Everfree Eidolon · 2:49am Aug 30th, 2022
Well, this was fun.
Though I suppose you’d like a few more details. 
Thursday
After a few attempts at a more cramped itinerary, I’ve found heading out the day before and getting back the day after is the way to go. The trip there was largely painless, aside from waking up at 4:15 AM so I could catch a train heading out a bit after 5 so I’d be at the airport far enough in advance of my 7:20 takeoff. (Also the TSA crew inspected my backpack since there’s a bundle of loose change in one pocket that formed a worrying dark spot on the X-ray. Which I suppose is better than the time they went through the carry-on because I had X-ray opaque bricks in there that turned out to be boxes of Magic decks.)
In case you’re wondering if all that was necessary, they started boarding about five or ten minutes after I got to my gate. Lead time is important.
Mind you, that massive margin for unencountered error meant that I actually got to the Bellevue Hyatt Regency around 11 AM Pacific Time, when check-in is usually 4 PM. Housekeeping was, understandably, not prepared. The concierge assured me it would take about twenty minutes.
It did not.
Fortunately, that gave me time to get my badge, update my family and online social circles, and people-watch. The lobby made for a great hang-out spot, especially as other EFNW attendees filtered in. One fellow was handing out stickers: One “Why is the horse screaming?”1 and the other of a judgemental Rarity. I hung onto that one for the whole weekend, planning to deploy as a real-life reaction image if something truly “Darling”-worthy happened. It didn’t, but knowing how life works, I’d have had plentiful opportunities if I’d left it in my room.
1 Pray forgive the iFunny link; it was the only one I could find to that image.
Speaking of, said room was ready around… 4 PM. I don’t mean to demean anyone at the hotel; my room was on the 16th floor and housekeeping takes time. (I also gave a member of the housekeeping staff the fright of her life when I told her the room she was currently was the one I was supposed to be staying in. Fortunately for both of us, her co-worker asked me to double-check my room number. He’s presumably dealt with this situation more than once.)
Once settled in, I finally took the time to actually look at the event schedule and put together my itinerary. I normally do that before the flight, but I just hadn’t gotten around to it this year. Still, the night before is better than never at all.
I also grabbed dinner from Rice and Spice, a Thai place near the hotel that I greatly enjoyed last year… though I did forget to grab utensils when my order was ready. I improvised with coffee stirrers, which worked fairly well, all things considered.
The pillows on my bed came in two kinds: Too firm and too soft. It was a great room for the most part—I hate coffee pods in principle, but I have an inordinate fondness for the little brewing machines in hotel rooms—but I have clearly been spoiled by memory foam.
Friday
I woke up at 4-something again, though not by choice. Even as I write this sentence on the flight back, I still haven’t wholly adjusted to Pacific Time. Fortunately, I excel at finding ways to kill time, including catching up on the layover nightmare that was Estee’s trip to the convention. (I’ll let them fill in the details there.)
I eventually came downstairs, had breakfast, got a photo of con staff setting up the “Welcome to Equestria!” banner over the main staircase, and did more people-watching. There’s nothing quite like the crowd at a pony convention, in their blends of street clothes, cosplay, the occasional fursuit, and plushies that demand so much attention that you miss their bearers’ outfits entirely. G5 factored much more heavily in the crowd than I thought it might. Izzys and Sunny (Izzies and Sunnies?) abounded, with Zipps and Pipps sprinkled in. I don’t recall any Hitches, but I did see a Sprout at one point… I think. Pretty sure he wasn’t a Big Mac.
I got in line for the opening ceremonies about forty minutes in advance, because the lessons of the Last Bronycon are not easily forgotten. Cosplays that walked by included the Equestria Girls cheer squad who I would later see performing the pep song routine I mentioned in my previous blog2, a Mandalorian with darksaber and companion who had only earned his helmet, an Adora who gave me costume tips when I complimented her shoulder pads, a winged GIR, and of course, Princess Deadpool in all his regal glory.
2 Addendum: According to other eyewitnesses, the Applejack did have a hat, but it was throwing off her routine. Given the Trixie, I’m calling this one a skill issue.
(“What’s the MCU?” someone asked in response to His Mouthiness’s banter.
“Okay, you die now,” he answered, unsheathing a katana and stalking towards them.)
I also saw a friend of the guy who gave me the stickers yesterday, who’d mentioned how he’d be in his full Starlight outfit once the con began. At the time, he’d just been wearing a Glimmer-muzzle facemask and hauling a plushie of her. But that day, I witnessed the power of a fully armed and operational Glimfan.
This is apparently image #666 on my phone. I make no further comment on the matter.
It was also the first time Estee spotted me. That I know of. I never was able to return the favor. Estee at a convention is like that one ”my pronouns are none” tweet. When they go incognito, they mean it. I thought I might have spotted them once on Sunday, but that person proved to have a Sponsor badge… and also danced arm-in-arm with others at the foot of the Mane Stage to “Isn’t It Great to be Different?” during the closing ceremonies
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
While everyone was getting seated for the opening ceremonies, a guy in a Rainbow Dash wig and hoodie held up a Pinkie plushie to show a friend where he was. I commended him; who better to use to get a friend’s attention? Then it turned out the friend was a woman in more elaborate Pinkie cosplay, holding a Dash plushie. Unexpected cuteness is always nice to see.
The ceremony itself opened with a musical number only slightly undermined by the housekeeping cart that found its way into the tracking shot, with the song “Show Yourself” from Frozen 2. It turned out this was Everfree Northwest’s 10th anniversary, a fact I had managed to miss until then. A montage of EFNWs past played, capturing many touching moments… though nothing about the writing track. I suppose we’re not the most cinematically captivating part of the event. Harrumph. Still, there was much sentimentality as Pillar of the Community awards were given to those who’d contributed the most to the con, whether horsefamous or working behind the scenes.
During the review of con policy we were informed of the zero-tolerance policy for harassment and the title of the blue-shirted staff in charge of enforcing it. In other words, we were asked to rely on the Royal Guard. I feel like someone didn’t think that through.
The VIP guest introductions were delightful. Andrea Libman initiated a “Fun!” chant like the head priestess of the Cult of Pinkie that she is. Front Page prompted a “Yup!” chant for Peter New. Vincent Tong tried and failed to make a “Brad!” chant happen. Marÿke Hendrikse gave a perfectly indifferent “Hello, I guess” as Gilda. Kelly Sheridan assured/warned us that Headmare Starlight would be watching. Andy Price tossed sketches into the crowd like shuriken. Ana Sani happily cried “Hi, new friends!” The back of her jacket was decorated with a beaming Izzy and “Hi friends!” (She sadly ended up COVID-positive later in the convention. The vast majority of congoers were masked and a vaccination record or negative test was required at registration, but the virus is still ubiquitous.)
And, of course, the con flag was hung, and three days of Equestria on Earth officially began. I spotted Littleshy in the row in front of me and, as I like to do whenever I spot him, complemented his taste in Best Pony. I also expressed my amazement at the absolute unit of a derp he unboxed a bit ago.
After that, I headed up to the Twilight Room. Or as I like to call it, the “Twilitorium.” It’s a college-esque lecture hall spanning two floors of the building, if a college sprang for quartz-veined marble surfaces, plugs for laptops, and a massive 4x4 multiscreen media display, along with three monitor pointing at the presenter so they don’t have to look behind them the whole time.
Yeah, writing may have gotten snubbed in the opening ceremony, but they still treat us right at Everfree Northwest. For comparison, the Celestia, Luna, and Cadence Rooms were all to the side of the Mane Stage, small portioned-off chunks of ballroom with folding chairs for fifty or so.
The first panel I attended was one of Admiral Biscuit’s, on harnesses, horseshoes, and saddlebags. Or, as I told a few people, “We’ve got the horses. This is for horse accessories.” Fascinating stuff, covering the full history of domesticated beasts of burden and comparing reality with what’s been shown on the show. Plus, the terminology is an untapped gold mine for pony characterization, place names, idioms, and world building. I won’t cover everything here, but I made sure to inform Biscuit after the presentation that, despite his claims to the contrary, someone was taking notes.
After that was an incredibly fun panel, The Good, the Bad, and the Mare with the Party Cannon. Like Bad Horse’s And That’s How Equestria was Made, it was an improv storytelling game that could be run for fun in the Tabletop Games room, but DoTheDaringDew, the guy running it, had secured a spot for it on the schedule. Somewhat to his own astonishment, given the quality of the room.
The game itself was brilliant in its simplicity. A line of five players cycle through Good, Bad, and Weird. Each rolls a twenty-sided die. The higher the number, the more impact their bit of story had to have on the narrative. To keep a string of low rolls from making the whole exercise peter out, each person had the option to reroll once each time they had a turn.
The first prompt was the host’s standby for getting started: “It was a beautiful day in Ponyville, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders decided to get their marks as Cutie Mark Crusader Bank Robbers.” What followed was a chaotic delight. The fillies stumbled their way into a Crusader Katamari, rolled through the vault door, foiled a separate bank heist being attempted by changelings, accidentally kidnapped a ‘ling who’d shapeshifted into a pile of loose bills—yes, ponies use paper money in this story, don’t question it—fell into a nearby construction site, and bribed a passing Lyra and Bonbon with that changeling to get them out before the cement set. Credit to EileenSaysHi, who among other things suggested Scootaloo trying to swim in money Scrooge-style, only for reality to ensue. Many paper cuts.
I got to join in in the second round, wherein Sunny and Izzy attended their first convention. They found their own voice actresses, had a brief existential crisis, got lost on the college campus where the con was being held, reconvened at an ice cream truck, and got those gumball-eyed popsicles of their own faces (yes, including the humans.) To improve the ice cream guy’s camera for the publicity-boosting selfie, Izzy tore out the truck’s engine for components. After mishaps with the overcharged flash and variously ruined ice creams, a swarm of rabid bronies set upon our heroines, eager for autographs and/or headpats.
At that point we brought Dewey into the story, something that had apparently never happened before. He unwisely mentioned his allergies to actual horses, and thus in the tale, his happy relationship with his waifu was interrupted by horrible swelling and hives, necessitating a rush to the hospital… which was also staffed by horses. Only M. A. Larson and the grace of his holy Sharpie provided the cure, and they all lived happily ever after. Of course, for me, the con was just starting.
I took the opportunity to get a late lunch, then check out the vendor hall. One booth, Corey's Corner, was offering the official pony Magic cards in pillow form, and I knew Big Data had come to Everfree and had targeted me specifically. I couldn’t leave that booth in good conscience without getting something. The woman running it—presumably Corey—was kind enough to note that she also had keychains. I settled on a Blacker Lotus; many of the other Magic cards sent the wrong sort of message for those immersed in the community. (He may be my favorite color pair, but I’m not getting freaking Oko. For those unfamiliar with card games, the sheer number of formats where he’s banned should tell you everything you need to know.)
The hallways of the convention center had little desks and protrusions here and there, and many were scattered with business cards for artists, other conventions, and more. A phone playing assorted pony songs was tucked under an ad for My Little Karaoke and went unmolested for the whole weekend. A pile of buttons and figurines were offered, free to a good home and with contributions welcome. I provided a few things I’d gathered at past conventions and wasn’t especially attached to; they were gone when next I looked.
Next on my itinerary were three panels in the Cadence Room (I never did end up in the Celestia or Luna Rooms.) First was Pony the Interruption, wherein the audience submitted questions for the panelists to discuss for a few minutes each. Same formula as Pardon the Interruption, just with less sports content. It was definitely fun to hear the ideas bounce—I was especially happy with the results of one of my submissions, “What do you think Discord can’t do?”—but there wasn’t much that was notable enough to put here. Here’s the stuff that stood out enough for me to note:
• Bronycon was apparently the 13th largest contributor to Baltimore’s economy at one point
• Given how Equestria’s sun and moon work, the cause of lunar phases for Earth don’t make sense there. Maybe Luna does it with a potato peeler?
• “Who would win in a fight, Lyra or Flim?” The consensus was that this was happening during Lyra’s wedding reception, and that she would wipe the floor with the beanpole. Someone mentioned Moondancer. I noted Lyra has a chip on her shoulder there after being left out of “Amending Fences.” The panelists found that an even more appealing matchup.
Then came an MLP trivia contest, hosted by Silver Quill and TheIllustriousQ, the latter in full Continuum chic. Players could win fabulous prizes by knowing the minutae of the show and the crew. (The highest difficulty, “Trivia-tastic,” would earn a prize with a single correct answer… about non-pony shows the cast had also done. Or their relatives had. No multiple choices offered.) I won an alt-art cover Pinkie comic by correctly identifying a few quotes from the show, including Twilight’s alliterative teardown of Applejack at the end of “Applebuck Season.”
(Meanwhile, Lightning Bliss bombed a Trivia-tastic question. Silver Quill let her have another chance if she said she was part of his entourage. She grudgingly did so… and got the second question wrong too. The show may end, but analyst shenanigans are eternal.)
Silver Quill also hosted the next panel, one using Izzy’s unicycling and “nothing is useless” mentality as a gateway to animism. A fascinating discussion throughout; he really is good at delving deep into philosophical topics and finding ways to connect them back to MLP. This exploration of the souls of all things and the tragedies of planned obsolescence and building for disposability was no different.
I went to my room after that. Aside from a brief doze on the ride from SeaTac to Bellevue, I’d been up for about twenty hours.
Saturday
Saturday was another early start. Most of the snippets in my earlier blog happened that morning. Though apparently while I noticed Admiral Biscuit and Rescue Sunstreak at the hotel’s brunch restaurant (which, funnily enough, is named Eques,) Monochromatic, Wanderer D, et al. were sitting on the other side of my booth. Also, contrary to my speculation yesterday, they weren’t heading for the vendor hall.
It should have been obvious, really. After all, they were hosting the next panel I attended, one on cultural perspectives. In case it wasn’t clear who they were, D set a Latias and a Sweetie Belle on the table. Mono’s Pikachu hat hung on her shoulders like the pelt of the Nemean Lion on Heracles. Jykinturah, the third panelist—as Mono and D noted, they really didn’t want everyone on the diverse perspectives panel to be Mexican—wore a raven-headed hoodie with wings on the sleeves.
As they got set up, D apologized for not recognizing me until Petrichord pointed me out. I assured him it was fine; my most distinguishing feature was under the mask. And that was for the people who knew I’m not actually a smug Best Pony with Twilight’s mane and a homemade horn.
I’ll give everyone shaken by that revelation a moment to compose themselves.
Corejo’s phone went off during setup with a familiar bird call. Without even thinking about it, I said “Whose Chocobo was that?” much to his delight. Wanderer D’s text alert, the Roblox “Oof” sound, would go off several times over the convention, with flawless comedic timing every time.
Rescue Sunstreak: “Just don’t lick the mike. It’s not an ice cream cone.”
Monochromatic: “Okay.” (proceeds to wipe it on the tablecloth without turning it off.)
I don’t want to give the impression it took forever for the panel to actually start; there was just a lot of amusing stuff that happened during the run-up. The panel itself was fascinating, with all three panelists explaining how their formative experiences shaped their views of Equestria. D explained how the Mexican view of death as a transition to be celebrated meant he never felt the immortality blues on Twilight’s behalf when she got her wings, nor did he ever feel the need to slap horns or wings on the others.
… Look, I went to this panel specifically to hear viewpoints different from my own.
Mono explained the stark class divides and critical importance of establishing social connections in Mexico, and how she literally lived out Rarity’s experiences in “Sweet and Elite,” trying to attend her best friend’s birthday party the same day as one she’d been invited to by the popular crowd. (This, for the record, is why you should never call Rarity a social climber in the presence of the Queen of Raritwi.) She also explained the differences in description between English and Spanish prose, and how her readers have learned that something is narratively important in her stories if it gets more florid description. Also how she learned to stop worrying and love the telenovela style.
Jykinturah noted the etymological descent of Korean from the incredibly information- and symbolism-dense pictographs of Chinese, and how that has impacted their own deeply multilayered writing. Tipping came up; don’t do it in Mexico and never do it in Korea. The floor opened up, and many people chimed in with how their early experiences and local assumptions shaped narrative tendencies, characterization perspectives, and more. Among other things, I learned that in terms of sheer quantity of jokes at its expense, Quebec is the New Jersey of Canada.
Then came Iron Author, the main reason I come to EFNW. Very fun prompt this year: Write a story with a guru, a guerrilla, and a gaffe. I’m still polishing my entry, but expect it soon. I will say that I didn’t finish the initial draft until there were about ten minutes left on the clock, which made for a rather hectic editing process.
After that came the lunch where I tried to look relatively normal and Horizon still had his “Furry Trash” facemask. (Before that, we checked out the auction room. Some incredible stuff, but nothing among the flat bids was a must-have for me.) Though given our server’s polite questions about the convention, it wasn’t nearly as bad as my anxiety insisted it would be. While there, Wanderer D asked me how I always leave pertinent comments. I honestly didn’t understand the question at first. In the end, I just told him I leave the kind of comments I want to get. The Golden Rule applies to feedback as much as everything else.
Horizon and I raced back to the hotel for the open read and critique, an opportunity for folks to get feedback on the first five minutes of a story. (Along the way, we found to our mutual amusement that we both shift our gait to move in time with any music playing in a store.) My own offerings at the ORC were well-received, and I got to hear excerpts of some delightful stuff from EileenSaysHi and Admiral Biscuit. And that’s all say about them for now. 
Eileen also showed me some of her autographs and tells how Ms. Hendrikse answered a question of Sonata Dusk’s second favorite food by waxing rhapsodic about a certain kind of sorbet. Hence the cheery “It’s Sorbet Saturday!” on the image of Sonata abusing Gilda’s free sample plate of tacos.
After that was another Biscuit panel, Building a Lived-In World, a brilliant rundown on all the little details that help a setting feel bigger than the story you’re telling. Local industry, logistics, demographics, recreation… even clothing trends can communicate volumes in a few lines if used correctly.
From there it was back to the Cadence Room for After the Fact Live: Secret of My Excess. While the crowd got a little too boisterous at times—truly, one of the hardest lessons to learn is when not to make a joke—Silver Quill still provided some great analysis, especially regarding the unfortunate implications of dragons being biologically, uncontrollably hardwired to hoard. (And what Spike getting one book from Twilight a year said about his relationship with the rest of her family.)
Next on the itinerary was celebrity horsefamous Twilight Sparkle’s Secret Shipfic Folder. I like Silver Quill. I respect him. But card games are my territory, and crushing him sounded delightful. Unfortunately, I got there ahead of him and Sweetie Bloom and got caught up in a different game entirely. (This was taking place in the Tabletop Games room, after all.) By the time I won that, the TSSSF table had more than a dozen people around it. So I played a round of a different game with the same guy who’d been happy to show me the first. And I won that as well. 
But as that was happening, music was coming in from the Twilitorium. The same qualities that made it a great venue for discussing writing also made it an outstanding karaoke parlor, and Nicole Oliver was hosting it. (She was there for Saturday only.) I got in line the moment I realized what was going on. I’m still not sure what was more surreal: Princess Celestia singing Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know” or her praising my choice of the Rolling Stones’ “Paint it Black.”
I suppose that one isn’t too surprising.
Either way, it was incredible fun. Though truth be told, I’d gotten in line with no idea what I was going to sing and had been having too much fun to give it thought until moments before I had to write something on the request sheet. Thankfully, a duet was performing “Join the Black Parade” at the time.
Saved by My Chemical Romance. Truly, conventions are full of novel experiences.
It was nearing midnight by that point. I went to bed thoroughly fulfilled.
Sunday
And now, scenes from Sunday morning, that strange twilight that marks the beginning of a con’s end:
I wander through the lobby, watching the crowds. A group offers me a chocolate-frosted donut, saving the last glazed for someone with allergies. I gratefully accept. To eat it, I sit by a plastic storage bin covered in stickers of griffons, MLP and otherwise. Atop the bin are plushies of Braeburn, asleep with rainbow socks, Zipp, awake, and a cartoon chunk of meat on the bone.
Monochromatic’s entourage is taking group photos on the main staircase. I slip into some like a cryptid. Afterwards, I happily talk with Corejo and Amber Spark for a time. With my blessing, Amber takes the Sharpie I bring to conventions in case of autograph emergencies. I realize I could have been getting autographs this whole time from my fellows. I decide I value the experiences more.
Jingling draws my attention to the escalators by the Mane Stage. The pointed hat comes into view, followed by the rest of the wizard. I nod in approval. A proper Star Swirl cosplay should be heard before it’s seen.
The first panel I went to was Pony Feud, which is exactly what it sounds like: The VIPs split into two teams to guess how congoers answered an MLP-themed survey. (I’d known about the game, but I hadn’t thought to look for the survey online. At the Last Bronycon, they were getting answers live.) Kelly Sheridan and Peter New led the teams, the latter happily introducing his half of the guests as family. The capstone was Vincent Tong as Perschnickety, his son the coke dealer. Highlights included:
• Andrea Libman guessing wrong on “Name an item that Fluttershy would bring to a party.” (Her guess: knitting.)
• “Name a famous couple as seen on MLP” getting strikes from Vincent Tong naming Flashlight and Peter New guessing Cheerimac (though Sugarmac was number 6.)
• Libman walking off the stage when Pinkie was only number 5 for “Who is best pony?” It took a “Fun!” chant to draw her back. Fluttershy at number 4 didn’t leave her much happier.
• One of the unguessed answers for “Name an animal in Equestria that doesn’t speak”? Kirin.
• The contestants very nearly rioting when an unguessed answer to “Name a character who has celebrated something in an episode or movie” was Zipporwhill. (“More like Zipporwon’t!”)
In the end, Team Starlight won 699-292. Team Mac demanded a recount. Hanging chads were mentioned. I wondered who understood that reference and felt sad for a moment.
Then it was on to the Iron Author award ceremony. Where I got second. 
Funnily enough, both of the others were about kirin, tyranny, love, history… A lot of common themes between third and first place. And then there was mine, which does share some of those themes, but not in ways you might think.
After exulting in my victory—yes, I count second out of 26 a victory, and I have the pen to prove it—I got lunch and did one last sweep of the vendor hall, picking up a Derpy sticker and turning in a coupon I found at the free-for-all table for some lovely woodcuts of Sunset and Autumn Blaze.
(If I’m going to get swag just for the sake of having swag, I’m going to get stuff that’s easily portable. I do love my Sunset and Sci-Twi plushies, but I’m still not sure how I fit them in my luggage.)
From there, I went to a panel that intrigued me… but one that, sadly, I ended up walking out on. The premise was a look at one of the worst comic storylines, “The Good, the Bad, and the Ponies,” and how it might be improved. Unfortunately, that look was a page-by-page breakdown of everything wrong with the comic amid the mounting frustration of the presenter and, well… I’ve already done that. My sincerest apologies to the presenter, but I was among the worst possible audience for that one.
I went to the conveniently nearby Tabletop Games and played Unstable Unicorns for a bit. I lost that time, though it was at least on my own terms. And by that I mean I double-checked the rules and found that someone else had already won when the people trying to teach me the game had misremembered the win condition. Victory to PonyHorse! (Who, funnily enough, was a recurring presence in my con experience. Among other things, she was part of the first group in The Good, the Bad, and the Mare with the Party Cannon.
My final panel before the closing ceremonies was the author fireside chat (which, in this case, meant pulling up a ten-hour fireplace video on YouTube to play on the big screen in the Twilitorium.) For a moment, it seemed like Admiral Biscuit and Wanderer D would be the only people there aside from Xepher—head organizer of all things literary at EFNW, who I cannot praise enough—so I asked if I could hop in. And they said sure. Winston and Aquaman also joined in, but hey, with me there, there weren’t any vacant chairs. Much better look.
It was a Q&A session/open forum, but a very good one. The others gave helpful advice, and I like to think there was something resembling wisdom in my maundering. It even helped me consciously recognize a few things I’ve learned without realizing it, like using people I’ve met as templates for characters or traits thereof.
Also, apparently people have grown up reading my stories (and Aquaman’s and Biscuit’s, according to a comment on one of the former’s stories.) I have provided formative experiences for people’s childhoods.
I am not sure how to feel about that. 
The closing ceremonies were as bittersweet as ever. I spotted Littleshy again. He was in his element, camera in hand and Derpy in tow. Andy Price threw more sketches into the crowd, and this time one landed close enough to me that I could snap a picture. A chant of “We’re still here!” started up and persisted for a good stretch. Based on hands raised, somewhere between a third a half of the attendees were at their first Everfree. The attendance came out to 1,762, possibly record breaking for EFNW. The charity auction earned an even $44,000, which was definitely record breaking for the con. The con chair passed the torch to much pomp and celebration. I got to show up on the big screens multiple times, between the photo of the Iron Author winners and being part of Front Page’s montage of why Everfree was great (and, in so doing, made sure some mention was made of the writing panels during the bookends.)
All told, it was a wonderful event. It’s just that it marked the end of the convention.
(Also, as part of the hype-building for next year, they announced that they’re looking to get the Mane 6… of G5. This elicited some confusion in the crowd. The announcer insisted he knew what he was talking about.)
After the ceremonies, Grand Moff Pony got a picture with Olden Bronie and me and we talked about my Iron Author entry for a bit. After that, I took one last walk around the con area. Artists’ business cards still littered surfaces like expended confetti. Someone had added individually wrapped miniature stroopwafels to underscore the Pinkie association. (Daelmans, for any curious and/or Dutch readers.) If you’ve ever been to a convention, the melancholy of watching it die should be familiar.
After that… Well, the fireside chat ran long, so I kind of bolted to make sure I could get a good seat for the closing ceremonies. I know I left some people hoping to get to talk to me in the lurch, and I apologize to them. I also never pinned down whether we were doing an authors’ dinner this year. We discussed it the day before, but Wanderer D hadn’t made any plans in advance, so it had been up in the air.
As such, I found out folks were getting a table at Fogo de Chao, the Brazilian steakhouse we’d eaten at last year, about two hours after I had my dinner. 
Sorry again, everyone. Still learning to think outside the schedule sometimes.
Monday
And that brings us to today, and there’s not to much to report on that end. I packed, I got an Uber to the airport, flew across the nation, and as of this sentence, am on the train that will get me most of the way home. It’s been mercifully smooth throughout, and I hopefully didn’t jinx myself by writing that. (I also managed to lose the S key on my keyboard, which is not the only one that’s gone loose since I got this thing five years ago. See above about building for disposability.)
That said, as the plane banked into a turn during our descent, I looked down at the clouds below, seemingly close enough to touch, and found myself looking for spots of sky blue among them, just in case a nap managed to survive the scream of the jet engines.
Everfree Northwest’s motto and goal, as stated on the flag, is three days of Equestria on Earth. Given all the brilliant discussions of how to best share your dreams with others I saw, I think we get a bit more than that on Fimfiction. (According to Aquaman, we have higher literary and editing standards than professional screenwriting, and he’s speaking from a position of authority there.)
This con is always a delight for me. My apologies to anyone I missed, whether at the con or in this summary. I hope I'll see you next year.
Was great to see you again! :D
It was great to have ya there look forward to next year
An excellent recap of what sounded like a great weekend! I wish I could have gone….
The Celebrity Pony Feud sounded like a blast! Poor Andrea Libman. Sorry to hear you missed the dinner.
Yeah, I know that feel. It's a strange realization to be hit with, once someone finally says it.
I guess it makes sense, after being here for like ten years, but still, just, like... I shaped another human being's mind.
Maybe that's the greatest compliment, one way or another, that a writer can get.
Maybe it's a great and terrible responsibility we didn't realize we were asking for.
Either way, it's sure something, alright.
Great to see you at EFNW. Thanks for writing in Iron Author, and being in our fireside chat, and everything else that weekend.
Sounded like a wonderful time. Wish I wasn't stuck at home, but there's always a next time.
Misty, most likely, for anyone keeping track of Hasbro's more than questionable handling of announcements. Only a short while until we get to actually see that though.
That all sounds like it was a great time. I've said it before, but hopefully we'll get to see each other at one of these at some point.
Who knows, maybe you're horsefamous enough to invite yourself to Epona and demand they help with getting you there.(I wouldn't actually suggest that, the con's not exactly doing amazing in terms of money). And then we'll reenact the first meeting between Fluttershy and Twilight (seriously, ask Reviewfilly how our first meeting went).Obviously, Celestia started painting it black while she was in one of her goth phases, but got bored half way through. She later set it spinning as a prank.
Sounds like a whirlwind of fun and chaos.
To be fair some of those cards can do a lot of damage
Legit listening to the 10-year rework of that song as I read this sentence. :D
this is the funniest thing I will read today
Glad you had a good con, and thanks for the report. :)
Thanks for the play-by-play, pal. It's almost as good as being there! 👍👍
Damn, I wouldn’t have remembered half the things I got up to this weekend! (But yes, I am old enough to remember the hanging chads. My lawn, get off of it.)
Great to meet you, loved hearing your insights at the fireside chat, congrats on the win (Treehugger says “ayyyy”)!
"GLOMPS"
I'm so glad you had fun
Sounds like a great time was had!
I was about to ask if Estee made it -- they've got enough bad luck to make Trouble Shoes balk, after all -- but sounds like they did. Good to hear that!
Coffee stirrers? Poor thing, you could've gotten some utensils from the front desk; that's what I did.
My only gripe was the lack of a microwave, unlike the Hilton a few blocks down. Makes a hot breakfast impossible.
We need to make this nickname canon. It's a cool space that Twilight would enjoy going twily-nanas in.
Sounds like a lot of fun! I'll have to check it out next year
Whoa that's insane
If this weren't a sober all-ages convention, I'm sure that some drunk brony would go up a spray-paint "tria" to the end of the sign