UK Ponycon 2018 - Saturday (Part 2) · 10:02am Oct 26th, 2018
Right. Um, where was I? Oh yeah.
So after the Cosplay competition had ended, I went down and met back up with a few lingering Custard members. We agreed that a karaoke session was imminent, and made sure that we knew exactly when it started. A few of us then wandered back towards the vendor hall for more shopping. I think it's about this stage that I visited the official merch stall to pick up my exclusive figure and a few other bits.
Entering the legendary 'LT7' room, we discovered Rainbow Dash Attach was still going strong. Necky was in there manning things, and you could tell he was really happy about having to listen to the same music track over-and-over again for hours. Still, a few of us jumped in to have a go. I think this was the first time I'd ever played the game, as is wasn't really a priority at previous cons. It always looks so easy when you're not the one playing, right? Oh Celestia, I was pants at it. 
The karaoke got going not long after, although the volunteers running it (despite their best efforts) weren't too experienced in the game. I offered to help locate a few songs, and things eventually sorted themselves out. Logan was an early act with his rendition of The Way She Flies, and as others came forward to have a go, the room slowly filled up. I was maybe thinking of trying to sing I'm the Friend You Need from the movie, but Ialyrn beat me to it.
Thankfully I had another option in mind, so I stood in front of the room attempting to belt out Legend of Everfree (Main Title). I hoped most people would at least be somewhat familiar with the lyrics, and that it's upbeat nature would be a general crowd-pleaser. Stormblaze (who can sing properly) had just come in to the back of the room too, so that really helped calm my nerves. To top it off, I tried getting people to clap along to the A cappella chorus near the end, but managed to balls it up by starting my exaggerated claps on the wrong beat 
. Great times.
I spent a surprisingly long time in that room, and I kinda regret not going more panels. I was toying with the idea of attending the 'G1 for Bronies, G4 for Oldies' one to see how it had developed since Leeds 2 years ago. But in the end, hanging out with friends ultimate won over. Before I knew it, 6pm had come around and I needed to get food from somewhere. Some people had already eaten out at lunchtime, while others were busy watching the G1 movie. Thankfully Alliminaro was in the same boat as me, and kindly let me join him on a trip to McDonalds. We popped by his hotel to deposit some stuff, and encountered the worlds slowest lift on the way out. I opted for a chicken burger due to my 'Spoons meal the night before, while Alli stayed 'true to brand' with a Big Mac. 
Returning to the con venue, I was too stuffed/out of breath from the march through town to consider any more singing. Never mind, the time had finally come for what was surely going to be a highlight of the weekend; the Crystal Ball! I bagged a pretty decent spot in the second row, with nothing but a Fluttershy cosplayer between me and the upcoming acts. First up was Steely Hooves. Not someone whose work I was familiar with, but he quickly won me over with his fun style. I particularly liked his songs themed around Berry Punch and Trixie. During a break, I paid a visit to the bar and got myself a cider, because yay apple horses.
Steely was joined by the aforementioned Stormblaze for the latter parts of his act, and these 2 really worked well together. Stormy's vocals rather impressed me, particularly the high Twilight parts in Winter Wrap Up. It was also good to see them get the crowd on their feet for the last few acts, even if dancing isn't my thing. With their set concluded, and I went to get another drink and tried one of the themed cocktails on offer; an Applejack. And it was really nice! 
EilyMonty was on next. I'd heard her briefly doing a sound test we were leaving for dinner, and even then I got a sense of her powerful voice. I'd also heard that she'd possibly be performing The Moon Rises, so I was pretty psyched for things to get going! What ended up getting was, in short, AMAZING! The non-fandom songs were also really nice additions, particularly Diamonds are Forever to me. And Die in a Fire is the non-pony song I know best from her (cue Logan reminding us again he doesn't like FNAF...) 
On a pony front; I would have been perfectly happy if Eily just sang The Moon Rises. To also get Picture Perfect Pony, Dark Horse (MLP voices), Pinkie's Brew, AND I am Octavia, was more than I could ever ask for. That last one made me tear up, and I don't have any regrets. Even if this young girl in the row in front of me was giving me weird looks for a few moments. 
With her set concluded, members of team Custard all began emerging from the shadows, all gravitating towards LT7 for what some consider the mane event of the year. Yes, I spelled it like that on purpose. THE PUB QUIZ. I was late arriving, as I wanted another cocktail, and this time went for a Pinkie Pie. Which was essentially an alcoholic milkshake with added sherbet because yay sugar 
. Things played out pretty much as we'd hoped, with Archer being a great quizmaster, all the teams really getting into the spirit, and our team coming up with some ridiculously stupid answers. I almost had to pinch myself while there; it was so good to be all back together like that. There was a Rainbow Dash cocktail in there somewhere as well.
Ending off the night was the now-traditional 'Cartoon Riff'. I missed the start of some G3.5 strangeness due to a loo-break. If I'm honest, a few of the clips shown were a bit too long for my taste. But there were some really funny moments, particularly concerning a Toblerone bar or 2. And I'm sad that I had to miss the finale, a 'Crab Rave'... rave, complete with glow-sticks etc. I really had to catch my last train if I didn't want to beg for a place to sleep that night. So after giving quick goodbyes, I hot-footed it out of LT7, out of the conference centre (via the cloakroom), and down through a very lively Nottingham city centre towards the station. It would have been an intimidating journey, if I hadn't already spent many a late night out in Nottingham before. So I knew all the merry students around me didn't mean any harm, they just wanted to reach their club.
A lonely ride home in a class 153 later (Zenfox was proud), I slumped into my flat about 00:15. I was still buzzing, so after a quick shower, I snuggled into bed and put on a podcast for a little while, eventually turning my lights off about 2am. Gosh. What a day! 
I thought it was a pretty solid effort for someone totally new to it! I know I didn't get into five figures on my first ever attempt.
Definitely. I wouldn't mind seeing them perform together again at some point.
No clue where you got that idea.
But though that's true, I do rather like this song. I guess it's similar to the fact that I'm not a Katy Perry fan, yet I really enjoy EileMonty's ponified version of her "Dark Horse".
You'll get no argument from me there! One of those times when I just feel so lucky to have been there.
I see you've given it the ALL CAPS that it deserves! I rather missed a trick there!
Or, as it's generally known, "G3.5".
One day we shall discover all about those underground Crab Raves...
Another very entertaining read!
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Aww thanks! Getting comments from you and others is one of the best things that makes these blogs worth doing!
Glad you can at least enjoy that song too.