Well, yesterday I went with my little sis to Sac Brony Expo at Sacramento State. It was the first convention I've ever been to, and I'm sure it was nothing at all compared to an event like BronyCon, but all in all I had fun.

Morning started of well enough, ignoring my lack of sleep and the horrid 2.5 hour drive to Sac. My God, people are crazy-ass drivers. When the speed of traffic is 95 mph, and people are still trying to pass you - AND the roads near Stockton are FUBAR - you know you're in for one helluva driving experience.

Upon arriving to the (completely wrong part of the) university - and paying $6.00 for a daily parking pass that it turns out I didn't need - my sis and I spent the better part of a half hour, maybe more, searching on-foot for the correct building. Let me just say, Sac State's got one of the most unnecessarily ginormous campuses I've ever been to. After looking at a campus map, we decided to go back to the car and drive around until we found a lot that was near the building we wanted.

Eventually we made it to the parking garage with the free parking and made our way to the union building. Upon entering the ticket area, we spotted quite a diverse range of folks, and even a few cosplayers. I'm just gonna say it, the really tall gal dressed up as Princess Celestia was friggin' hawt. I mean...day-um.

We went into the area with all the vending stalls and glanced around a bit, and...I don't want to sound mean, but it's not in my nature to lie, so I'll just say it - there were some friggin' weirdos walking around, man. Worst I saw was a guy in a neon-pink wig and a tutu to match.

(Not surprisingly, the appearance of such a fellow comes as a surprise even to Surprise...)

After a few minutes we went back into the lobby to meet up with , his friend, and Champion RD92. Not gonna lie, it was pretty surreal meeting forum members face-to-face. I always said I'd brohoof a brony if I met one IRL, but I guess the surrealism of the moment caught me off-guard, so that didn't happen. We stood and talked for a while before heading off to the food courts...would you believe Sac State actually has its own Panda Express, Burger King, Gordito Burrito and Round Table? *pouts at generic food selection at own college*

At Round Table, we ordered a few pizzas (I ordered a medium for my little sis and I to share, and I'm pretty sure we got a large...which the two of us devoured all the same) and talked some more about the show, the fandom in general, members on the forums, and other stuff. After a while it became evident that my little sis was giddy to return to the vendors' area to scout for souvenirs, so I eventually bade the other gents adieu and we took our leave. But not before my sis went to the restroom and had an experience so hilarious, I laughed my ass off for a good five minutes. Unfortunately, I can't recount that tale to you for fear of losing my life...

Back at the vendors' area, we looked around the various stalls and sized up all the merch. One stall sold a plethora of things including Funko vinyl figures, Adventure Time figures, Pinkie and Dr. Whooves throw pillows, various plushies of decent (but not quite 4DE-esque) quality, MLP zippo lighters (got a chuckle out of that), and other stuff. I could tell my sis wanted a plushie, but didn't know which character to choose. After giving her a quick rundown of the Mane 6's personalities, she settled on AJ since she's got a soft spot for the whole Southern thang.

(Ain't she precious, sugar cube?)

From another stall I got a set of laminated bookmarks, from which AJ was sadly missing. (Now that I think of it, quite a few AJ products were sold out. I have to smile at the fact that our favorite "background pony" is finally getting the love she deserves. ) Also picked up a couple of random keychains from that stall, one with a Wind Waker-esque Link holding a potion for myself, and a Jack Skellington for my sis. Just as we were on our way to the next attraction, I saw another "attraction", if you will - it was a pretty cute cosplayer dressed up as AJ. My sis insisted that we get a pic with her, and...well, I couldn't argue with that. For anypony who's always wanted to know what I look like, here ya go:

(Yes, I know - my shirt is awesome. I was told this by no small number of people. )

Our next stop was a stall with various stickers, prints, and a girl drawing $5 commissioned sketches on the spot. I took every sticker that caught my fancy and we moved on. The next stall we stopped at was for button pins. I asked the vendor for a buttload of pins - at least 15 total - and she began making them one-by-one, explaining how it was easier to do them on the spot than to make a whole bunch beforehand. I lamented that I felt like an ass for making her do so many, but she assured me she was happy to have the business.

We returned back to the stall with the Funko stuff and I decided to grab a Rainbow Dash figure and the last Derpy one they had. Given her wild popularity, I'm surprised all the Derpy stuff wasn't gone within the first two hours, but somehow I got the last vinyl of her. We took a brief break to stow our swag in my car before returning.

(I still look at all those pins and cringe when I think of the 10 or so minutes all that took.)

My sis looked over a stall with scarves, all with color schemes based off of ponies from the show. She settled on a white and gold scarf modeled after Celestia. Then I decided just to snag me one of the 4DE Twilight plushies they had just for the hell of it. The older guy who sold it to me told me that he didn't know a thing about MLP, but was happy to take our money. As we walked off, I had to note "Well, at least he's honest!"

This next part is pretty interesting, and frustrating at the same time - we saw a booth that had travel mugs with stylized Mane 6 characters on them, and they were apparently the last 3 in stock. My sis and I each grabbed one, and received a free poster with each. As we were making the transaction, the two girls at the booth were, according to my sis, scoping me out. One of the girls, who had a barely audible voice, kept trying to tell me she liked my Big Mac shirt, but I totally didn't hear her. It was only when my little sis said something like "Oh, his shirt? Yeah, pretty cool." that I noticed the girl had been talking, and I thanked her quite awkwardly.

Doesn't stop there, though...as my sis and I turned and went to the booth right across from that one (where I bought a really awesome crocheted Rarity), the other girl who'd been checking me out apparently followed us over, as if to buy something herself. According to my sis, the girl was kinda standing as though she were hoping for me to turn and say something to her, but she was completely out of my peripheral vision, and therefore, out of mind. So yeah, apparently I'm good-looking enough to get a girl's attention, but not smart enough to know that I've got her attention.

(Remainder of my swag.)

Anyway, with my purchase of that hand-knit Rarity, I'd spent my remaining cash, so my sis and I retired to the lobby where we found Champ, fimdashie and his friend hanging around. After seeing my 4DE Twi plush, fimdashie took off to get one of his own. Just as a screening of Double Rainboom began in the theater room, my sis and I decided we'd better get headed home, since neither of us liked the thought of driving the treacherous Pacheco Pass after dark.

All things considered, it was a pretty neat experience - it was cool to meet some forum members, interact with the vendors (almost all of whom were very friendly), and collect some kickass pony swag. Apparently in SF there'll be an even larger con in April, which may turn out to be the West Coast's answer to BronyCon, so...I may very well go to that one.

And you know what? My little sis is apparently amped to go to that one as well. It seems this experience was all she needed to gain an interest in the show and fandom, and this morning she even told me she checked out the first couple episodes of FiM. I daresay, I've "converted" my very first brony.