge."

Celestia nodded, "Even as a butler, he probably won't learn his lesson. At this rate, I'll have to send him to the dungeons one of these days." She walked up and kissed Spike's forehead, "I know I'm not allowed to go to The Forge with you, but I wanted to give you this, your father's old amulet. I like to think that your father would be overjoyed to see you heading to The Forge, so take it with you." before putting a necklace with a dragon charm hanging from it around her son's neck. "Good luck Spike, I can't wait to see you pass your trials and earn your wings."

Spike smiled, "Thanks mom, this means a lot." before heading onto the ship and having them set sail.

And so, Spike sets off on a journey to The Forge in order to earn his wings, a sign of maturity within dragon culture. Said culture forbids bringing anyone who is not a Dragon to The Forge, so Spike must complete his trials without the help of his crew if he wishes to earn his wings. Will he earn his wings and prove himself worthy of being called a true Dragon? Only time will tell...

Next Chapter: Spike Earns His Wings (Part 2) Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 43 Minutes