Chapter 117: The Heart of Family Part 2: Journey for a Blessing

In the Land of the Dead, Twilight and her friends were walking with Miguel and his family along with Spyro, who they were happy to see again as they walked through the station and everyone there was starring at Miguel, seeing a living boy in the land for the dead and a bunch of ponies walking with the family into a room where there were a lot of people trying to get to the Land of the Living for Día Del Muertos until they heard someone shouting to see someone in charge, looking over to see a woman yelling at one of the workers before taking a shoe and threatening her with it, smashing the computer and making the ponies flinch, instantly fearful of the woman. They then approached the angry woman, Pinkie and twilight staying behind Spyro as they approached her.

"Mamá Imelda." Julio said, the woman pointing her shoe at him and causing him to turtle, pulling his hat over his head.

"Oh, mí familia!" Imelda said. "They wouldn't let me cross. Tell this woman and her devil box that my photo is on the Ofrenda!"

"Well there's a good chance it isn't." Spyro said, walking up.

"Señor VanVickle!" Imelda said, looking surprised.

"Wow, you're popular here." Shining Armor said.

"Did that... horse just talk?" Imelda asked, making the ponies face smack themselves.

"We really need to get some informative brochures to let everyone know we're ponies." Twilight said.

"Oh, I got some here with me!" Pinkie said, reaching into her mane and pulling some out.

Everyone was starring at Pinkie, wondering where she got those made before returning their attention to Imelda.

"Well... we never made it to the Oferenda." Julio said.

"What?" Imelda asked. "Why?"

"Well, we ran into... a complication." Julio replied, everyone stepping aside to show Miguel to her, which shocked her.

"Miguel!?" Imelda asked.

"Heh, Hola Mamá Imelda." Miguel said.

"What's going on here?" Imelda asked.

"That's what we want to know." Twilight said. "From What Spyro said, he says Miguel is cursed."

"Cursed!?" Imelda asked as a clerk came into the room.

"You the Rivera family?" The clerk asked as everyone looked at him.

"Sí, we are." Rosita replied.

"Come with me please." The clerk said.

They all walked towards the clerk and into his office, where he already had a file out and was looking it over, reaching over and taking a book as he read it as well while everyone waited for the clerk to announce what kind of curse they were dealing with and why he was cursed. While waiting, Spyro was sitting down in a chair near the desk while Twilight and Pinkie had their heads in his bony lap, Luna leaning into him as they smiled.

"I still can't believe you're here." Twilight said. "Most times, you only appear to us in visions."

"Well, when being a spirit, you're limited by some rules on what you can and can't do." Spyro replied. "Here in the Land of the Dead I'm not limited by those rules, freely manifesting whenever I want, so long as my Heart Piece is in this world or the world of the living."

"Well, however you're here, it's good to see you again." Luna said.

"Yeah, like totally, awesomely, amazingly good to see you again!" Pinkie said, bouncing around. "We were totally not expecting to see you walking and talking in this world because we were going to find the heart piece, get back to the ship, move onto the next one and the next one after that, but finding you here and talking to you makes it worth it all!"

"And I see you're still got the bounce in your step little cupcake." Spyro said, leaning over and planting a kiss on Pinkie's head, which her entire body turned red.

"Well, Señor VanVickle is right." The clerk said. "Young Miguel here is cursed."

"We know that much already." Imelda said. "Why is he cursed?"

"Well, it's simple, he stole from the dead." The clerk replied.

"Wait, what?" Twilight asked, looking to Spyro.

"Día de los Muertos is a day where people set up Ofrendas to give to the dead." Spyro replied. "This means food and drink. Miguel stole something and is now cursed."

"But I wasn't stealing the guitar." Miguel said, shocking Imelda. "It belongs to my great-great grandfather. He would have wanted me to have it."

"Ah, ah, ah!" Imelda exclaimed, getting their attention. "We do not speak of him! He is dead to this family!"

"But aren't all of you dead?" Pinkie asked.

"Not the point!" Imelda said. "But it doesn't explain why I couldn't cross over to the bridge."

"Yeah, that's... sort of my fault." Miguel said, pulling out her photo and shocking everyone.

"You took my photo off the ofrenda!?" Imelda shouted.

"I didn't mean too, it was an accident." Miguel replied.

"How do we send him back!?" Imelda asked.

"Well, since this is a family matter, only a family blessing can send him back." The clerk replied.

"That's it?" Twilight asked. "That sounds simple enough."

"Yes, it's that simple." The clerk said. "But you gotta do it before sunrise!"

"Or else what?" Miguel asked.

"Miguel, your hand!" Candace exclaimed.

The boy looked at his hand and saw his finger was turning into a bony finger, causing the boy to about faint, but his uncle got him and smacked him a bit, getting him back to consciousness.

"That will happen." Spyro replied. "If you don't get a family blessing by dawn, you're dead. Plain and simple."

"But, why aren't they turning to skeletons?" Rosita asked, pointing to the ponies.

"Well, we got a spell and it did this to us." Twilight said, pulling the book out and opening it, which Imelda saw the symbol on the book and recognized it from somewhere. "Yes, here it is."

Spyro then took it and looked at the book, reading what it said before smiling.

"Ah, a transition spell." Spyro said. "It allows for someone to transition between the worlds of the living and the dead until sunrise. So once it becomes day, the spell will break, but for Miguel..."

"Not to worry, your family is here!" The clerk said, getting off his desk and looking around. "We can give you your miracle right now! Now, I just need a petal."

"You mean like this one!?" Pinkie asked, pulling one off Rosita's dress.

"Exactly!" The clerk said, taking the petal and giving it to Imelda. "Now, you say his name."

"Miguel." Imelda said, looking unamused.

"Great, now say, I give you my blessing." The clerk said.

"I give you my blessing." Imelda repeated, the petal starting to glow. "I give you my blessing to go home, put my photo back on the Ofrenda, and to never play music again!"

"What!?" Miguel and Pinkie shouted in unison.

"She can't do that!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"Yeah, that's not fair!" Miguel added.

"Well, she can put any condition she wants into the blessing." The Clerk said.

Miguel looked unhappy if not angry with his family, grunting in defeat.

"Fine." Miguel said.

"Good, now you take the blessing and..." The clerk said, everyone watching as Miguel took the petal and was covered by a storm of them, disappearing. "There you go, back in the world of the living!"

"Well that was easy!" Pinkie said. "We saved him, now all we got to do is find the Heart Piece?"

"What is this Heart Piece you're talking about?" Imelda asked.

"Well, you see-" Twilight said, getting interrupted by something hitting the desk, looking to see Miguel was back, shocking everyone.

"What happened!?" Pinkie asked.

"Not more than two seconds and you break your promise!" Imelda exclaimed.

"But it's not fair!" Miguel said, pushing past Imelda. "It's my life, I should do what I want to do!" He then picked up the petal and walked over to Julio, presenting it to him. "Julio, I'd like your blessing."

But instead of agreeing, he turtles again, Miguel then looking to Rosita, the twins and to Victoria, but none of them looked like they wanted to, breaking Miguels heart and making Spyro shake his head in disappointment at them.

"Miguel, please don't make this hard for yourself." Imelda said. "It's my way, or no way."

"Hey, your way is unfair!" Pinkie exclaimed, getting into her face.

"This is a family matter little pony, stay out of it!" Imelda said.

"No way miss Killjoy!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Miguel is right, he should do what he loves to do and not have anypony tell him what to do!"

"Pinkie, while I don't agree with Imelda, she is looking out for her great-great grandson." Spyro said. "Albeit, doing so the wrong way, but..."

"I said stay out of it!" Imelda exclaimed. "Oh no sister, if you're going to make his life miserable by taking away the one thing he loves, then you can forget it!"

"Oh yeah, and what are you going to do little pony?" Imelda asked. "I'm not going to have Miguel become like him!"

Spyro then looked over to Miguel, seeing a twinkle in his eyes and knew exactly what the young boy was going to do, smiling as he returned his attention to Pinkie and Imelda, leaning back.

"Uh, Imelda." Spyro said, getting her attention. "I suggest you back away from Pinkie, for your own safety."

"Oh, what she going to do, kick me?" Imelda asked.

"No, she's going to shoot you." Spyro replied, confusing her. "You see, Pinkie's known for carrying a cannon with her." Her eyes widened at the realization, looking down to see Pinkie did have her party cannon out, backing away as she held her hands up while Pinkie gave her a mischievous grin. "Pinkie, put the hardware away and come over here for a second, I need to talk to you guys."

"But..." Pinkie said, looking to him.

"Now." Spyro said, Pinkie growling at Imelda while Miguel moved to the door, pretending to need to pee. "Alright, once Miguel is out the door, follow him."

"What?" Shining Armor asked. "Why?"

"Because he's going to go find his great-great grandfather for the blessing to go back home." Spyro replied. "I agree that the terms are not fair for the boy and will try to convince Imelda to let him follow his dreams, but it will take time, and that's something we are running out of. Night won't last forever, so you need to hurry."

"But... what about the Heart Piece?" Luna asked.

"Forget the Heart Piece for now." Spyro replied. "Miguel's safety is top priority. I'll stay with the Rivera family and try to slow them down. Find his ancestor, get the blessing, and get him home quickly before the sun rises. If you don't make it in time, Miguel is going to become a permanent resident in the land of the dead."

"So where should we begin searching?" Twilight asked. "He says his ancestor is Ernesto De la Cruz."

"Ooh, that's going to be tricky." Spyro replied. "Ernesto is in the rich area of the Land of the Dead. Where I do not know, but there is one who might."

"Who?" Cadence asked.

"His name is Hector." Spyro replied. "He knows exactly how to get to De La Cruz. Find him and ask him for his help, otherwise you're out of luck." He looked up and saw the family was walking out, looking back to the ponies. "Now's your chance. Find Miguel and Hector and get to De La Cruz as quick as you can. And remember, time is against you."

A moment later, he got up and walked out with the family to stay with them while the group of ponies ran out of the room and down the stairs, looking around for Miguel, but with how crowded the station was, it was difficult for them to see the young boy. Cadence and Luna took to the air, looking around from above, looking around to see if they could see him and after a moment of searching, Luna spotted Miguel come out of a phone booth with a skeleton close behind, the same one that tried to jump the gate and cross the bridge, but fell short of succeeding, sinking into the bridge of petals.

"Got him!" Luna announced. "He's over here!"

"Miguel!" Twilight shouted, getting his attention.

"Twilight?" Miguel asked, the skeleton turning to see them come their way. "What are you doing?"

"We want to help." Twilight said. "Spyro said you needed help, so he asked us to help you find your ancestor."

"Am I crazy or are these horses..." The skeleton said.

"Ponies." Miguel said. "They're ponies."

"Ok?" The skeleton replied. "How are these ponies talking?"

"We don't have time to get into that right now." Twilight replied. "Miguel, we need to find someone named Hector. He's the guy who knows exactly where Ernesto is."

"You're in luck!" The skeleton said. "Because my name is Hector!"

"It is!?" Pinkie asked excitedly. "What luck!"

"Sí, very lucky!" Hector replied, looking just as excited if not hopeful. "And I can help, but I need your help as well, please?"

"Uh oh!" Miguel said, looking over to see Miguels family.

"Miguel!" Imelda shouted.

"We've been compromised!" Shining Armor exclaimed.

"Come on!" Miguel exclaimed, grabbing Hectors arm and running.

The ponies ran after Miguel, running out the building and getting outside when Hector's arms snapped it's finger, getting the boys attention and Twilight's to notice Hector wasn't attached to his arm, everyone stopping to allow for Hector to catch up with them as they ran into the city to get as far away from the Rivera family as they could. In Mobius, Sonic and his friends were speeding along across the Hill Top zone, stopping at the top of one of the hills to look around and see if they could find any more of Dr. Robotnicks robots.

"Looks like this zone is clear." Sonic said. "And look..." He pointed at Eggmans tower off in the far distance, a tiny speck to most others, but Sonic could see it well enough to notice it. "Eggheads tower. Let's go pay the good doctor a visit."

"Uh, Sonic..." Tails said, looking nervous. "What's that?"

They all looked in the distance and noticed something was moving in their direction, moving at incredible speed as it got closer and closer.

"Probably one of robuttnicks robots." Sonic replied. "Nothing to worry about."

A moment later, the robot landed in front of Sonic and his friends, revealing it was the Deathbot as it stood tall, looking at Sonic and his friends as it scanned them.

"Target located!" The Deathbot announced. "Designation: Sonic the Hedgehog. Abilities: Enhanced Speed, Spin Dash, Etc! Threat level: High! Terminate!"

"Sonic be careful!" Tails said. "This doesn't look like one of Eggmans regular robots."

"Relax Tails." Sonic said. "This is going to be a piece of cake." As he said that, its left arm reconfigured itself, parts and sections reassembling themselves until it was a six barrel Gatling gun, a laser hitting the blue hedgehogs head, targeting him. "See if you can keep up buckets head!"

Sonic then zoomed to the left, which the torso turned as fast as Sonic ran, firing laser bolts at the speeding hedgehog, which Sonic remained in a straight line and was running around the robot, smiling as he ran before leaping at the machine, spin dashing towards it, but the machine dodged the attack, spinning around and grabbing the hedgehog, slamming him into the ground before pointing the gun at him, ready to take him out, but Knuckles got involved and punched the metal machine, pushing him away from Sonic. Knuckles delivered a few more punches and made some serious dents in the armor, busting a couple of holes into the machine before it grabbed his hand, twisting his arm before turning his Gatling gun back into a hand, punching Knuckles back towards his friends as it stood there, red eyes glowing bright.

"Damage to armor detected." The Deathbot announced. "Damage: Minor. Repairing." A moment later, the holes and dents in the machines armor began to repair themselves, glowing a bright red as the holes filled in and the dents just popped out, showing there wasn't;t even a scratch on it.

"Geez, what's this thing made of!?" Sonic asked. "There's not a scratch on it!"

"I know I did some damage to it." Knuckles said, getting up.

"It doesn't have any damage because it repaired itself." Tails said. "This robot can repair itself depending on the type of damage it received."

"So all we got to do is hit it harder!" Knuckles said, smiling. "Time to see what we can do to it."

"Target identified!" The Deathbot announced. "Identification: Knuckles the Echidna! Abilities: Strength, Dash Punch, Drill Claw, Etc! Threat level: Moderate! Highly Gullible!"

"Hey!" Knuckles shouted.

"Target Identified!" The Deathbot continued. "Identification: Miles "Tails" Prower! Abilities: Flight, High Intelligence, Etc! Threat level: Low!" A second later, Tails pulled out a small cannon and fired an energy ball, hitting the machine, but leaving no damage, the machine duplicating a crowd laughing git using its speakers. "Change of Threat level. Threat level: No threat. Just a side kick."

"I don't believe it!" Tails said. "This robot is tougher than what we've faced before!"

"Then we just got to hit it harder!" Knuckles replied

Knuckles then tried to drill punch the robot and was successful, but the damage was instantly repaired, Sonic and Tails doing some damage themselves, running and flying around the dark machine as it tried to get a lock on the three of them, firing it's cannons randomly while also launching missiles, tracking them to land a hit, but every time they tried, Tails used his shield to block the missiles, Sonic fanning behind trees and rocks and making the missiles hit them, causing them to explode while knuckles just jumped from the ground as the missiles got close, making them hit the earth. Sonic then got behind the machine and smirked, tails tossing a glowing gold ring as he jumped in the air, spinning dashing towards the machine as it's sensors alerted it to an incoming threat behind it, so it turned it's head, but Sonic went straight through the chassis, causing it's light as to flicker as it powered down, taking critical damage from the attack.

"Too easy!" Sonic said, closing his eye and scratching his nose.

"Nice one Sonic!" Tails said.

"Heh, that pile of scrap ain't getting up anytime soon." Knuckles said.

"Critical damage detected!" The Deathbot announced, surprise them all. "Chassis integrity at 43%, power systems dropping to 58%, weapons systems offline! Activating FARBAS!"

"FARBAS?" Sonic asked. "What the heck is a FARBAS?"

As Sonic asked that, red light shined out of the metal hull of the ruined machine, the bot straightening up as cables and wires shot all throughout the interior of the machine, repairing the exterior as well as the massive gapping hole was no longer there, the machine rotating it's arms as it slammed it's fists together, eyes glowing blood red as it starred at the three of them.

"FARBAS, successful!" The machine said. "Damage repaired! All systems operating at 100% capacity!"

"No way!" Sonic exclaimed. "There isn't a scratch on that thing now!"

"Doesn't mean we can't do some damage!" Knuckles shouted.

He ran towards the machine and leapt towards the massive metal monster, but the bot back handed the Echidna, sending him into a nearby rock and launching a couple of missiles into it, collapsing the rock on top of him.

"Knuckles!" Tails shouted.

He then turned his attention to the machine, which turned both of it's arms into Gatling laser blasters and unleashed a barrage of heavy fire, so Tails activated his shield to block the attacks, but the bolts of plasma pushed him back before destroying the shield, grazing Tails on the shoulder as he collapsed to the ground.

"TAILS!" Sonic shouted.

Sonic then ran towards the machine, which lifted it's arms and released multiple bolts of lasers towards the speeding Hegdehog, but he changed his path and began running circles around the machine, failing to get a lock on the hedgehog as it ran past and knocked the machine around for a bit, causing it's eyes to turn red be it turned it's torso and grabbed Sonic, a move similar to what IG-88 did to the stormtroopers when rescuing Grogu. He then slammed Sonic into the ground, pointing the Gatling cannon at him.

"Target acquired!" The machine announced. "Terminating!" As it's cannons were charging up, a gust of wind went by and something cut clean through the bots arm, causing it to release Sonic and stand up, looking around as it's arm fell to the ground, sparking. "Unknown enemy detected! Scanning! Error! Unable to locate assailant!"

"Right behind you." The man said.

The machine spun it's top half around to see the enemy, but a light sliced upward, cutting it in half as he cut it's head off, using the Fire spell to destroy the head as the machine fell to the ground, sparking as it blew up, destroyed from the attack. Sonic got up, rubbing his head as Tails and Knuckles also got up, the Echidna covered in bruises and a couple of scorch marks while Tails held his right shoulder, grimacing as they looked to their savior, seeing it was Psyrox.

"Hey, thanks pal." Sonic said, getting up and dusting himself. "We owe you one."

"Don't worry about it." Psyrox said.

"If you don't mind me asking, who are you?" Tails asked.

"My name is Psyrox." He replied. "And I see you had yourself a run in with a Conqueror, assault-class."

"A what?" Sonic asked.

"You mean the robot?" Knuckles asked.

"Exactly." Psyrox replied. "Conquerors are very powerful machines with many different forms. You were unfortunate enough to face an Assault-class Conqueror as these guys are the second deadliest."

"But how did Eggman make something this advanced?" Tails asked.

"He didn't." Psyrox replied. "You Dr. Eggman has something that is powerful to make these machines, which is called a Heart Piece. I'm,m here to get it and make sure he doesn't use any more of its power before things get worse."

"Well what are we waiting for?" Sonic asked. "Let's get going and stop old egghead!"

Sonic rushed ahead of the others, leaving Knuckles and tails behind, who looked to be annoyed with their friend as they ran after him with Psyrox running behind them to help them stop Dr. Eggman before everything went wrong. In the Land of the Dead, Hector and Miguel were hiding underneath a bridge with the ponies, Hector and Cadence working to disguise Miguel with some paint, applying it to Miguels face until it was finished, putting the paint down.

"There." Hector said, giving Miguel a mirror. "Dead as a door knob."

"Please don't say that." Twilight said. "We don't need that kind of reminder."

"So Hector, before we hid here, you said you needed our help, correct?" Shining Armor asked.

"Sí, I do." Hector replied. "You see, this place runs on memories and if you're well remembered, they put your photo up and you get to cross the bridge."

"And, you aren't well remembered?" Pinkie asked.

"Unfortunately, no I'm not." Hector replied. "No one's ever put my photo up, but Miguel can change that. If he returns to the other side, he can put my photo up on my familia's Ofrenda and I can cross the bridge. Kid, you got any family here in the Land of the Dead?"

"Well, I have my great-great grandfather, Ernesto De La Cruz." Miguel replied. "And you say you know him, so you can get us in?"

"Oh, that's a bit iffy, but yes I believe so!" Hector replied.

"Well what are we waiting for!?" Pinkie asked. "Let's go!"

They then walked out from underneath the bridge and as they walked, they went through a town street and as they passed through, Miguels disguise was working as none of the other skeletons saw him as a living boy, but he was walking a bit like Hector, which seemed to annoy him.

"What are you doing?" Hector asked.

"Walking like a skeleton!" Miguel replied.

"Oh, oh, let me try that!" Pinkie said excitedly, walking like a skeleton.

"Pinkie..." Twilight said.

"Oh let her have some fun Twilight." Cadence said. "It's good for you to have some fun every now."

"Exactly!" Pinkie said. "All work and no play makes you a very dull pony!"

"Hey look!" Miguel said, running to the railing. "Señor De La Cruz's Sunrise Spectacular!"

"Ugh, your great-great grandfather puts this show on every year at the end of Día de los Muertos." Hector replied.

"And... you can get us in, can't you?" Miguel asked.

"I said it was a bit iffy." Hector replied. "He's well known and he throws a party at his estate before every show, which has a guest list and I'm not exactly on it."

"Seriously!?" Pinkie exclaimed. "Then what did we bring you along for!?"

"Yeah, I'm with Pinkie on this one." Shining Armor said. "How can we get Miguel his blessing if we can't get in?"

"Well give me some credit." Hector said. "Because I know of another way to get in and that is if we win the musical competition nearby. First place winner get's a free pass in along with two guests."

"Well what are we going to do for instruments?" Twilight asked. "Pinkie, didn't you have a guitar?"

"I did, but I left it behind back in the shrine." Pinkie replied, making everyone groan.

"Of all the times for you to forget something, it had to be now!?" Twilight exclaimed angrily.

"Relax, I knew another place we can get a guitar." Hector replied.

"Where?" Luna asked. "Where do we get another guitar?"

"Well, I know one guy who has one." Hector replied. "But... it's in the slums, where the forgotten live."

"And that's a problem why?" Cadence asked.

"It's not a problem." Hector replied. "We just got to get it. Come on, we haven't a moment to waste."

Hector then walked in the direction of where he said the guitar was, the ponies looking to one another with uncertainty as they followed the crazy skeleton, following him down streets and alleyways until they reached the outskirts of the Land of the Dead, walking down rickety old boards, which made Shining Armor and Twilight nervous as they walked down them while Pinkie just bounced down them while the Alicorn flew over them, keeping up with them.

"This place doesn't look that wonderful." Twilight said. "Nothing like the city."

"Well, not everything in the Land of the Dead is that great." Hector replied. "So Miguel, why do you want to be a musician anyway?"

"Well my great-great grandfather was a musician, so I want to follow his example." Miguel replied.

"Why would you want to dress up like those obnoxious monkeys in the first place?" Hector asked. "They're just a bunch of snobs with their heads in the clouds."

"What do you know about being a musician?" Miguel ask, looking annoyed.

"Aw, don't listen to him Miguel." Pinkie said. "If you want to be a musician, then be one! I always wanted to plan parties when I saw a beautiful rainbow where I'm from."

"You started planning parties after seeing a rainbow?" Miguel asked, looking confused. "How does that make sense?"

"It doesn't." Twilight replied. "That's just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie. The most random pony we know. And she is the most amazing friend I could ask for."

"So what's with your butts?" Miguel asked. "What's with the pictures?"

"They're our cutie marks." Pinkie replied. "They let us know what our destiny is. Mine is planning parties!"

"Mine means I'm good at magic." Twilight said.

"Mine means I'm good at protecting those I care about." Shining Armor said.

"Mine represents I'm destined to rule and be a loving ruler." Cadence said.

"And mine means I rule the night while raising and lowering the moon in our home." Luna said. "We each have our strengths and our roles in life."

"And how are you so close to Spyro?" Miguel asked.

"He's our herd leader." Twilight replied. "Well, herd leader to myself, Pinkie, and Luna. He loves and protect us, making us feel special while also protecting everyone, being the most courageous and kind pony we know."

"He's not exactly a pony you know." Miguel pointed out.

"It's complicated." Twilight said.

"And here we are." Hector said, jumping down and shattering, reassembling while eveyrone else walked down the ladder. "Welcome to the Forgotten Slums."

"Wow." Shining Armor said. "It's... cheery."

"Shining!" Twilight said, nudging him.

"Cousin Hector!" Someone shouted.

"Hey, Leo, Liana!" Hector shouted back.

"These people are your family?" Luna asked.

"Sort of." Hector replied. "We're all people with no photo's or Oferenda's or any family to go home to. Nearly forgotten. So we call each other cousin, Tío, or whatever." He then picked up a bottle of some kind of liquid, talking with some of the skeletons before going to the nearby run down house, taking a couple of glasses with him as they entered, finding it had boxes piles on top of one another with empty bottles or old junk, walking to a hammock. "Hola Chicharrón, it's cousin Hector."

"I don;t want to see your stupid face." Chicharrón replied.

"Come on, it's Día Del Muertos, and I brought you an offering." Hector said, placing the glass down. "But... I have a small favor to ask you. You see, my friend Miguel needs to borrow your guitar."

"My guitar!?" Chicharrón replied, hugging it. "My prized possession!?"

"I promise to bring it right back." Hector said.

"Oh yeah, like the time you promised to bring back my Band!?" Chicharrón asked. "Or my Mini fridge!? MY napkins? My Femur!?" He then presented his leg, showing it was wired together with a pipe. "Where is my Femur!?"

As he shouted, he suddenly glowed fore a second, showing he was in pain and shocking everyone.

"Wow, what was that?" Twilight asked.

"Wow, wow, Chicharrón, you ok?" Hector asked.

"I-I'm fading Hector." Chicharrón replied. "I can feel it. I can't even play that thing if I wanted to." He then looked to Hector as everyone looked to the dying skeleton, feeling sorry for him as he looked like he was about to pass. "Hector, play me something."

"Oh, no Chicharrón, I can't." Hector replied. "I don't play anymore. It's for the kid."

"You want it, you need to earn it." Chicharrón said, Hector looking at the guitar before taking it.

"Only for you Chicharrón." Hector said, tuning the guitar and looking to his friend. "Any requests?"

"Heh, you know my favorite one." Chicharrón replied.

Hector then started to play the guitar, surprising the group as they sat down, listening to the music their guide was playing and surprised by how good he was.

[Héctor]

Well, everyone knows Juanita.

Her eyes each a different color,

Her teeth stick out and her chin goes in.

And her...knuckles, they drag on the floor.

"Those aren't the words!" Chicharrón said.

"There are children present." Hector replied

He continued playing, being mindful of what he sung in front of Miguel and making sure he sang the song for his friend.

Her hair is like a briar.

She stands in a bow-legged stance.

And if I weren't so ugly,

She'd possibly give me a chance.

As he finished the song, the old skeleton chuckled a bit, taking his hat off as he looked happy, looking to the stars.

"Bring's back memories." Chicharrón said, looking to Hector. "Gracias Hector."

As he said it, he started to glow a golden hue, turning into dust as he flew into the air and out the open section of the wall, Hector taking one of the glasses and toasting the man before throwing it back, placing the empty glass on the counter before walking away.

"Wait, what just happened?" Twilight asked. "Where'd he go?"

"That's what happens when you're forgotten." Hector replied. "When you[re forgotten, you cease to exist in the Land of the Dead. We call it the final death."

"But, we met him, so we can remember him, can't we?" Miguel asked.

"It's not that simple." Hector replied. "To be remembered, those who knew us in life have to pass those memories down. To pass down the stories of who we were and what we did. but there was no one left to pass Chichi's stories." Everyone looked to the hammock Chicharrón lied in, seeing it swing with all the junk in if as they felt a heavy weight weigh on them, they hearts aching from loosing a friend after just meeting him. "Hey, happens to everyone eventually. Come on, we got a contest to win."

The skeleton walked out, carrying the guitar with him as the group walked out of the house, heading towards the place where the contest was being held at where they planned on winning the competition. Back at the arch where Miguel got his face makeup, Imelda had gotten her spirit guide, who was tracking Miguel through his scent, following it to the make up before continuing.

"Miguel was here." Imelda said, she, her family, and Spyro walking right behind it. "We're on the right track."

As they walked, Spyro felt a sudden disturbance in the Force, stopping where he was as he felt someone fade from there Land of the Dead, closing his eyes as he waved his hand, creating a memorial for the forgotten before moving along.

"May you find peace in the life afterlife." Spyro said.

"Spyro, keep up!" Julio said. "We got to find Miguel before it's too late."

"Sorry, just had to stop a moment." Spyro said, walking next to Julio. "Another soul has been forgotten."

"Ay, that's rough." Julio said. "But we need to keep moving! We need to find Miguel."

"And then what?" Spyro asked. "You know he wont accept Imelda's blessing as she'll make him give up music."

"It's for his own good." Julio said.

"His own good, or for her own pride?" Spyro asked, shocking him. "Imelda is so narrow minded, believing music separated them, but has she forgotten how she and her husband met? What brought them together?"

"Hey, I don't ask questions about that." Julio said. "All I'm concerned for is getting Miguel back home."

"And Imelda?" Spyro asked. "Is she also concerned for Miguel?"

"Of course she is." Julio replied. "She wants what's best for him."

"I doubt that." Spyro said. "If she makes him give up music, he'll just run away from home and never return. You should never take away what your kid loves to do as it makes them happy. If music makes Miguel happy, she should be happy for him, not taking it away from him. I just hope she realizes this before it's too late. Both for Miguel, and his ancestor."

Spyro then wiped up, walking ahead of Julio and leaving the old skeleton with much to think about as did Imelda, who overheard their conversation and looked down, something in her ringing out as he put her hand over her chest as if reaching for her heart, remembering her husband and the times they had together. At the Plaza De La Cruz, the group had arrived on time and were waiting their turn to go on stage, one band already playing and were good while Miguel looked nervous, getting up and sitting down away from the stage.

"Nervous?" Cadence asked.

"A little." Miguel replied.

"Ah, it's just nerves kid." Hector said. "You'll do great. I mean, you're a musician after all."

"Yeah, this is actually my first time." Miguel replied.

"WHAT!?" Hector shouted, looking annoyed. "I thought you said you're a musician!?"

"I am!" Miguel replied. "Or, I will be soon., after I win."

"That's your plan!?" Hector asked. "To go out there and play a song and hope you'll win!? No, I'll do it!"

"No, I have to do it." Miguel said.

"Why!?" Shining Armor asked, looking as panicked as hector. "Your life literally depends on this and you never played before!? Let Hector do it, he's pretty good."

"No, I want to do this" Miguel replied. "I want to feel like I earned the blessing and how can I know I earned it if I'm too afraid to play one song? I want to feel like I'm worthy for his blessing."

"Oh Miguel, that's such a sweet sentiment." Cadence said.

"Sí, such a sweet sentiment, at such a bad time!" Hector exclaimed, looking annoyed, but calmed himself down. "Ok, ok,ok, if you want to perform, got got to perform! First shake off those nerves, then give out your best Grito!"

"Grito?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, yell it out!" Hector replied, leaping in the air and yelling out, looking relaxed right as the announcer said his name. "Good luck, and give it your all."

Miguel looked nervous as he walked up onto the stage, carrying the guitar onto the stage as he stood before the crowd, all looking to him as he gave his best yell, getting the crowd excited as he started playing.

[Miguel]

What color is the sky?

¡Ay, mi amor! ¡Ay, mi amor!

You tell me that it's red,

¡Ay, mi amor! ¡Ay, mi amor!

Where should I put my shoes?

¡Ay, mi amor! ¡Ay, mi amor!

You say, "Put them on your head!"

¡Ay, mi amor! ¡Ay, mi amor!

You make me un poco loco,

Un poquititito loco!

The way you keep me guessing,

I'm nodding, and I'm yessing!

I'll count it as a blessing,

That I'm only un poco loco!

A second later, Pinkie took Hector by the arm and dragged him onto the stage, the dog Dante following close behind as he also dragged him along while Twilight tried to stop her, but Cadence raised her foreleg, stopping her.

"No, let her do this." Cadence said. "It's good to unwind a bit."

As Hector got onto the stage, he started dancing as did Pinkie, the two of them dancing around the young boy as he played the guitar, amazed by how they can dance.

"Not bad for a dead guy, or for a pony." Miguel said.

"Not so bad yourself little Cruzito!" Hector said.

They both danced to the music that Miguel was playing as the crowd went crazy, enjoying the music right as Imelda and her family followed by Spyro arrived, the spirit guide revealing more footprints.

"He's close!" Imelda said. "Quick, spread out and find him!"

They all spread out to locate the young boy, but Spyro already knew where to go and made his way to the backstage as the music played.

[Hector]

The loco that you make me,

It is just un poco crazy!

The sense that you're not making,

[Miguel]

The liberties you're taking!

[Miguel, Hector, Pinkie Pie]

Leaves my cabeza shaking,

You are just un poco loco!

Un poquititi-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-to loco!

The crowd was cheeering for the young boy, having enjoyed and loved the song as they wanted more from the young kid, but as the crowd was cheering, Spyro walked up behind the ponies and tapped on Luna's shoulder, spooking her as she turned and blasted him in the chest, scattering him as he looked up at her annoyed.

"Hey, watch where you're shooting!" Spyro exclaimed, putting himself back together.

"Oh, sorry Spyro." Luna said. "Wait, how are you here? Where is Miguels family?"

"They're here." Spyro replied. "They're in the crowd now looking for him. Get Miguels and get out of here, now!"

"But they haven't announced the winner yet." Twilight said. "We need to get first place to get a pass into De La Cruz's tower to get Miguel his blessing."

"Cruz?" Spyro asked. "Wait, back up. Why does he want to go to De La Cruz?"

"Because he's Miguels great-great grandfather." Shining Armor replied. "Miguel said he's the one in the photo."

"Oh, Dios mío!" Spyro exclaimed. "Ernesto De La Cruz isn't-"

"Miguel!" Pinkie exclaimed.

The five of them ran around the stage and saw Miguel was gone, Pinkie and Hector remaining behind as he skeleton man was getting his photo and looking for him.

"What happened?" Spyro asked.

"Hector and Miguel had an argument about him having other family members and how they don't like music." Pinkie replied. "Miguel got angry and tossed his photo away and then ran away when he saw his family."

"Great." Spyro said. "Ok, Pinkie, you're good at finding ponies. Find Miguel and stay with him."

"On it!" Pinkie replied.

She pulled out a balloon and blew it up, flying away on it while everyone else watched, leaving the others behind.

"What about us?" Twilight asked. "Shouldn't we go after them?"

"In a minute." Spyro replied. "First we must run interference for Miguels family so he can reach the tower."

Miguel was walking down a street heading towards the tower where Ernesto was, angry with Hector as he tried to turn him over to his family, which Dante was trying to get him to stop and accidentally revealed his identity, an officer reporting it in as the young boy took off running away, but he didn't get very far as Imelda appeared on her spirit guide, the massive flying cat growling as it looked at him.

"This nonsense ends not Miguel!" Imelda said. "I am giving you my blessing and you are going home!"

"! don't want your blessing!" Miguel replied, running to a nearby door and running through it.

"Miguel, stop!" Imelda said. "Come back!"

Miguel ran up the stairs, running as fast as he could when he saw a locked gate, knowing he was in trouble when it opened up, Pinkie popping out and looking at him.

"Miguel, this way, hurry!" Pinkie exclaimed.

Not waiting to be told a second time, he ran up the stairs and through the gate, Pinkie closing it and locking the gate, stopping Imelda from following them.

"Miguel, please!" Imelda said, stopping at the gate. "I am trying to save your life."

"You're ruining my life!" Miguel replied, shocking her. "Music is the only thing that makes me happy! And you... you want to take that away! You'll never understand."

Imelda was worried she would loose Miguel again, so she knew there was only one way to get him to stop.

[Imelda]

Ay.. de mí, llorona,

Llorona de azul celeste!

Miguel and Pinkie then stopped, turning to face her as she stopped singing to look to them.

"I thought you hated music." Miguel said, looking at her with shock and confusion.

"Oh Miguel, I love music." Imelda replied. "I remember the feeling of when my husband would play, I would sing, and nothing else mattered."

"Then why did you start hating Music if it made you happy?" Pinkie asked.

"Oh little pony, when we had Coco, there was something in our lives that mattered more." Imelda replied. "I wanted to put down roots and have a nice, quiet life. But he wanted to play for the world." She then looked to Miguel, stern and with love. "We each made a sacrifice, a choice in our lives that changed us. Now you must make a choice."

"But I don't want to make a choice." Miguel replied. "I don't want to pick a side. You're suppose to be on my side. that's what family is supposed to do and what they're meant to do, love and support you." A tear then rolled down Miguels face, showing Imelda how hurt he was as she finally saw what her actions were leading to, fearful for the young boy's life and future. "But you never will, will you?"

"Miguel." Imelda said, trying to reach for him.

"Come on Miguel, let's go." Pinkie said, taking his hand with her hoof. "We got to hurry or else the party will be over and you'll never get your blessing."

Pinkie then pulled Miguel away, the two of them running in the direction of the tower as they got away from Imelda, Spyro walking up right behind her.

"His minds made up." Spyro said, waving his hand and opening the door. "He's going to do whatever it takes to get Ernesto's blessing, but we both know it won't work."

"I need to stop him." Imelda said. "But... my heart is telling me that if I do, I might loose him forever. What do I do?"

"Let him go." Spyro replied.

"Let him go!?" Imelda asked, shocked by the answer. "Are you crazy!?"

"His destiny lies in that tower." Spyro replied. "The truth is in that tower. And he needs to discover it for himself if he's to get his blessing before sunrise from his great-great grandfather."

"I will not let him be associated with that man!" Imelda replied. "He is nothing but a nobody! He's better off forgotten!"

"Then I hope you can live with your choice Imelda." Spyro said, watching her run after Miguel. "Because tonight, it may very well be his last."

Imelda then stopped, feeling something in her chest pang against her ribs as he said it, turning to ask what he meant by that, but he wasn't there, leaving her with many questions as she looked to the tower, wanting to follow Miguel, but decided to wait for the rest of the family to show up before heading tot he tower to get Miguel and save him from his fate.