List of allusions/Season nine

The following is a list of allusions to other My Little Pony generations, works of fiction, people, places, events, and other cultural touchstones in the nine and final season of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic. Entries on this page must follow the similarity guidelines.

The Beginning of the End - Part 1

 * Grogar's history as an ancient tyrant and creator of monsters resembles that of Morgoth, villain of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion. His title of "Father of Monsters" is also similar to that of the Greek Titan Typhon, husband to the Mother of All Monsters Echidna.
 * Grogar's lair resembles the Hall of Doom from various DC animated media.
 * After King Sombra captures Shining Armor, Princess Cadance, and Flurry Heart, he says "Kneel before Sombra", which is a direct reference to General Zod and his signature line, "Kneel before Zod", from DC Comics.
 * After Rarity mentions "cakewalk", Pinkie Pie does her version of a "cakewalk", which is a variation of the moonwalk with cake made famous by Michael Jackson.

The Beginning of the End - Part 2

 * When she is about to dig, Rarity yells, "Show me the muddy!", a parody of Cuba Gooding, Jr.'s catchphrase "Show me the money!" from the 1996 film Jerry Maguire.
 * Twilight Sparkle declares "You may knock us down, but we're gonna get back up again!" as she confronts King Sombra, alluding to the chorus of "Tubthumbing" by the alternative rock band Chumbawamba.

Uprooted

 * The lyric in The Place Where We Belong, "lost but now it's found", is similar to the "Amazing Grace" lyric "I once was lost, but now I'm found".

Sparkle's Seven

 * The episode's title is a reference to the 1960 film Ocean's 11, its 2001 remake, and/or the all-female spin-off to the latter Ocean's 8, previously referenced by "Sparkle's Six" in Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell and "Luna's 5" on the cover RI.
 * Discovery Family's promotion for the episode on Twitter is a parody of the theatrical poster for Ocean's 8.
 * Spike and Rarity's dialogue about Rarity's speech being rushed is quoted near verbatim from the 2001 remake.
 * During her fantasy, Pinkie Pie does the Moon Walk on Saturn's rings.
 * Applejack's flashback is a parody of the film Coal Miner's Daughter, which was based on the life of country singer Loretta Lynn.
 * During Rarity's fantasy noir sequence, the pony that is seated at the counter, wearing a top hat, is a ponified version of legendary stage and silent film actress, Marlene Dietrich.
 * Pinkie Pie's fantasy sequence was a nod to The Little Prince.
 * Spike's fantasy sequence is inspired by Mission: Impossible.
 * The opening stinger of the Mission: Impossible theme song plays when Pinkie Pie rappels down into the throne room in her piñata disguise.
 * Pinkie says, "Canterlot, we have a problem", the second parody of the misquoted Apollo 13 dispatch, "Houston, we've had a problem" after Equestria Games.
 * Rainbow Dash's outfit and manestyle she wears to distract Zephyr bear a resemblance to Megara's outfit and hairstyle from Hercules.
 * Princess Luna stroking a goose is a parody of the cliche of a Bond villain stroking his cat, most famously, Ernst Stavro Blofeld.

The Point of No Return

 * Among Twilight's childhood belongings is a "G1 Star Swirl figure", referencing G1 My Little Pony – and, indirectly, Star Swirl's G1 counterpart.
 * One of the images inside Mooncurve's Seven Theories on Bending Time is a melting clock similar to the painting "The Persistence of Memory" by Salvador Dalí.
 * Twilight speculates that the note on First Folio's door says "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here", which is the message that appears above the entrance to Hades in Dante's Inferno.
 * When the Meathead Pony tries to remember the name of the place Dusty Pages moved to, he says "Silver" and "Surfer", referencing the Silver Surfer of Marvel Comics.

Common Ground

 * A little filly and a wolf that briefly appear outside the buckball stadium are a reference to the 1985 Disney film The Journey of Natty Gann, in which Meredith Salenger (the voice of Clear Sky) made her film debut.
 * Quibble Pants claims to have "a 17 charisma," referring to one of the ability scores used in Dungeons &amp; Dragons.

She's All Yak

 * The title is a play on the expression "she's all that" and a reference to the 1999 film She's All That, which, itself, was a "modern retelling" of the Bernard Shaw play Pygmalion.
 * Discovery Family's promotion for the episode on Facebook is a parody of the theatrical poster for She's All That.
 * Yona's transformation into a proper lady reflects that of the character Eliza Doolittle in the 1964 musical film My Fair Lady, also based on Pygmalion.
 * Rarity's line "By Celestia, I think she's got it!" is a reference to the similar line "By jove, I think she's got it!" from My Fair Lady.
 * Spike's headwear at the dance is similar to the one worn by DJ Deadmau5.

Frenemies

 * The title is a common portmanteau of the words "friends" and "enemies".
 * Mount Everhoof is a play on Mount Everest.

Going to Seed

 * The episode's working title, "Its the Great Seedling, Applejack!",, along with the concept of the Great Seedling itself, is a reference to the 1966 Peanuts Halloween special It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.

Student Counsel

 * The title is a wordplay on the phrase "student council".
 * Maud says to Mudbriar, "You complete me" and "You had me at 'petrified'", mirroring both Tom Cruise and Renée Zellweger's lines at the end of Jerry Maguire.

The Last Crusade

 * The title is a reference to the 1989 film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
 * Snap Shutter and Mane Allgood are based on Steve "Crocodile Hunter" Irwin and anthropologist Jane Goodall respectively.
 * Snap Shutter wears a hat that is similar to the one that Paul Hogan wore in the Crocodile Dundee films.
 * Shire Lanka is a play on Sri Lanka.
 * Snap Shutter says, "Rabid bugbears couldn't keep us away," a reference to the chorus of the Rolling Stones song "Wild Horses", "Wild horses... couldn't drag me away..."

Between Dark and Dawn

 * The stage musical scene during Lotta Little Things is a reference to Wicked.
 * A sculpture in the art museum resembles the Discobolus, and a painting in the background (featuring Igneous Rock Pie) resembles American Gothic by Grant Wood.
 * The opera Ponygliacci is a parody of the 19th-century Italian opera Pagliacci.
 * Mount Filly-mane-jaro is a play on Mount Kilimanjaro.

The Last Laugh

 * The security ponies refuse Pinkie Pie entry to Cheese Sandwich's factory with the line "nopony ever comes out, and nopony ever goes in", almost identical to a line in Willy Wonka &amp; the Chocolate Factory.

2, 4, 6, Greaaat

 * The title is a play on "2, 4, 6, 8", a common chant used in cheerleading.
 * Shimmy Shake and Lighthoof are dressed like Will Ferrell and Cheri Oteri as the Spartan Cheerleaders from Saturday Night Live.

A Trivial Pursuit

 * The title is a reference to the Hasbro board game Trivial Pursuit.
 * The music that plays when Pinkie drops her name in the jar is similar to a dramatic musical sting used on the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

She Talks to Angel

 * The title is a reference to the Black Crowes song "She Talks to Angels".
 * The python eating an elephant is a reference to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's picture of a boa constrictor digesting an elephant in The Little Prince.
 * Angel's happy dance after returning to his own body is similar to that of the Peanuts character Snoopy.

Dragon Dropped

 * The episode's title is a play on the computing expression "drag and drop".
 * Rarity apologizing to Spike while holding a gramophone over her head is a reference to John Cusack's character doing the same with a boombox in the 1989 film Say Anything...

A Horse Shoe-In

 * In Dr. Hooves' laboratory, an octopus with a face is seen sleeping inside a tube, referencing the Face of Boe from Doctor Who. The octopus also bears a resemblance to the G1 character Squirk.

Daring Doubt

 * Caballeron's alias "Groom Q. Q. Martingale", as well as his disguise, are a reference to author George R. R. Martin.
 * Dr. Caballeron's line "Take a look, it's in my book" is a reference to the near-identical lyric "Take a look, it's in a book" from the Reading Rainbow theme song.
 * Tonatiuh shares its name with a real-life god of Aztec mythology.
 * Flankladesh is a play on Bangladesh.

Growing Up is Hard to Do

 * The title is a reference to the Neil Sedaka song "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do".
 * A background pony at the Appleloosa County Fair and her dog resemble Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

The Big Mac Question

 * At the beginning of the episode, Discord, Spike, and Big McIntosh appear in costumes similar to those of the title characters in the 1986 film Three Amigos.
 * Granny Smith's outer space dream with Grand Pear, Mudbriar, and Discord is a reference to Star Trek, including paraphrasing the franchise's tagline "Where no man has gone before". Coincidentally, William Shatner, who played James T. Kirk in Star Trek, voiced Grand Pear in The Perfect Pear, and John de Lancie, who played Q in Star Trek: The Next Generation, voices Discord.
 * Apple Bloom noticing the apple monster's approach by seeing ripples in a bucket of water is a reference to the 1993 film Jurassic Park.

The Ending of the End - Part 1

 * The artifact that Grogar brings to his lair resembles the Flashstone from the My Little Pony 'n Friends four-part episode "The Ghost of Paradise Estate".
 * Pinkie Pie's line "Do not go in that kitchen!" after lots of cupcakes spill all over is a reference to Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.
 * Cozy Glow's line "Alicorns really do have more fun" is a play on the expression "blondes have more fun".
 * Fluttershy says to the geese, "Fly, my pretties!", a reference to an often misquoted line from The Wizard of Oz. (The witch actually simply says, "Fly! Fly! Fly!")
 * Discord's line "Fly, you foal!" is a reference to the similar line "Fly, you fools!" spoken by Gandalf in the 2001 film The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

The Ending of the End - Part 2

 * Twilight's line "The same thing we do every time, Pinkie - try to save the world!" is nearly identical to the line "The same thing we do every night, Pinky - try to take over the world!" spoken by the Brain in the opening sequence and every episode of Pinky and the Brain.

The Last Problem

 * The cover of Spike's Power Ponies comic is a parody of the cover of Action Comics #1 (1938), the first appearance of Superman.
 * Spitfire's line "Wonderbolts, roll out!" is similar to Optimus Prime's catchphrase "Autobots, roll out!" in the Transformers franchise.
 * After the coronation, Starlight Glimmer and Spike give Twilight a photo album containing moving photographs, the exact same gift Hagrid gives Harry Potter in the final scene of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.