The Day I Met Spike the Dragon

A couple weeks ago, I had the privilege to go to Bronycon up in Baltimore (or Baltimare) for the first time ever. Actually, it was my first convention of any kind, so I really was going in feet-wet. After surviving the long, boring drive through Traffic Cop Land--otherwise known as "Virginia," the creeping traffic past DC into Baltimore, the horror of my realization that both my headlights had failed, and faced an uncertain parking situation, I found myself in Charm City two hours later than I intended.

Once things got settled, and the convention got underway, I quickly began to feel more relaxed about all the unknown factors. I was particularly impressed by the size and seating of the Mane Event's hall. It could quite possibly accommodate the sum total of all attendees, which officially topped out at 10k. Being treated to an introduction animation, and quickly discovering the con subculture that exists among bronies was also well-done. Then actually seeing the voice actors, writers, and the various people that make the show happen was a very surreal feeling. But I mean that in a good way.

I get the feeling most people were just there for John de Lancie, which was made obvious when I lined up with a guy dressed up in an old-school Q robe from the Star Trek: TNG days. Sitting in on his panel was entertaining, as well as interesting, just because of his lifestyle choices (such as never watching TV) or advising people to steer clear of a professional acting career. After blowing most of my money on merchandise in the marketplace, I pretty much hopped from panel to panel, tagging along with people from my local brony group whenever I could.

That day, I sat in on one of the best panels of the weekend called the "Six Horsepower Voice Actor's panel" with every voice actor present at the con (minus de Lancie since he had two solos). The Q&A had its fair share of interesting questions. It was here, that I gained the suspicion that "Trollestia" is based off of Nicole Oliver's personality, which was on display when someone asked the ill-advised question: "Do you like bananas?" Her response was to flag him over to the stage, and as he did so, she got up and went off to the side, acting like she was going to whisper her response in his ear, only to mock-slap him and return to her seat. The hall erupted into laughter. Moral: NEVER discuss bananas to Nicole Oliver. Ever. Then a young man got up to the mic. It was hard to understand him, but you got the impression that he was meeting his greatest heroes at that moment. Thing is, having speech impediments can really be a tough situation out there in the world, where people would be cruel enough to make fun of him, or bring him down. Not here.

Cathy Weseluck leaned forward, and spoke to him in a two-way conversation in her Spike the dragon voice. Most people don't really know how to handle these kinds of conversations, but Cathy handled it like a pro. Listening to her responses was awe-inspiring. It didn't matter what he said or asked. Cathy never missed a beat. Additionally, she later showed a woodcut picture of Fleetfoot from the show. In response to a young girl, who asked the entire panel what kind of advice they could offer for someone going through hard times, she and the rest of the panel signed it, and then presented it to her. After this panel was over, my mind was made up: I was going to meet Spike before this con finished.

The following day, I saw fit to put down the money to get some autographs from some of the voice actors. I went in with the hope of meeting Nicole Oliver originally, but was unsure if I would even get to her. Not only would I collect hers, but also Kelly Sheridan's, and now Cathy Weseluck. But I needed a piece of art appropiate for each person to sign. Finding a Starlight Glimmer in propaganda style was easy enough. For whatever reason, I ventured over to the IDW Comics booth over in the marketplace, and took a look at some prints there. I found a particularly well-drawn one by Tony Fleecs that featured both Princess Celestia, and Spike. This was from a particular Friends Forever story arc featuring the pair. I went ahead and purchased it, figuring it was worthy of being two for the money. What I didn’t notice until after I purchased it, was that Tony Fleecs was sitting right there in front of me! I only recognized him from the panel that I had sat in on earlier that day. There wasn’t really anyone else there, so we got to have a bit of a conversation, which was a real treat since I didn’t really get the opportunity to speak to other VIP’s or internet celebs as much as I wanted to (or was capable of getting the words out to). I have it on good authority that a G1 Transformers/Friendship is Magic Official Crossover has been proposed, complete with artwork from Tony’s personal collection. “A forty-percent chance.” was his answer when I asked how likely that would become reality. Finally, before I took my print, he signed it on the spot. I even got a picture of him.

Now in possession of something worthy of being autographed, I headed over to the autographs hall, where several of the actors, writers and artists held court. Cathy wasn’t going to be available after this session, so I had to make this move right away. I’m 31 years old. I have never collected any autographs, nor met anyone famous/well-known. Needless to say, this was yet another all-new experience for me. When I reached Cathy’s table, she greeted me-- in Spike’s voice, no less. I presented her the picture, and she was visibly wowed by it. I’m not good, when it comes to being put on the spot, because I’ve never actively sought the spotlight. Still, I did manage to tell her how moved I was by her responses at the Q&A, as well as how open and friendly she was to everything else. I would have gone on, but time was limited, so she took a picture of me holding the print, and then signed it. That was that.

It was interesting to meet Nicole Oliver, and Kelly Sheridan as well. I sort of wish I could have found a Cheerilee print, but even in that place, to no avail. But my experience with Cathy left me with some profound thoughts that followed all the way to the closing ceremony, where she was the only voice actress to appear on stage. I could tell she really enjoyed this crowd, and was going a long ways to nurture that.

That night, I thought about her character Spike. He’s kind of the punching bag. The odd man out, as it were. Many of the episodes that center around that character have not been well-received. I can’t say that’s the character’s fault, personality-wise. It’s just that he’s a portrayed as a misfit, being an entirely different species, amongst an entire world populated by talking colorful ponies. This has led to him being inconsistently portrayed, as time goes on, making him seem like he’s learning next to nothing from previous errors. But then I look past the “Spike-isodes” and look at the character itself.
It’s a popular expression that the artist gives the character the body, the writer gives the character the personality, but the voice actor gives it its soul. My encounter with Cathy Weseluck changed the way I looked at Spike. I suddenly found myself imagining having a dedicated personal assistant and friend like his relationship to Twilight Sparkle. I realized that if I took in all the actions he performed on my behalf, and did so with only a slight amount of complaints, I realized Twilight Sparkle is lucky to have him. There is so much that just wouldn’t be possible without him, like instant messaging to Princess Celestia (and Luna too, apparently). It’s probably been covered countless times, but Spike is a very special character in his own way. And I think Cathy Weseluck’s positive personality has rubbed off on him. She also got the best and most personable lines in the now-notorious 100th episode of My Little Pony as Mayor Mare, which seemed as though they were directed more to the audience, than the crowd she was addressing. If there was any need for proof that that episode was a big “Thank You” to all the fans who’ve made this show so popular, that monologue did it.

Finally, I just want to say, that whether you like everything about the brony culture, or you hate certain aspects of it enough to go so far as to say “this fandom is dying,” this brony has come away just thinking about how wonderful it is to be able to encounter, and experience a culture such as this, and am glad that I am privileged to continue experiencing new things, no matter how much older than this.

Until another time, I am off.