UK Ponycon 2019 Part 4 · 9:21pm Nov 4th, 2019
Three weeks have now passed since UK Ponycon 2019 ended. So it's about time I got this over with!:
Sunday
Since there's no need to register again on Sunday, we didn't need to be at the venue until about 10:00. Armed with this knowledge, we were able to convince Logan to organise breakfast a little later than the previous day 
. I had the one with the pancakes this time, which left me feeling rather stuffed. Griffin also joined us which was tremendous. He'd survived travelling in full cosplay all the way from his home in Leicester.
First event of the day was Stormy's panel. She and her sister (and another bloke I can't remember) were telling us how to do an 'art'. I enjoy these because, even though I don't draw myself, it does allow you to appreciate others' work. The panel ran very smoothly; in fact better than last year when they spent 15 minutes trying to set up a webcam. After that I did a spot more shopping, including a Funko 'mystery minis' blind box and some nice metal cutie-mark pins. There may have been some Robot Wars art in there too.
At midday a bunch of us headed into the 'LGBTQ+ Representation on MLPTube' panel, not exactly knowing what to expect. We were greeted by Apple Honey, who fortunately had a group of fans in tow for their 'MLP:Hope' series. I was honestly very impressed by the talk, both in terms of the panel itself, and the content of the Youtube videos they described. "Big cheer for Sunset Shimmer!" 
There were some great messages in there. Unfortunately, I often fear that the messages only get to those who already don't need them, if that makes sense?
Immediately following was the Charity Auction. Unfortunately I wasn't really interested in bidding, as there wasn't anything I particularly wanted. And I'm not willing to outbid someone else who really wants said item, just for the sake of winning a bid. So instead I grabbed a quiet lunch from the upstairs cafe and overlooked proceedings. Things sure seemed to be going for high prices. The highlight of course was Somerset Cider getting the signed/sketched comic for £400.
It was around this point that the exhaustion of the weekend caught up with me. I was feeling a bit dead from the activities and inadequate sleep of the past few days 
. There weren't any events coming up I was really fussed about either, so I retired to my hotel room for a couple of hours. Apart from just resting, I did at least take the opportunity to open my blind box. And was thrilled to receive a Celestia figure! I'd have been rather peeved if it was a Luna, having just forked out for one on eBay recently.
Feeling recovered, I slunk back into the conference centre and headed straight for the 'Making Music' panel. This filled the last 'normal' slot of the weekend, similar to Mad-Munchkin last year. We joined Steely Hooves, fresh off his performance the night before, who took us on a whistle-stop tour of the entire production process. It quickly became clear he really knew his stuff, and much like Stormy's panel it gave me a new appreciation of the work involved. Sadly the room wasn't very full, but he took a fair few questions from the audience anyway. I even managed to ask one without ballsing it up! Hawthorn also appeared for some of it too. He had the pleasure of my Scootaloo plush standing on the desk blocking his view. 
Finally, the Closing Ceremony. Lots and lots of clapping involved. There was a stand-out moment towards the end though. The events lead Bexi stated that, despite the show ending the previous night, there will definitely be a UK Ponycon 2020. That really got to me emotionally, both at the time and thinking about it in the days after. We all kinda knew it would be the case, but hearing it confirmed; that meant a lot 
. We were also told about the 'Spooky' theme, which I think is great, and a no-brainer considering the usual October date of Ponycon. The comparisons made to the 'dead fandom' thing were amusing. Even if I'm a bit sick of that meme now.
Leaving the Nottingham Trent University was saddening, knowing that the chances of returning for a third year are quite slim. It had really served its purpose well. For our motley group, there was still time to go and enjoy a 'last supper' (don't read anything into that title) in the nearby Spoons. Some of us dumped our stuff in the hotel while an advanced group went to grab a table. By the time we got there, space seemed to be a little tight. We thought about using a table nearby, but a guy showed up looking about ready to murder us. So we made do squeezing in with the others, and all worked OK. 
As is now tradition, we played a round of 'photoshop stuff in custard'. The other end of the table were apparently trying to have 'sensible discussions', but I think our end successfully derailed that 
. There was also plenty of pony chatter and extreme pony stacking. People gradually made their exit, until the last of us sauntered back to our hotels. I was really glad that I didn't have work the next day, and enjoyed the luxury of falling into my hotel bed rather than having to go and catch a 153 to Derby.
Monday
It was nice doing things at my own pace. I wandered down to breakfast about 9:30 and happily joined Alliminaro at his table. The breakfast was OK despite a few tense moments where it seemed like it'd never show up. We also passed and said our goodbyes to Irish Mike, who thankfully was keeping his meal down that morning. Returning to my room, I put together my epic merch haul photo without too much furniture rearranging. Packing was a very leisurely affair. I'd been slightly temped by the post-con meet up down towards the station. In the end though I didn't feel like lugging my bags across town. So I checked out just before midday; a quick hop on the tram, and a rather uneventful journey back home.
I did enjoy unpacking my latest pony acquisitions. The plushie shelf here is even more packed than the one at the hotel room. The rest of Monday was spent trying to adjust back to normal (I think I watch the Grand Prix). But the Ponycon buzz was too hard to shift; and the final FiM episodes were still fresh in the mind. Little did I know, I had a week of stomach bug coming up to contend with 
. If you want to know about that, go back to the first part of this blog series. Just make sure you don't get stuck in an endless blog loop.
Thanks all for reading. These have taken a bit of will-power to finish, but if they've given any of you some enjoyment, I guess that makes them worthwhile. 
To be fair, I don't think I needed all that much convincing! The thought of Actual Sleep was too tempting.
Yes, that's a fair point. Still, I think having these panels as a straightforward, normal part of the schedule does itself help. And as you say, Apple Honey did a good job.
I'm already wondering if we'll know anything about G5 by then. I think I too have just about had my fill of the "dead fandom" meme now, and having something new officially announced by then would be exciting.
I... missed this, or at least have wiped it from my memory. Yikes!
That one was your fault!
Anyway, thanks very much for these blogs! They've been a lot of fun to read, especially when they bring back happy memories.