I was at BronyCon myself (my second convention ever, both BronyCons). Unlike last year, my mom came over, too. (This was her very first.) I had such a marvelous time there. The entire convention was absolutely loose. Eight thousand bronies coming into BronyCon in Baltimore, dedicated to their ponies, and having so much fun.

Some of my highlights are:

1. How much fun everypony was having. This con had plenty of lines. In non-BronyCon lines I was on, everyone was impatient and wanted the security to get it moving faster. In BronyCon? Buck that! We had to wait, but we also wanted to have fun-fun-fun-fun-fun-fun-fun! There was a lot of dancing, singing, and plain excitement! We all conversed, "yeah'd," gave each other so many brohoofs that our knuckles got sore, and just were plain happy.
   
2. The spirit of unity. Despite the drama and heated debates we sometimes have, there's one thing brony conventions do so well: show a sense of unity. Katie Cook said this perfectly: "It’s one fandom, one interest. You can feel the love and energy and intensity of the fans here: they’ll give each other high fives even if they don’t know each other." Brony conventions offer the best in the fandom, physically, intellectually, and psychologically. The looseness and happiness were all there, and my mom noticed it so much.
    
   The looseness and unity were exhibited in so many areas such as the chants (including "YEAH!", "Pink Fluffy Unicorns Dancing on Rainbows," "Crush! Kill! Destroy! Swag!", and "FUN!"). You got brohoofs and hugs whether you knew them or not. And it wasn't only the adults who joined the fun. EVERYPONY — EVERYBRONY — of any age joined the fun and chanting, from five-year-olds to fifty-year-olds.
   
3. The creative areas like the Traveling Pony Museum, the Vendor Hall, the creative lounges, and Bronypalooza. At BronyCon Summer 2012, there was an undeniable amount of craft exhibited throughout the convention.
    
   In BronyCon 2013, everypony stepped up their game. The Vendor Hall displayed some of the best brony craft that I have ever seen, and there was such a wide variety.
    
   The Poniverse booth showed a unique united network of websites and even a great preview of their latest installments: Pony.FM (which I discussed with @Feld0 on how to improve upon) and their ambitious pony project that was previewed in their panel.
   
4. One booth nearby had high quality embroideries; another next door had high-quality plushies.
    
   One in the middle of the hall had really well-done beauty bars.
    
   Another had great 3D printing.
    
   Another had high-quality temporary tattoos.
    
   Another had very well-done chains.
    
   Another also had a very well-done Alicorn Amulet, which I bought and intend to use it as my primary jewelry.
    
   Another had well-done bow ties and pins in their booth.
    
   The Perler Pony was also there displaying high-quality perlers. (My mom thought of commissioning for one with Discord ears.)
    
   EquestriaPlush was also there with family and high-quality plushies. (I impulsively thought about buying her Luna or Twilicorn one, but it was well out of my budget, so I just gawked and complimented the unbelievable quality instead.)
    
   You pretty much know the drift. There was so much great work that you wish to buy all of it. Quite a few vendors got caught off-guard by how much bronies wanted to buy their stuff. Several sold out their main products rather quickly. For example, one vendor had seven duplicates of an OC plushy worth a high price tag, and they were sold out by Friday mid-afternoon.
   
5. Forest Rain's proposal to his girlfriend at Bronypalooza on Friday. Great to Be Different showed the origins of their relationship, when he spotted an envelope with "It's great to be different. Love, Derpy" from BronyCon last year. The letter inspired Rain to compose what is currently my all-time favorite brony song. They met in person a few months later (in typical Derpy fashion, his now fiancée got locked out of her car, and they've been in a relationship ever since). It was a sweet moment that caught me off guard. I wish FR and his fiancée the best of luck in their relationship!
   
6. Whose Line Is It, Anypony? If you missed it, you should've seen it. That panel was absolutely hilarious. All of us in that audience laughed on and on. Several times, we laughed so hard, we rocked back and forth and cried. The bronies who performed there were spectacular. (The superhero and "What Would You Say to Pinkie Pie and Not Your Girlfriend?" segments from Scenes Out of a Hat are top-notch.)
   
7. The Closing Ceremony. Couch Crusader at EQD said it best. Nothing is more depressing in a convention than the last day, because this means the con is coming to a close. The Closing Ceremony made sure everyone had the con ended on a happy note. The surprise with the singer from G1 was great, and everypony clapped along. The conclusion with Black Gryph0n and EileMonty co-singing "Proud to Be a Brony" solidified what made BronyCon and bronydom so great.
   

I also like to thank a few people:

1. My mother. She didn't go to BronyCon last year and was somewhat reluctant about BronyCon this year (because Baltimore's Downtown neighborhood is terrible [especially at night]), but she knew how happy I would be at BronyCon, so she decided to buy tickets and later extended our hotel days. As she saw the lines and walked through the vendor hall, she began to notice the spirit of the fandom blooming and began to show a bigger appreciation to the fandom at large. On Friday evening, while I was at Bronypalooza, she watched the two-part pilot and half of "The Ticket Master." She loved them and currently has Spike as her most favorite canon character.
    
   Her stance on the brony fandom changed for the positive for good the following night. While I went for Bronypalooza, someone recommended her to see Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony. She saw the entire documentary and LOVED it, resulting in her becoming a brony and embracing the brony culture for good. (I decided to buy the documentary as a result Sunday morning, as I have never seen it.) On Sunday, she bought the 2014 MLP:FIM calendar, a pair of Vinyl cutie mark earrings, and a Chrysalis tote bag. (She currently is a gigantic brony of the ponysona, Fluffle Puff, and sings "Pink Fluffy Unicorns…", although she'll accidentally say "Pink Puffy Unicorns…" instead, which gives me a giggle ).
   
2. The Poniverse staff, from @Lord Bababa to @Apple Bloom to @Feld0 to @Marco ~ Ace Attorney to @Ice Storm to @Artemis to @Chigens and Kay to @~Chaotic Discord~ to @Thereisnospoon303 to everyone else there. You worked really hard on presenting their ambitious projects currently and did whatever they could to do it well and on time. Lord Bababa was hilarious and exhausted trying to get it done, and I don't blame him for wanting a good night's sleep. Poniverse staff, you did great at BronyCon, and I can see your works gaining a ton of support. Keep it all going, and I await Beta 2 later this month. ^^
    
   I also want to thank the bronies of the MLP Forums, from @Jonke to @Luminescence to @Zoop to @Skullbuster to @Wingnut to @Sweets to @Bhending the Rules to @~Lugia~ to @Lady Rarity Pony to @TGAP Haven to every brony at the MLP Forums for sacrificing their time to attend BronyCon, too. You were all great and shared a fantastic brony experience. I saw many of you there, and I can't wait to hopefully see you guys again at another brony convention soon. ^^
   
3. The people who worked at BronyCon and kept everything smooth. Despite all of the lovely, organized chaos, the security did a marvelous job in maintaining the convention and keeping everyone alert and happy. EverFree Radio, EQI, and Ponyville Live covered BronyCon 2013 splendidly. Lastly, the folks backstage did great in answering as many questions as possible.
   
4. Everypony who attended BronyCon 2013. You guys there demonstrated the heart and soul of the brony fandom and shows all of us why being a fan of those pastel-colored ponies is something to be proud of. Your warmth, generosity, ability to awe and recognize such high quality craft, and overall passion for the ponies helped make this con special. But what made it special was all 8,407 of you who went. You went to BronyCon, discussed ponies with everypony, treated each other as family, let yourselves loose, and had so much fun. Cons aren't cons without the fervor of passionate, dedicate fans, and the bronies here at BronyCon demonstrated that. Without it, BronyCon would've been typical and BORING. BronyCon 2013 was anything but boring, and it's all of you at BronyCon who show us exactly that. BronyCon showed the best the brony community has to offer, and it really made me extremely proud to be a brony.
   

BronyCon Summer 2012 was fantastic, but this convention blew it out of the water in fun, cheerfulness, passion, and quality. Thank you, everypony, and brony on! /)

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Source: BronyCon 2013: Experiences, Pictures & Discussion!