Amber Spark's EFNW 2024! · 3:49am Sep 3rd, 2024
I know most people have already done their retrospectives on EFNW 2024, but I wanna join in too, even if I’m late.
Wednesday
Wednesday of EFNW was Albi’s birthday! So we both arrived at the hotel early to have some fun, for them to open gifts, and to enjoy a little peace and quiet. Albi really loved their gifts, this time very Percy Jackson and the Olympians-themed, one of their favorite series (and a series you should watch if you have Disney+!)
We got to meet up with Undome Twine, Wanderer D, and Olden Bronie for a new type of single-serve hot pot I’d never gone to! It was great to see them all again (and especially tell Wanderer D that I’d introduced Albi to Babylon 5, the greatest scifi show of all time!)
Still, I had these odd anxiety attacks Wednesday and the first few days of the con. It was super frustrating, and I was often really mad at myself. I mean, I’m happy, I’m with my found family, I’m surrounded by ponies, all this great stuff! The reality is that since I work remotely from home, I don’t often interact with a ton of people. It was likely just social anxiety, with mine being severe. I took some extra medication, and then the lack of sleep at the con helped take some of the edge off. It wasn’t nearly as crippling in previous years, but it was still a hassle. Didn’t stop us from having fun, though!
We hung out a great deal with Azure Notion, too! Had some… interesting discussions about some… interesting things. *cough*
Also, we had an incident where a 7 year old black girl leaving a UNIQLO with her mom. The girl stared at me and Albi, then focused on me with a SUPER SERIOUS FACE and either did a single finger across the throat or BOTH fingers across the throat. She looked so ready to throw down! Albi and I still laugh about this.
Thursday
Thursday, of course, is Con Day 0, when everyone arrives. We hung out with so many people, I’m so happy I took pictures so I could remember! We managed to scramble out of bed to meet people and do our own little LobbyCon, which just kept growing!
Stars of this year’s Thursday LobbyCon include:
- Winston (who made a totally gorgeous Sunset Shimmer plushie complete with leather jacket for Wanderer D)
- Wanderer D (who both Albi and I failed to pass our sleight of hand check to steal said plushie)
- Azure Notion (whose job it was that day to low-key poke all Sunset Shimmer fans)
- Corejo (Who somehow published a newer and better version of Compati! Agh!)
- Xephyr (Who got to rest before throwing themselves into the Writing Track!)
- Lightning Wing (Who I don’t hang out with nearly enough even though they’re in Washington!)
- Loofa (Who’s wonderful voice I missed so much)
- Undome Tniwe (Who could probably take over the world if they wanted to. I’m down for that)
- Swan Song (Who I swore didn’t recognize me, but I was totally wrong)
- Jyki (Who I’m always so delighted to see and I miss so much being in the Pacific Northwest)
- Copper (Who’s adorable with Luna)
- ILikeLuna (Who’s adorable with Copper)
- Nat (Who gives the best hugs)
- Monochromatic (who found out she’s Rarity and Twi’s kid!)
- Sylvian (Who got to laugh about not writing MLP Halo Fanfics)
Also, Microsoft was wrapping up having some crazy Copilot AI conference and we couldn’t wait to get rid of them (brats took forever to leave so it delayed setup of Mane Stage and Vendor Hall! See? AI is the enemy)
Most of this group was who we ended up hanging out with for almost the entire con. As normal, we separated into smaller groups here and there. There were only a few constant groups, (you know, like Albi and me).
Later that evening, Heartshine and Lillowisp arrived with one of the last stacks of books for Twilight’s Book Nook and to set up Lillowisp’s first vendor table! Albi and I helped them out a little, since it’s a big deal to run a vendor booth at a con.
Finally, when Albi and I got back in our room, we actually took the time to talk about what we were going to say to Rebecca Shoichet. This is more because I’ve embarrassed myself way too many times (there are still moments I facehoof over years and years ago).
Finally, we managed to pass out, knowing that tomorrow we would get to meet our goddess…
Friday
Con Day 1! We were so happy to go. I even had a special Sunset-Shimmer-inspired outfit to wear (black denim vests go great with everything, but especially orange tops). We met up with Nat and, for some reason, got called forward because Nat and I had sprung for Patron Badges (or she might have gotten a Sponsor, I don’t remember).
The highlight for Albi and I was seeing Rebecca on stage and yelling out that she hadn’t been to EFNW since before the premiere of Equestria Girls: The Legend of Everfree. This would become a little bit of a problem later, as you may have read in other blogs.
Immediately after opening ceremonies, Albi ran over to the Vendor Hall and secured Hibiscus Stitch’s single large Sunset Shimmer plushie! It was coveted by every Sunset Shimmer fan (including me!) at the con! She was so precious!
I tried to snag Marvel and Ponder’s Empathy for the Devil that I had seen the night before, but Twilight’s Book Nook was already out (they only had a couple). So, I picked up every other Sunset book they had. HA!
Nat, Undome Twine, Azure Notion, Albi, and I got some brunch. They were kind enough to listen to me rant about how frustrating it is to have anxiety when I’m super crazy happy! Hit the con line and got the plushies I had pledged for in EFNW’s Plushie Kickstarter (with an extra Marina for Albi), and before too long, it was time to get our autographs from Rebecca.
Now, I confess that I feel like I somewhat cheated. For the last few years, I’ve been getting ADA (disabilities) ribbons on my badge. Last year, I was still recovering from getting top/bottom surgery, not to mention I was in a wheelchair for about three-fourths of the con, so I don’t feel bad about that. But the other times, it’s due to anxiety. The truth is, I can’t stay in the vendor hall for long. It’s too loud and noisy and frantic. And I knew that if I waited in the autograph lines for hours, the anxiety would overwhelm me, and I was not about to have a panic attack on the con floor.
So, I used my ADA badge as it was intended: as a line skip. (I ended up giving my line skip pass to Corejo so he could get his copy of Compati signed). However, I will say that we arrived there even before the VAs got there.
My first stop was Nicole Oliver, who apparently recognized me from last year (I believe I got a Cheerilee print signed by her). I squeed a little, especially when she signed it, “My faithful student, Penny.” (Okay, fine, I squeed a lot). Lillowisp did a gorgeous print of a golden Celestia that had almost Renaissance-era vibes to it!
And then Albi and I got in line for Rebecca. Both of us were squeeing low key. We even talked a bit more about what we were going to say.
Albi went first (as is right and proper; after all, they were the true first Sunset Shimmer fanfic author ever). They were nervous (seriously, who wouldn’t be?), but they did it. I wouldn’t dare repeat what they said (one does not speak publicly of prayers to the Goddess!), but I will say that they got to share Rebecca’s character, Sunset Shimmer is the reason they found out they love writing. And that they told her that Sunset Shimmer is their muse.
She wrote something wonderfully encouraging in Albi’s copy of Long Road to Friendship.
Then, it was my turn.
My Time With Rebecca Shoichet
A few people have teased Albi and I for gushing about our experience, calling it a nigh-religious experience. I mean, they’re not wrong. But that makes it sound even more silly than it was.
I opened by adding to Albi’s statements that Sunset Shimmer is the reason Albi and I are together (after all, we first met when I sent Albi a gushing fangirl letter about how great Sunset of Time was). Rebecca threatened to cry, and we both laughed a little.
My story was about how she breathed life into this character who became a beacon of redemption and self-reflection. I told her that I had struggled with guilt and self-hatred for most of my life, especially since I was a trans girl. I loathed myself for so long. Sunset Shimmer showed me that you can redeem yourself from your past mistakes, even when they feel so enormous they threaten to crush you.
And I told her that there was a good chance I wouldn’t be here today if she hadn’t performed this character as amazingly as she had.
With that, I unveiled what I wanted her to sign: a newly commissioned piece of artwork by my favorite SunLight artist, Overlord Neon. Neon hasn’t released it yet, so I’m not going to unveil it here, but I will describe it.
It’s Goddess Sunset Shimmer from And A Sky Full of Stars. She’s wearing the full Solstice Raminet, the intricate armor passed down to her from Celestia over three thousand years ago. She’s flying, fully confident and happy, before dawn breaks over the massive city of High Canterlot, with Philomena and Faerina swooping in her wake. Above, even though the dawn had broken, the stars still shone through the blue sky. It’s easily one of the most beautiful designs she’s ever created.
I asked her to sign one copy for me and asked for something special for a quote. And she told me that Sunset’s lines often are some of the best quotes. And you know what she wrote? “Penny, your past is not today.”
I admit I’m getting a little teary-eyed just remembering this moment.
Not only that, but I decided to get another copy signed for Neon, and even presented a third printing to Rebecca herself. And with that, we took our picture, I thanked her for her work on this amazing character (and her amazing singing voice as Twilight) and Albi and I took our leave.
Friday, Part II
Sue me, I took extra time to talk about me meeting our Goddess. We talked with a few people after that, but honestly, it was a blur (pretty sure FanOfMostEverything was one of them!). Then we went back to our room to ensure our new treasures were secure… and just to exist for a bit.
Once we got up there, we both may have let out fangirl screams over what we just experienced. Maybe.
After some desperately needed rest, we ended up getting as many people together as possible. What we didn’t expect was that we’d pull in a crowd of 16 people. And we decided to go to Dim Tai Fung!
Both Albi and I were exhausted beyond measure, but we had our friend Ty running point for some of it. It was a big help.
Our dinner list was: Albi, Luna, Nat, Copper, Ty, Lightning Wing, Lightning Wing’s friend, Shax, Bookish Delight, Nalia (a friend of Shax and Book), Corejo, Wanderer D, Scampy and Gay for Gadot! Originally we were going to have Heartshine and Lillowisp, but they were too exhausted from running the vendor hall booth.
I had another one of those moments that I had years ago, back when we were at the Doubletree, when I ended up dragging a bunch of different groups together. And I got to just watch everyone interact, laugh, chat, and make new friends. It’s my favorite moment of any con, knowing that I helped just a little to pave the way for what might be new friendships. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not bragging about this or anything. I would have been happy with a tiny group too, but having something like this? It fills me with such joy.
Albi had a ton of fun chatting with Ty (and that’s also after Luna, Copper, Lightning, and Albi found out they were all crazy Kingdom Hearts nerds).
After that, Scampy, Gay for Gadot, Nat, Albi, Corejo, Luna, and Copper came up to our room and played our annual game of Twilight Sparkle’s Secret Shipfic Folder. The ships were both glorious and awful, but Albi and I got plenty of SunLight ships, so we were content.
The last thing was sneaking into PonyStock, enjoying Koa’s set, then getting into a fight with Azure Notion where someone might have gotten swept off their feet literally. And whatever Azure says the true story is, it’s probably a half-truth at best. 
Saturday
With our biggest events out of the way, Albi and I relaxed for a lot more of the con. Nat joined us for a fantastic reading of Neigh Anything by the VIP Guests. (Seriously, Celestia and Pipp need to work out how royalty works in Equestria).
I spent too much money in the vendor hall (as one does). We had another big group come to ramen in the nearby mall (ramen was great, takoyaki was a little middling). And after all that, Albi and I finally got ready for our big date: the Grand Galloping Gala.
I had purchased a special dress for this that emphasized several parts of me and had these adorable shoes with little pan-pride wings I added that I got from Portland Pride. I even decided to go with the Everfree dress socks they released a few years back. But the outfit was slinky.
Albi looked absolutely stunning, as they always do. As for what they looked like, that’s for me. Not you. 
We met some of our friends outside and I got more compliments than a subby trans girl like me knows how to handle.
The Gala was fantastic. We were there from roughly the beginning for multiple hours. We slow danced as many times as we could, we chatted with Luna and Copper, waved at Lightning doing her stuff that’s totally beyond me with the stage lighting and we rocked out plenty, especially when My Little Romance came up, starring some of the best musicians in the entire pony fandom (though I still have no idea how to dance to anything like My Little Romance, but I don’t have a clue how to dance in general either, so it’s okay).
We had so much fun, especially with the songs that celebrated just how long this fandom went on, and I swear there was a special moment during Famous Last Herd.
I felt like the real person I am now, and the huge fangirl I had been at the beginning fused together. Like Novel-Idea and Amber Spark were one and the same. Had to admit, I was proud to still be here.
We paused and ate at 13 Coins, danced a bit more, and then, utterly exhausted, collapsed into bed way too late.
Sunday
Sunday was our relaxing day. Albi and I enjoyed the VIP Family Feud (Equestrian Royalty, yeesh. They just love to butt heads), then had lunch with Eri, one of their friends whose name escapes me, and Azure at the Irish Pub. Wasn’t half-bad. Some sort of Irish breakfast, which I enjoyed since I recently found out that, yes, I’m part Irish.
The big event for me was the Charity Auction. You see, I had a fourth copy of the Goddess Sunset Shimmer print, and I donated it to the auction. Sadly, I never saw it get auctioned off. I checked with the staff, and they couldn’t find a record of it being auctioned off either. Eventually, I found that some of the stuff didn’t get sent out because they ran out of time. Not entirely sure what happened, but I trust EFNW to handle it!
I am very proud to say that EFNW 2024 did raise over $35,000 for their charity this year! Not only that, but attendance was over 1800 as we found out in the closing ceremonies! It was a wonderful closing ceremonies, even if a few of the stories went on a tad too long.
For dinner, Albi and I gathered Lightning, their wife, TwoFox, Luna, Copper, Nat, Azure, and Corejo for one last party at Dim Tai Fung. TwoFox and I geeked a great deal about transformation fiction and ideas. Might even try and put together a game some time!
We had a lot of fun… though there was a great deal of confusion that gave birth to a literal Noodle Incident.
Finally, we ended up having a minor LobbyCon with a few of us. The exhaustion at this point was catching up with me so I was practically drunk. I thought it was hysterical. Hopefully I wasn’t too bad to deal with, because I’m usually just a little loud and giggly. People did eventually work their way to bed and we got plenty of time to say our goodbyes. However, Albi and I didn’t really want to, since we didn’t want to deal with that whole reality thing?
We ended up meeting up with a bunch of people from the Staff on the party floor. I geeked over several outfits I saw people wearing (and plan on hijacking, style-wise). In the end, we were up until well past 2AM. And that was after we both agreed to do something crazy…
We’re both going to do Iron Author next year. For the first time!
Monday
We finally were able to sleep in (or I would have if I hadn’t been having bad dreams all week that kept waking me up), and pack everything up. We met with a couple people, but most had departed already. We ended up going to a Brazillian Steakhouse with Swan Song and Autumn. It was great to properly hang out with them and catch up with everything going on in our lives. When I used to live in Orange County, we could connect much better, but since the PNW, it’s been hard. The food there was amazing and the company was absolutely excellent. It was a delightful time and a great endcap to our EFNW adventure.
Albi and I headed back to their place. And, for kicks, we decided to actually start watching MLP:FiM from the very beginning. We totally laughed over so much of it, but there was also so much joy in that.
Sadly though, I had to go. I still needed to be back in Portland for work the next day. The drive home was brutal (tons of traffic), so it took like three and a half hours. The whole time, I was rocking out to pony music. It wasn’t too bad.
At home, I missed Albi. I missed my found family at EFNW. But this year, I had gained something new: a spark that I hadn’t felt for years. Maybe a way to write pony that wasn’t fueled by my dysphoria, but instead by just wanting to tell a fun story.
Phew! Okay. I’ve already split this up between EFNW and my return and I think this is a great point to finally take a break!
I hope you’re looking forward to what’s coming. It’s gonna be great!
- Amber Spark
Ooof, I feel that.
Mostly I think it's because this year was just such a good Everfree that it's hard to want to go back to the ordinary world after that. I can't put my finger on why, exactly, but like you, I'm feeling a lot of inspiration and motivation from this one to do more writing in the coming year. We'll see what comes out of it. Hopefully another book in the Book Nook!
See, this kind of thing is why I called it a nigh-religious experience.
Still, congrats on seeing her in person and on having a fantastic Everfree in general! Wish I could've gotten in contact with you guys more often, but it was still great seeing you.
I believe I can sum my thoughts onbthis up in one word;
SQUIUUUEEEEEEEEE!
Oh wow! Sounds like you had an absolutely superb EFNW. And yeah, that Sunset quote is such a simple, yet profoundly inspiring, thing!
Hey, it was a real pleasure hanging out with you both! I'm glad I got the chance to spend some real quality time together, and you introduced me to the hot pot place! (I ended up going three times!) I hope I get to see you both again next year, and I hope we get to hang out then as well!
Woohoo!! Awww so glad you and Albi had such a fabulous experience (and got to have such meaningful interactions with the muse herself! Can't think of more deserving folks!). Sorry I didn't get to make it to the con this year to spend time like we did last year, but I love hearing how restorative and wonderful it was for you!!
How it should be!
Aww damn, it's too bad Empathy for the Devil sold out before you could add it to your Sunset collection! An honour to be on that shelf! I'd only sent along 5 (the minimum for entry this year) thinking it wouldn't sell as well the second time around. But it's online for order, and will be at next year's con with a bit more stock as long as there's another bookstore booth!!
(Dash is still figuring out who wants to take up the mantel as far as I know; I super hope someone does!!)