I've been attending conventions for a long time for a lot of different reasons. The convention format is one of those great traditions that lets you network without seeming too pushy and relax around people who you're pretty sure have some understand about some portion of your life.
My favorite conventions are the ones held for fun, and a couple of weeks ago I had a great opportunity to initiate then witness the first flush of a completely wonderful Bronymance.
Follow me beyond the squiggle, won't you?
While it wasn't a Pony specific convention, of which I have yet to attend because they always seem to be scheduled at the worst possible times, there was a lot of pony representation at Anime Fest in Dallas.
A buddy of mine, who's more like a brother, and I were sharing a room and he was rocking a pretty spiffy Shining Armor costume.
Come Saturday mid-day, we were both finally sober enough to walk and decided to take a couple of tours of the con floor and see what was up.
Mr. Armor wasn't feeling his best and wanted to head back to the room for a nap when I noticed a beautiful women dressed as Princess Cadence walking with some other rather beautiful girls in a general toward us direction. I stopped, put my hand on my buddy's back, pivoted, and shoved him forward just a bit. Cadence stopped in her tracks, then her face lit up. "Shining Armor!" she called.
And that was that. For the next three days those two crazy kids were about as inseparable as you can get. For his part, my buddy was the picture of a gentleman, even getting down on one knee to play his guitar and sing for his Princess. They picnicked on an open patch of floor, they walked together up and down the halls posing for pictures together, and even performed a few stage kisses upon request.
Here's where I admit that I and a group of other friends followed the couple at a discreet distance to witness their absolutely heart-warming antics.
On a more human level, I think this is probably one of the neatest examples of kismet I've ever seen. My buddy had just gotten out of a bad relationship as had Cadence herself. Neither were really looking to get back in to another relationship but sometimes it just clicks so strongly that you can't hear anything else over that clicking sound.
So there we are. Pretty low content and really only a tangent to ponies, but if it weren't for their love of the show, my friend and this beautiful sweet woman wouldn't be falling in love with one another.