UK PonyCon report, part 3: Sunday – DeadFandomCon, AuctionCon, CustardCon

Stormy's Art Panel. With art

Right, I think it's about time I tore myself away from crashing into rocks in Rainbow Dash Attack (current PB: not enough) and returned to writing about UK PonyCon 2019. Having actually had some sleep on Saturday night, and being able to go to breakfast slightly later on account of con registration being unnecessary this time, I was feeling a lot more awake. At the Joseph Else this time I was joined by Hawthorn, Oilyvalves and Griffin, which was a pleasant start to the day.

The weather was a bit on the damp side this time, but it wasn't too bad and of course there was less time to wait outside in the queue than there had been on Saturday. Once indoors, there were naturally a few quips about how we G4 fans had now joined the G1–G3 aficionados in a dead fandom. Because clearly nobody will ever be interested in personal small horses again. The S9 finale and epilogue had officially aired on DF the previous night, but we avoided discussing those as not everyone had seen them.

At 10.00 I broke with my usual habit and went to an art panel, this one run by StormBlaze and her sister Featherpaw. The room was fairly full, which was pleasing to see. Despite a technical issue that meant the planned live demonstration wasn't possible, I was impressed by this panel. The two presenters were interesting speakers and explained subjects like light and shadow (eg why you'd use very dark colours instead of black) in a way that even art ignorami like me could understand.

A packed main hall for the Charity Auction

There was a little time to kill after this panel, so naturally I did some more shopping. At midday, quite a few of us headed for the LGBTQ+ Representation on MLPTube panel, not quite knowing what to expect. Host Apple Honey talked about the stop-motion series she produces using MLP toys. She was only 15 and freely admitted to being nervous, but she won us over with her sincerity. I admired the way she decided not to talk about her coming out (as had been trailed in the conbook) as she wasn't comfortable with it; I think that's the sort of thing that can really help people.

Food would have to wait, as it was now time for the Grand Charity Auction, always a highlight of UKPC. For once I hadn't spent all my money by this point, and I ended up bidding on more things than I'd ever done before. Okay, I didn't actually win most of them, on account of them going wildly over my top limit. (Case in point: an IDW comic signed by Tabitha St. Germain and bearing drawings by both Katie Cook and Andy Price, which closed at something like £400.) Still, for the first time ever I did actually win something! You'll see it when I post my Merch Haul photo later in this series.

All this did mean that I'd missed Rainbow Dash Attack (probably for the best!) but since I wasn't going for the Virtual Reality Experience the karaoke room was calling. The Sunday session is often more laid back than the Saturday one, and so it proved this time. I sang "Shine Like Rainbows", which I was extremely pleased to get through with not too many mistakes. I then went on a food/shopping run, but I was back in time to see Alex T Fish give us all a wonderfully hammy rendition of the kirin song, complete with all kinds of actions.

The end is neigh. Awwww!

I hummed and hawed about going to Steely Hooves' Making Music panel, but by the time I'd made my mind up it was already half over. I rather regret this, since reports from people who did go were pretty positive. But now it was time for the closing ceremony. (Booo!) No real mass sing-song this time, which was a bit of a shame, though I joined in many of the songs even if most of the audience didn't! The closing ceremony was as they usually are: thanks, prizes, you get the idea. None of us really wanted the convention to end.

We did at least get a couple of tasty titbits. First, that the auction had broken the all-time UKPC record and raised a tremendous £5,835 for the RDA. Yay! And second, that UK PonyCon 2020 would have the theme "#SpookyCon". Yeah, they said "hashtag" as part of the title. No date fixed yet, and though Hallowe'en is on a Saturday next year it's probably a little too late for UKPC's liking. Mind you, 10th October is also on a Saturday. As ever, though, we shall have to wait and see what the next few months reveal.

A whole bunch of Custardians then headed up the road to the Gooseberry Bush, the same pub we'd had our post-con meal at in 2018. We had to shove some tables around to give us nearly enough space, but we more or less managed. There was food and drink and laughter and friendship and all the other things My Little Pony is for. Pony stacking happened, with varying degrees of skill and silliness. (Not much skill on my part!) Ialyrn teased me with jokes about custard. We all teased Ace with jokes about Best Babysitter (Sunburst).

Pony stacking, Hard Mode

Eventually, it was time to go, after one or two awkward hugs. (Hey, we're bronies – we can't go being socially confident, now, can we?) Hawthorn and I strolled back to the Travelodge, chatting vaguely. The streets seemed quieter than they had on either of the other two nights, and indeed they remained that way later on. Possibly the loud people were being loud in front of someone else's hotel for a change, but whatever the case I had the most peaceful of my three nights' sleep in Nottingham. I wasn't quite done with UKPC yet, though...