Well my 2nd trip to Trotcon has wrapped up. And as with my first time to give some general thoughts on the trip as well as a breakdown later on of the stuff I got while I was there. So head on after the break if you’d like to hear how things went.

Let me get one thing out of the way first though. Admittedly this trip started out a bit rough at first. And for a little while, and in some ways it’s still true. It feels like I had an overall better time the first time I went two years ago even though I was only there for at most 5 hours. As opposed to nearly a full day this time around. It got much better by nighttime. But things like almost forgetting my ID, traffic jams, my computer for some reason had no way to connect to the Wi-Fi there, and when I tried getting a coke from a vending machine it didn’t dispense any. Presumably because it was empty for that particular one. (I went to the front office about it and got a replacement out of it, so that was rectified. Buuuuuut yea…). Most of these are pretty minor and by the end of the trip I enjoyed being there despite the hiccups that happened. Just makes it sound like a bummer compared to my first trip where I had so much awesome stuff happening one after another in the few hours I spent there two years ago. The only bad thing that happened two years ago was throwing up when I got back in the car (Apparently my body had an adverse reaction to having a full Steak n’ Shake lunch and a few hours of Convention fun all at once.). But then again that’s also high expectations I put on the trip since the first one was so special being my first ever convention and everything. Again I still had plenty of fun and got some cool stuff that I don’t regret going for. Just besides some minor inconveniences and moments where I sat in my room and/or walked through the building out of boredom it definitely was far from perfect.

But with that out of the way let’s get to a few things that definitely livened up the trip.

REUNITING WITH PIRATE DASH

First of all of course I had to see the mod of Pirate Dash again. Very nice to see him and chat a little. Got a few things from him including a small Twilight print and 2 buttons. Though the true fun with him began with something that I’ll get to not too long from now.

M.A. LARSON AUTOGRAPH

Also coincidentally M.A. Larson returned to Trotcon the year I went to again. He wasn’t here last year. But it was awesome once again to see my favorite writer of the show. Last time I got a photo with him and that’s it. This time I just got an autograph. But what exactly did I have him autograph? Well it’s something I decided to make real fast last week where I did a spirited thing for each of his episodes that he’s credited as a writer/co-writer for. I’ll show them here as digital versions.

This one he would sign and give back to me

This one I would give to him as a gift.

He really liked it and asked what my favorite episodes out of them were. And I said Cutie Mark Chronicles, Magical Mystery Cure, and Amending Fences. And with that I had the autograph and everything. I did come across Larson a few more times while walking in the hall. Waved to him at least once, and noticed him at the bar wearing what I believe was a Detroit Tigers hat which was interesting. But yeah it was definitely great seeing my favorite writer from the show in-person once more.

DARKEST EPISODE OF MY LITTLE PONY PRESENTATION

At about Nighttime I went to a panel about the Cutie Remark about how it’s the darkest episode of the show and some theories about the episode. While that episode is kind my least favorite out of the Finales it is definitely an intriguing episode to give some thoughts about. And the thing at the end where he explains a major part that is often unmentioned is how Starlight prevented Spike from being born. Or at the very least, not born under the same circumstances where he would of been helpful (Even putting up the possibility that perhaps an untamed dragon Spike born in Equestria ended up being the cause of the timeline where there’s nothing left of Equestria) even showing clips of the first episode where indeed Spike assisted in even getting Twilight to meet the Mane 6. So while Twilight was trying to save their timeline, Spike’s entire existence may have been at stake here. A scary, but interesting thought. I don’t think it’s going to change my opinion on the episode too much, but again very interesting to hear and it was good to hear from who he said to be a Spike fan since I’m somewhat one as well (If I wasn’t I sure wouldn’t give him the attention I’ve done for him in I Dream of Twilight Sparkle heh)

RUSTY NAIL MEMORIAL AUCTION/PARTY

But I think the absolute best time I had at this year’s Trotcon was at they Rusty Nail memorial service. Now I’ll say this. I’ve been a member of Tumblrpon for a while though I never had the opportunity to meet Rusty Nail. So unfortunately I had no personal attachment of my own, that said I still feel condolences for those who were. And when Teej asked if I’ll be there I said I could. Now of course while they were serving drinks, I didn’t drink any alcohol since I avoid that at all costs. Basically all I did there was sit, watch the auction and the Quiplash game with plenty of adult humor, drink a coke, talk with a few friends like Teej and Out of Work Derpy’s mod and laugh. But that was enough for a great time. Cause there were so many humorous moments and for an event that was in memorial to someone recently deceased, it had a really fun tone to it that basically said that while Rusty is gone. The spirit of the pleasure he gave his friends and the Tumblrpon community still lives on ^^ I did donate a dollar to the proceeds for the diabetes. Also hope a recording of the livestream that was going on will make it to Youtube or something. Would love to watch it all over again. Also awesome that the total proceeds after the whole event was all done was over 1,300 dollars. It was definitely a night worth attending ^^

VENDOR HALL/TRAVELING PONY MUSEUM STUFF I BOUGHT

Now last but not least is the items I got while there. I’ll start with the two non-pony items. I got Pac-Man branded pocky that’s milk chocolate and cream in the middle. Never actually had any kind of Pocky before but gotta say it was pretty good. Now Pocky Twi’s mod will be proud of me :V

Once I saw this Sonic figure in the corner of the Traveling Pony Museum, I was instantly come over with the urge to get it. And get it I did. It’s certainly an awesome figure with so much more articulation then probably any figure I’ve had before. Plenty of potential for poses (Though admittedly I have had trouble just getting it right for certain poses without it falling over). Really glad I got it. It looks really cool on display.

There’s some Tumblrpon stuff including buttons from PD that I mentioned, stickers from Out of Work Derpy, a card from Ask Rye Drimer when I met him. And there’s also the badge I got with the convention guidebook. Also apparently I so happen to choose the faction that won. Not that I really cared too much about that heh. I didn’t really get the chance to go play in any of the nerf gun battle things. There was probably a point where I could of done that instead of just walking around but I just couldn’t find myself to do it. Oh well.

I got a 4DE Twilight plushie for myself. I know I already got a Twilight plushie from last time. But this one has the wings opened instead of permanently closed like the one I got last time. And admittedly when I compared the two when I got home the 4DE plush looks much better. I mean no offense of course to LunarShine as I still like the ones I got from him. If a certain episode coming up in Season 7 works out to what I hope. The Velvet plushie I got may suddenly become a very worthy investment

The Guardian of Harmony Twilight is pretty neat. I’ve always kinda wanted a better official model of Twilight. And this works pretty well considering this is part of Hasbro’s first attempt to gear MLP for both genders that has come up in the past year or so. The changeling figure is cool too but I mostly got it for action figure Twilight pretty much.

Last but not least at least for items for me is this large print I got from Bobdude0 AKA the adorable Sweetie Belle art guy with this very cool picture of Twilight teaching magic to Sweetie like Celestia once did for Twilight. He said it was a collab with Viwrastupr and it’s just beautiful work altogether. I also got it signed. As a fun little note. Bobdude0 had a thing where he had a 20 sided dice and if you were lucky you got a free item. And guess what, I got a 20 right off the bat! That meant that I could of gotten a free smaller print. Though I downgraded just a little for a sticker on the back that has a chibi Twilight and Spike. At that point I was apparently only his 3rd Natural 20.

There’s actually one more item I gotta mention. But it’s not in the photo of all the stuff I got because sooner or later it won’t really be mine. And it’s a 4DE Pinkie Pie Plush

You see, last year I met the family of my Mom’s best friend and they happened to have a little girl who’s a fan of the ponies herself. Her name’s Josie and she’s almost like the little sister I never had at this point. Her favorite pony I found out early on was Pinkie (It may be at least partly because Pink’s her favorite color though given how hyper and excitable she can be I could easily see why else she likes Pinkie a lot). So keeping that mind coming into the con I definitely had to pick up something Pinkie related for her. And I think this worked out best. At the point I’ve put this up I most likely will not have gotten it her yet. But upon the next visit to their house I’ll certainly have it as a surprise for her. On a side note this family I plan to see the MLP Movie in October , and Josie’s probably just as if not more excited for it then I am. So that should be a fun time whenever that comes.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Anyway, that’s all for now on my Trotcon 2017 experience. I can’t say this one was quite as amazing as the short time I spent at Trotcon 2015 but it nonetheless had it’s moments that was plenty fun and I’m definitely still glad I got to go again. Even more general stuff such as having my own hotel room for nearly a full day was very nice as the bed was very comfy and they have a nice bath in there. There is possibility I go again some other time. Maybe even next year as my parents haven’t ruled it out. But definitely no promises on that in case things come up.

Thanks to all who bothered to read this and thanks to everybody from fellow friends I talked to, the entire Trotcon staff for another fun convention. ^^