I went to BronyCon 2019, and all I got was this hat. · 2:02am Aug 7th, 2019
Okay, you all know that’s not true. You can’t go to a MLP convention without coming away with swag. However, I did end up knitting an entire hat while I was there (and you probably saw it. I was working on it whenever I sat down).
BronyCon was…well…totally awesome! It was also hectic, exhausting, and a bit overwhelming. I loved it, but goodness gracious I am still tired and I’m writing this Tuesday afternoon.
Our journey started Wednesday. We spent the morning in a mad-dash of packing. We packed for ourselves, for our kids who were staying at grandparents, and for the dog who was going with them. My parents don’t live particularly close, so we spent the afternoon driving, then hanging out with my family before getting a ride to the airport.
Fun note: Our kids (and my parents) had no idea we were going to a MLP convention without them. We let our guilt take over and got them some nice pony swag and promised ourselves we’d take them to BABsCon in April.
Anyway, our flight from California was set to leave at 10:00 pm, followed by a two hour layover in Boston, then another hour flight to Baltimore. We’d be getting to Maryland around 10:30 am, which left us enough time to get to the convention center, get through registration, then be panelist for Chaos and Cuddles at 1:15 pm. Nothing would go wrong.
Narrator (voiced by Morgan Freeman): It went very wrong.
Remember how I said our flight was set to leave around 10:00 pm? Well, it ended up being closer to midnight. A full hour of that was sitting in the plane on the tarmac. Once we finally took off, we did some quick calculations and realized we’d be landing two minutes after our connecting flight took off. Oh, freaking, dear.
We were also supposed to sleep on our long flight (note the 10:00 pm take off). I think Blazzing got some, but I only managed enough spurts to get about an hour (I think). Truth is, there was a bit too much turbulence and anxiety for my wonderful, magical sleepy-time meds to work. We spent the last hour or so of our flight figuring out what we’d need to do once we landed. We’d contact bookplayer and find the next flight out of Boston. It was seriously looking like we’d be missing our Chaos and Cuddles panel unless we’d managed to quickly find a new flight.
Blazzing was on it and as we were about to descend into Boston, he checked our connecting flight one last time. Lo and behold it was forty minutes delayed! Miracles of miracles! That was just enough time for us to (semi) patiently deplane, use the facilities, and grab a breakfast sandwiches from Dunkin’ Donuts (it was literally next to our gate and the line wasn’t long, nor was it slow). All in all, we arrived in Baltimore forty minutes behind schedule. Not too bad, if you ask me!
We managed to get a cab, get to the convention center, get our badges, find a caffeine source, and freshen up a bit for our panel. It was crazy, but we managed it.
The panel was amazing. Major props need to go to bookplayer for all her work. She was the one that came up with the idea, submitted the proposal, made arrangements with the con, and led the discussion. We couldn’t have done it without her. We met her (face to face) for the first time about an hour beforehand and it was truly fun.
So there you have it. We arrived at BronyCon sleep deprived, caffeinated, relieved, and ready to go. Honestly, though, everything after that is sort of a blur. I’m not sure if it was the jet lag, the constant movement from place to place, or the fact that everything was so new. The rest of the weekend jumbles together like a jigsaw puzzle in my brain. So instead of going in chronological order, I’m going in chunks.
First chunk: Panels we attended (or didn’t attend)
We missed the Physics of Equestria panel (we had issues with checking into our hotel room, which is a story for another post). That looked and sounded like fun. Hopefully it gets put on YouTube soon.
The panels I do remember attending are:
The Cathy Weseluck panel where she talked about her experiences in voice acting.
The “There Can Only Be One” fanfic panel where we voted on the best MLP fanfic.
The panel where the VA and special guests read Horizon’s script (which was awesome, by the way).
The Lauren Faust panel where she talked a bit about MLP’s beginnings and we learned something interesting about Zecora.
Next chunk: Group Dinners
The first night we had dinner with bookplayer, Axis of Rotation, Sharp Spark, hazeyhooves…and at least three others. I’m so sorry, but your names escape me. I was in the throws of sleep deprivation, hunger, and jet lag. I remember very little from that night.
The second night we had dinner with Axis again, along with PaulAsaran, and two others. I’m so sorry, I’m really bad with names apparently. If you see this, please let me know who you are. We ate at Bubba Gumps. I also believe it was this night that we wandered over to Horizon’s room for a small party and played a very fun book-based apples-to-apples game.
The third night (Saturday) we ate with Winston, totallynotabrony, Georg, and MitchH. We talked about Georg’s stories, how Kansas is literally flatter than a pancake, Mt. St. Helen’s, and Abraham Lincoln’s head. Fun times!
Next Chunk: Vendor’s Hall
Of course we did the vendor’s hall. It was the first time we’ve ever had to wait in line to get into one, though. Apparently the line died down toward the end of the day, but we decided to only go into the vendor’s hall once because we could only take with us whatever would fit in our carryon. We came away with a puzzle, wallets, and books for the kids. We are now 20% cooler.
Another Chunk: Quills and Sofas
When we weren’t at panels, we hung out at Quills and Sofas. We were sort of squished in the corner of Pastel Pastures, but we were also very loud with all the talking and type writers. The type writers were a nice touch.
I also realized that during all the years we attended BABsCon, there was never really a room for writers, nor were there panels for writers. I mean, yes, the show writers would do a panel, but there really wasn’t anything for fanfic writers. I hadn’t noticed before because a) I started writing for this fandom relatively recently (only a year ago) and b) we were dealing with our kids at BABsCon, so our panel choices were limited, and c) I’d let Blazzing be the one to connect with other FIMfic writers because of point a.
I’m honestly really sad about the above because fan fiction is a big part of any fandom. The success of the bookstore is proof of that. I wouldn’t be surprised to find that 90% of people who attend conventions either read or write fan fiction. I’ve also found that the FIMfic community is particularly strong and close. I would really love to see more space given to writers at BABsCon.
Now Onto Some Other Fun Moments:
The other knitter. Before our Chaos and Cuddles panel started, I saw another knitter. She happened to be totallynotabrony’s wife. Honestly, I was just excited to see another knitter there!
That wonderful guy from the UK, forbloodysummer. You were so kind and came up to me to tell me how much you loved “A Slice of (Cake) Life.” It was so nice to meet a Brony from across the pond and I hope you had a wonderful time!
Talking to people in line. During most of the lines we found ourselves in, there was always someone to talk to. It was like we had a shared interest or something. Seriously, though, Blazzing and I will be taking a bag full of snacks to the next con we attend because a surprising number of you hadn’t eaten breakfast or lunch and our parenting instincts started taking over. Ya’ll need to eat!
The random prompt from Blazzing. Sunday morning, I turned to Blazzing and asked him to give me a prompt. I felt like writing something on the typewriters at Quills and Sofas. He delivered and I got about two hundred words into a new story. I honestly really like what I’ve written, so I’ll be following it through to see where this goes. I’m hopeful that in a few months I’ll have something new to post here.
Did I mention it was Blazzing and mine 12th anniversary? Yep, for our anniversary Blazzing decided to take me somewhere expensive: the airport. This is why we’re still married.
Epic Yarn, out!
I wondered about that. XD Oh my god.
Happo anniversaro! :D
5101163
We thought it was better that way as it would cause less tears and less questions from parents. We told them we were going to a writer’s convention because it was the closest to the truth. It also helps that it was over our anniversary weekend.
I regret nothing.
I’d listen Morgan Freeman read the phone book
Thank you very much for that chocolate granola bar thing, by the way. It really helped me get through the day. I owe you one next time we're at the same convention.
5101230
You’re very welcome. Rest assured, you weren’t the only one who’d gone without food and Blazzing and I had plenty to share. We tend to overpack when it comes to snacks.
Happy anniversary!
And thank you so much for being on the panel! (Don't tell Blazzing, but you are tied with Aquaman for my favorite co-panelist of all time.) It was so great meeting you both. And thank you again for the gifts you brought Trixie.
5101248
I really loved being on the panel with you. I really hope we get to hang out again.
You’re too sweet!
Georg did have a lot of quotable stories from that night.
I feel your pain with the flight delays, I hadn't even realised that was something with a reasonable chance of going wrong. Glad to hear you still made your connection! I didn't
That must have been crazy-stressful having the panel as one of the first events of the con, too, with the pressure of getting badges and everything sorted to reach it in time.
I really hope your guess about 90% of the fandom being into fanfic is somewhere close to the mark, but I fear the number is far lower than that. ObabScribbler has 3k followers here, and 300k on Youtube. DWK has written one of the best stories on the site, and has 350 followers here, but 30k of them on Youtube. I liked bookplayer's suggestion that many are interested in fanfiction, but don't have the time for it. But I saw one of the community guest youtubers put up six hours of footage of their Bronycon adventure, so I guess people have got time enough to watch that... I'd rather read a good story, any day.
I totally agree about the fimfiction community being very close, though, I've never known a writing community like this one
That's so sweet about the other knitter! Snack providing for lines sounds a much-appreciated job. And it's good to hear there'll be a new story on the way soon!
Thanks for the kind words, it was really good to meet you and I'm glad I got the opportunity to talk to you about your story. I very much enjoyed the convention, thanks, and am really glad I went!
Happy anniversary to you both!
5106774
I also wonder how many people read fan fiction but don’t follow anyone in particular. The same goes for how many people read a story vs who post a comment or pushes the like button. How many people on here are “lurkers”? I’ve known people who’ve made whole writing careers around fan fiction (not pony fic, but fan fiction for works published before copy write). I also think a lot more people read fan fiction than actually admit to it.
Basically, our work here is someone’s dirty secret.
I’m so glad you were able to make it to BronyCon. It sounds like your delay was much more major than ours. I hope you got to explore a bit before heading back home.
5107833 I hope you're right
I put a spreadsheet together once to run the numbers and work out the averages - my stories have about 25 views for each upvote. I can't believe many wouldn't click the upvote button if they had accounts, so I'd think a fair number of those 25 are viewing as guests rather than registered users. I quite like the thought of being a dirty secret for people, that sounds fun!
I got, uh, an hour to run around the Smithsonian? So that was something at least
I was going to leave earlier and have longer seeing sights, but decided I'd much rather stay and see friends more instead 
But I'm watching a TV series at the moment set in Washington, so at least whenever they talk about Dulles airport or the Potomac my ears perk up!