List of allusions

The following is a list of allusions to My Little Pony, works of fiction, people, places, events, and other cultural touchstones in the series My Little Pony Friendship is Magic.

The allusions, references, similarities, homages, and other items on this list should be specific, detailed, unique, or identifying. Avoid adding incidental, broad, general, or tangential similarities.

Character names and design

 * All the designs of the leading characters, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Spike are inspired by G1 characters: Twilight, Applejack, Firefly, Sparkler, Posey, Surprise, and Spike, respectively.
 * Applejack's name and the derisive nickname Appletini that Spike gives her in Bridle Gossip are both names of alcoholic beverages.
 * Big Macintosh, Granny Smith, Braeburn, and several of the Apple family members' names are of apple cultivars. Still, other members' names are of culinary dishes made with apples.
 * Big Macintosh's design is inspired by the G1 Big Brother Ponies.
 * The royal guards wear crested helmets reminiscent of Roman galea.
 * Snips and Snails, two colts, are a reference to the nursery rhyme "What Are Little Boys Made Of?".

Other names, titles, and design

 * Canterlot is a portmanteau of "canter", a three-beat horse gait, and Camelot from Arthurian legends.
 * Cloudsdale's suffix, "dale", is an old word for a valley or open river valley, but the name is also a play on the Clydesdale breed of horse. The city's buildings and general design take clues from Greek culture, which is appropriate as the myth of Pegasus originated from Greek mythology.
 * The hot air balloon that is featured in the opening sequence and other episodes was requested to be incorporated into the show by Hasbro's toy division.
 * The Wonderbolts appear to be based on the U.S. Navy's flight demonstration team, the Blue Angels. They resemble the Blue Angels in uniform color–blue and yellow–and the "flying bolt" logo, evocative of the "flying shield" portion of the Blue Angels logo.

Mythology

 * The show features dragons, unicorns, and Pegasi in multiple episodes, and several other mythological creatures detailed in individual episode sections below.
 * The realm of Tartarus is named after the Greek mythological realm of the same name.

Audio

 * Granny Smith's voice clips from Friendship is Magic, part 1 are re-used to make every speaking appearance she has throughout season 1, excluding Griffon the Brush Off. In Family Appreciation Day, the "soup's on" voice clip is re-used again. In Ponyville Confidential, the "move your caboose!" voice clip from Family Appreciation Day is re-used.
 * Fluttershy's nervous squeal from Friendship is Magic, part 1 is reused twice throughout the series: in A Bird in the Hoof where she is crying over the supposed death of Philomina and again in Hurricane Fluttershy where she is crying under a tree.
 * The voice clip of Pinkie Pie's gasp upon meeting Twilight for the first time in Friendship is Magic, part 1, is re-used five times throughout the series: later in the same episode when Rarity confirms that Princess Celestia is missing; in Bridle Gossip, when everypony thinks that they crushed Applejack in the tub; reversed to form Fluttershy's inhalation in Sonic Rainboom; as Mrs. Cake's voice in A Bird in the Hoof, when Pinkie eats Princess Celestia's cupcake; and in MMMystery on the Friendship Express, when Pinkie sees that the Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness has been eaten.
 * Twilight's cry of "PINKIIIIIEEE!!" is used twice in the series, the first being in The Ticket Master and the second in Hearth's Warming Eve.
 * The clip of Pinkie talking to Twilight at the beginning of Griffon the Brush Off is re-used in Sweet and Elite when Rarity regains consciousness.
 * Rarity's scream after Pinkie leaves her to fend for herself in Swarm of the Century is re-used three times throughout the series: in Lesson Zero, when Twilight runs to the Boutique; as the mother's scream in The Mysterious Mare Do Well; and in Secret of My Excess, when Spike's claw reaches through the window to grab Rarity.
 * Pinkie Pie's one-pony band fanfare to rid Ponyville of the Parasprites in Swarm of the Century, is re-used later as the party music in Pinkie's flashback scene in The Cutie Mark Chronicles. It is used again in A Canterlot Wedding - Part 1 when Pinkie leads Chrysalis disguised as Cadance to her reception plans.
 * Rarity's crying near the end of Winter Wrap Up is re-used in Suited for Success.
 * The music that plays during Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara's cute-ceañera party in Call of the Cutie is the same music that plays during the montage of the Cutie Mark Crusaders' attempts to earn their cutie marks in The Show Stoppers and during Pinkie Pie's birthday party toward the end of Party of One.
 * The line 'Holy Guacamole!' is one of the very few instances in which a single clip of audio is re-used in the same episode. It is spoken by Spike during the middle and end sections of Feeling Pinkie Keen and was originally intended to be his catchphrase before being dropped for undisclosed reasons.
 * Rarity's shocked reaction towards Twilight's mane from Friendship is Magic, part 1 is recycled as her excited laugh in Sonic Rainboom.
 * Fluttershy's chuckle at the end of Stare Master is re-used in the opening scene of Putting Your Hoof Down.
 * Scootaloo's line "What are you, a dictionary?" from The Return of Harmony Part 1 is used again in Family Appreciation Day.
 * The Sorcerer's Apprentice inspired background music from Secret of my Excess is used again in Hearts and Hooves Day when the Cutie Mark Crusaders are gathering the ingredients for the love potion.

Animation

 * The main six's hair 'physics' while running are used consistently throughout the series with very little changes made.
 * Pinkie Pie's crying animation in Friendship is Magic, Part 2 is used as the basis for the same animation used in Baby Cakes.

Billboards

 * Billboards in Los Angeles, California that promoted the show in June 2011 reference the film Bridesmaids. It shows the main cast against a brick wall in poses similar to the women in the poster of Bridesmaids, under the parody title Bridlemaids.
 * Billboards for season 2 show Pinkie Pie with her hooves against a "snow screen" TV with the caption "They're baaack!" This references the 1982 movie Poltergeist, which has a poster where the little girl Carol Anne has her hands on a "snow screen" TV and the tagline "they're here!", and its sequel Poltergeist II: The Other Side, which has the tagline "they're back."

Newsprint

 * On January 8, 2012, a full page ad ran in the LA Times, referencing the opening to the AMC television show Mad Men. It shows Rainbow Dash, wearing a suit, falling in front of pictures of the main cast, with the parody title of Mad Ponies.

Friendship is Magic, part 1

 * The episode's title that appears in Hasbro's viewing guide, Mare in the Moon, is a play on the mythical Man in the Moon.
 * Moondancer, mentioned but unseen in the episode, is the name of a G1 and G3 pony.
 * Twilight Sparkle resides in a literal ivory tower.
 * One of the names Pinkie guesses to Night Mare Moon is "Hokey Smokes", a phrase used by Rocky the Flying Squirrel from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.

Friendship is Magic, part 2

 * A manticore is featured in this episode.
 * Fluttershy pulls a thorn from the manticore's paw, much like the classic tale of Androcles and the Lion.
 * The magic of the Elements of Harmony manifests as rainbow that envelops Night Mare Moon. The scene is reminiscent of the Rainbow of Light from the 1984 My Little Pony pilot episode Rescue at Midnight Castle, where Megan defeats Tirac in a similar fashion.

The Ticket Master

 * The episode's title is a play on the American ticket company, Ticketmaster.
 * Fluttershy's line "Loons and Toucans and Bitterns, oh my!" echoes the quote "Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my!" from The Wizard of Oz.
 * The scene where Twilight and Spike are chased by a mob of ponies features bluegrass style sound-alike music of Yakety Sax from The Benny Hill Show.
 * Fluttershy is singing the My Little Pony theme when Twilight Sparkle finds her cleaning the library.

Applebuck Season

 * During the bunny stampede, one of the background ponies, Rose, delivers the line "The horror, the horror...", which is from the Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness, also used as one of the final lines in the movie Apocalypse Now. This line is said again in Bridle Gossip.
 * The stampede scene features bunnies running around a pony lying on the ground in a down shot, much like the scene in The Lion King when Mufasa is killed by the stampede.
 * After the bunny stampede, Daisy says, "By... by... THEM!", possibly a reference to the classic sci-fi film Them!

Griffon the Brush Off

 * A griffon is featured in this episode.
 * When Pinkie Pie is chasing Rainbow Dash, she uses the same bounding gait as Pepe le Pew uses in chasing his unwilling paramour in the Looney Tunes cartoons. The music heard is also in the same style as the aforementioned chase scenes. This allusion is used again in Party of One minus the background music.
 * Spike hums the My Little Pony theme song when gathering scrolls at the town hall.

Boast Busters

 * The title of the episode is a play on the title of the Ghostbusters franchise.
 * The Great and Powerful Trixie shares her title with "The Great and Powerful Oz" from The Wizard of Oz.
 * Trixie's challenge to the audience echoes the phrase "anything you can do I can do better", which originated with the song of the same name from the 1946 Broadway musical Annie Get Your Gun.
 * The ursa bears are named after the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, both featuring these constellations on their tails.
 * The vanquishing of the ursa minor references to Steven Speilburg's E.T. the Extra Terrestrial.

Dragonshy

 * When Fluttershy hears the dragon's snores, she stiffly falls to the side accompanied by a goat bleat, alluding to the behavior of some breeds of goat to stiffen and fall over after being startled (see Fainting Goat Syndrome).
 * Pinkie Pie's costume is similar to Daffy Duck's body in a scene from the Looney Tunes cartoon, Duck Amuck.

Look Before You Sleep

 * The title of Twilight Sparkle's book "Slumber 101: All You've Ever Wanted to Know About Slumber Parties But Were Afraid to Ask" is a direct reference to the famous book Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (But Were Afraid to Ask).
 * Twilight mentions the ghost story of the Headless Horse, a play on the Headless Horseman of European folklore.
 * The title "Look Before You Sleep" is an allusion to the age-old saying "Look before you leap."

Bridle Gossip

 * The title is a pun on the term "idle gossip", adding in the word "bridle", which is the harness used by horseback riders for directing horses, in keeping with the show's equine theme.
 * Poison joke is explicitly compared to Poison Oak, a real-life poisonous plant.
 * When Zecora comes back to Ponyville, one of the ponies delivers the line "The horror, the horror..." for the second time in the series. The line originates from Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness, which was later used in the Francis Ford Coppola film, Apocalypse Now.

Swarm of the Century

 * Princess Celestia leaves Ponyville early because of an infestation in "Fillydelphia", a play on the city of Philadelphia.
 * The title is a pun of the mini-series "Storm of the Century".
 * The infestation and Pinkie Pie's use of music to lure the parasprites out of Ponyville were adapted from the Pied Piper of Hamelin legend.
 * The premise of this episode is similar to that of the Star Trek episode "The Trouble with Tribbles"

Winter Wrap Up

 * Twilight bathing in tomato juice after being sprayed by the skunks references the popular myth that bathing or applying tomato juice removes skunk odor.
 * When they leave Spike sleeping on the ice floating in the middle of a lake, it references the scene in the 1979 film "Meatballs", the scene in which the camp counselors leave their director, Morty, asleep on a floating platform in the middle of a lake.

Call of the Cutie

 * The episode title is either a play on the phrase "call of duty", or on the title of the classic novel The Call of the Wild, which tells the story of a dog trying to finds its true identity.
 * The inside of the dojo where Apple Bloom and Rainbow Dash practice karate has pictures of silhouettes of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna on the walls, as they are illustrated in the prologue of Friendship is Magic, part 1.
 * Diamond Tiara's "cute-ceañera", "a party celebrating me and my fantastic cutie mark", borrows its name and purpose from the Latin American celebration quinceañera, a coming-of-age party for girls reaching the age of fifteen.

Fall Weather Friends

 * The title is a play on the term "fair weather friends", which refers to people who are only friends when it is convenient&mdash;fair weather&mdash;and will abandon their friends at times of strife.
 * The Iron Pony competition shares its name and premise with the sports competition Ironman Triathlon.
 * When Rainbow Dash accidentally knocks apples off a tree onto her head, they fall to the tune of Shave and a Haircut.
 * The Running of the Leaves tradition shares its name with the famous Running of the Bulls tradition in Spain.
 * Twilight's racing number, 42, may be a reference to the answer to the question of "life, the universe, and everything" in Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, reflecting her status as a nerd.

Suited For Success

 * Rarity's Dressmaking Song is a direct homage to Stephen Sondheim's song Putting It Together from the musical Sunday in the Park with George.
 * Pinkie Pie's line "I love something. Something's my favorite" echoes the line "I love smiling. Smiling's my favorite" from the film Elf.
 * When Rarity considers exile she says, "Where would I go? And what would I pack?" in a fashion that echoes a line by Scarlett O'Hara in the 1939 classic film Gone With The Wind: "Where shall I go? What shall I do?"
 * The sequence where Rarity has locked herself in her room and says "I vant to be alone" with an Eastern European accent echoes the famous phrase associated with actress Greta Garbo.
 * This line may also be a reference to the G1 episode "Sonambula", when the similarly accented Heartthrob declares that she "vants to be alone".
 * Hoity Toity bears a strong resemblance to Karl Lagerfeld, head designer and creative director for the Chanel fashion house.
 * The headdress for Rainbow Dash's "perfect dress" strongly resembles the shape of the helmet of the comic book character The Rocketeer.
 * The musical opening of Rarity's second fashion show has a short sound-alike segment for Also sprach Zarathustra, a tone poem by Richard Strauss, popularized in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
 * The music that accompanies Fluttershy is a sound-alike of Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune.
 * The music that accompanies Pinkie Pie is a sound-alike of The Strangeloves' I Want Candy.

Feeling Pinkie Keen

 * The episode was developed from the old wives' tale of achy joints predicting the weather and the Raining Animals Phenomena, which was expanded into Pinkie Pie's Pinkie Sense.
 * Fluttershy's fear prevents her from flying, as it does in Dragonshy. However, when she has to jump to safety, she uses what she learned from Dragonshy and works up her nerve by repeating a line from Pinkie Pie's song.
 * The episode features a Hydra, a mythological creature of Greek legend.

Sonic Rainboom

 * Rarity's hubris, leading to the loss of her wings to the sun, echoes the story of Icarus from Greek mythology. In the story, Icarus attempts to escape Crete by means of wings that his father constructed from feathers and wax. Overcome by his pride, he ignores instructions not to fly too close to the sun, which melts the wax and causes him to fall to his death.
 * The music that plays during Rarity's performance is a rearrangement of the waltz from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake.
 * The episode title is pun on Sonic Boom, which is associated with shock waves created by an object traveling through the air faster than the speed of sound.

Stare Master

 * The title is a play on the exercise device Stairmaster.
 * The episode features a Cockatrice, which is a creature of legend mentioned from antiquity to the middle ages.
 * Rarity mentions filling a special order for "Trottingham", a pun on the city of Nottingham, England.
 * When Rarity is holding the cut gold silk, the violin shrieks from the shower scene in Psycho plays.

The Show Stoppers

 * Daniel Ingram, the show's music composer, describes the Cutie Mark Crusaders Song on his website as "cheesy '80s with 3 out of tune soloists."
 * Scootaloo's failure to find a decent rhyme, frustrated "NEVER, NEVER!", and piano head-desking are lifted straight from Don Music in Sesame Street.

A Dog and Pony Show

 * The phrase "a dog and pony show" originated in 19th century America as a term for small traveling circuses that toured through rural areas. The modern usage refers to an over-staged performance. Typically, the term is used to connote disdain, jocular lack of appreciation, or distrust of the message being presented or the efforts undertaken to present it.
 * The episode's plot is reminiscent of the O. Henry story The Ransom of Red Chief, in which a young boy's antics drive his kidnappers so crazy that they end up paying his family to take him back.
 * Sapphire Shores' upcoming tour, Zigfilly Follies, is a reference to the Ziegfeld Follies series of theatrical productions.
 * The bejeweled costume bears a very striking resemblance to the jumpsuits worn by Rock & Roll Legend Elvis Presley during his 1970s heyday, with a large heavy collar, flared wavy cuffs, and a golden belt.
 * The Diamond Dogs take their name from David Bowie's famous concept album and its titular song, Diamond Dogs.
 * In Spike's fantasy, the Diamond Dogs attack with the characteristic slow motion leap and 'bionic' sound effect from The Six Million Dollar Man.
 * Applejack's phrase "Kick 'em up, kick 'em out. Buck 'em up, buck 'em down" is a reference to Rawhide, a song performed by Frankie Laine.
 * Spike's chant, "Hi-ho Twilight! Away!" is a reference to The Lone Ranger.

Green Isn't Your Color

 * The color green, mentioned in the episode's title, is sometimes associated with envy.
 * Photo Finish wears the same distinct hairstyle and sunglasses as Anna Wintour, editor of Vogue magazine.
 * Photo Finish's name comes from "photo finish"&mdash;the phenomenon when two racehorses (or other athletes) cross the finish line together and only a photograph can determine the winner.

Over a Barrel

 * The main locale of the episode, Appleloosa, takes its name from the Appaloosa breed of horse.
 * Fluttershy calling Spike "Huffy the Magic Dragon" is a reference to the 1963 folk song Puff, the Magic Dragon sung by Peter, Paul and Mary.
 * Spike plays the piano in this episode. His predecessor in the My Little Pony movie Escape from Midnight Castle has a similar scene where he plays the piano.
 * The battle scene at Appleloosa when a buffalo strikes a haystack with an anvil behind it is the same gag from the 1953 Bugs Bunny cartoon Bully for Bugs, in which a bull hits an anvil behind Bugs' toreador cape.
 * The name of the episode references an old idiom "over a barrel". To have someone "over a barrel" is to have them at your mercy.

A Bird in the Hoof

 * The episode's title is a play on the phrase "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush".
 * The scene with Angel holding a pocket watch references Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, in which one of the characters is a white rabbit that carries a pocket watch and is always running somewhere due to being late. In addition, Fluttershy's remark "I'm late, for a very important date" is a quote from Disney's 1951 film adaptation of Alice in Wonderland.
 * Fluttershy stresses over how she looks and what to wear, and looks through a rack of dresses which carries the Grand Galloping Gala dresses from Suited for Success.
 * The scene where the ponies pursue Philomeena is accompanied by sound-alike music to Yakkety Sax, made famous in The Benny Hill Show chase scenes.
 * The scene where Fluttershy attempts to feed birdseed to Philomeena was storyboarded to look like a talk show, and Philomeena's bird-seed-eating gag was styled after similar gags from the Roadrunner Looney Tunes cartoons.
 * Hummingway, Fluttershy's hummingbird, is likely a pun on Ernest Hemingway.
 * Fluttershy, again, sings the My Little Pony theme song.

The Cutie Mark Chronicles

 * "Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns" is similarly named to X-Men's "Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters".
 * Applejack travels to Manehattan, a play on Manhattan, a borough of New York City. New York City is also known as the Big Apple.
 * The Orange family's name is a reference to the phrase "apples and oranges", a comparison of two very different things, much like how Applejack does not appreciate the Orange family's very different lifestyle.

Owl's Well That Ends Well

 * When Spike falls asleep in the punch bowl, Pinkie Pie says "And now the punch has been... Spiked!", a play on "spiking the punch", which means adding alcohol to the punch.
 * The title is a play on the phrase "All's well that ends well".

Party of One

 * Pinkie Pie's chant to Gummy: "Go Gummy! It's your birthday! Go Gummy! It's your birthday!" is a paraphrase of hip-hop artist 50 Cent's In Da Club.
 * At the party near the end of the episode, when Spike tries to dance with Rarity, he does a dance move made famous by the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever.
 * When Pinkie Pie is chasing Rainbow Dash, she chases her by hopping a way that is similar to the way Pepe le Pew of Looney Tunes fame would chase after Penelope Pussycat.
 * Pinkie Pie's imaginary friend in this episode, named "Rocky", appears to be a reference to Sylvester Stallone, who is known for his rough accent, as well as his portrayal as Rocky Balboa in the Boxing movie series "Rocky".
 * Pinkie Pie's imaginary friend "Madame LeFlour" is a possible pun on American poet Wallace Stevens' poem "Madame la Fleurie" which roughly translates from French to "Mrs. Blooming" or "Mrs. Flowering". Madame LeFlour's accent is said to be French and she is indeed a bag of flour.

The Best Night Ever

 * The episode has several fairy tale references:
 * The magical apple carriage, the mice being turned into horses, and Rarity accidentally leaving her glass slipper are elements from Cinderella.
 * Hayseed maintaining the garden says he likes to "whistle while [he] works", a reference to Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The whistle is the same tune Snow White sings into the well.
 * The golden apple tree Spike mentions at the beginning of the episode that he wants to show Applejack could be from a number of fairy tales, The Golden Bird by The Brothers Grimm being an example.
 * Fluttershy's plan to catch the animals, complete with maniacal laughter, somewhat echoes the Wicked Witch of the West from the 1939 film adaptation of The Wizard of Oz.
 * Princess Celestia creates an arc of twinkling stars over her castle in the same manner of the Walt Disney Pictures title sequence.
 * The song sung before the gala is a sound-alike of Ever After from the fairy-tale-themed musical Into the Woods.
 * Pinkie Pie's Pony Pokey is a version of the hokey cokey dance.
 * Pinkie Pie's song I'm at the Grand Galloping Gala is sung to the tune of For He's a Jolly Good Fellow.

The Return of Harmony Part 1

 * Discord is inspired by John de Lancie's popular character Q from the second Star Trek television series. Subsequently, de Lancie provided the voicework for Discord.
 * The "chocolate rain" used by Discord is likely a reference to Chocolate Rain by Tay Zonday.

The Return of Harmony Part 2

 * According to director Jayson Thiessen, one of the storyboard artists decided to board the award ceremony sequence at the end of the episode as a shot-for-shot equivalent of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, though parts of the sequence were ultimately cut to shorten the episode.

Lesson Zero

 * The scene where Twilight starts talking to her reflection in a puddle is similar to the scene with Gollum from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
 * The episode title appears to be a reference to the 1985 novel Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis, or the phrase "less than zero" itself.
 * The entire population of Ponyville going gaga over Twilight Sparkle's Mr. Smartypants doll (thanks to her casting a "want it, need it" spell on it) seems to be an allusion to the similar brouhaha over the Cabbage Patch Kids back in 1983.

Luna Eclipsed

 * The episode title could be a pun on "lunar eclipse", a phenomenon when the sun, moon, and Earth are aligned with one another.
 * The holiday featured in this episode, Nightmare Night, borrows aspects from the real-life holiday Halloween. Both holidays involve children going door-to-door in costumes to collect candy, for costume parties, and spooks.

Sisterhooves Social

 * Rarity paraphrases the famous line from the 1939 film Gone with the Wind, "As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again!". Fluttershy does the same later on Putting Your Hoof Down.

The Cutie Pox

 * At the bowling alley, four of the male ponies look similar to characters from the film The Big Lebowski, which features the theme of bowling.
 * A 'ponified' version of the painting American Gothic hangs on the wall in the living room of the Apple family's house.
 * One of the cutie marks Apple Bloom receives is a red shoe which causes her to dance uncontrollably, like the main character in the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale The Red Shoes.
 * The statue Apple Bloom constructs is Venus Anadyomene, a common theme in art in antiquity and the renaissance.
 * Applejack asks Zecora, "Was your zebra sense a-tinglin'?", which is a reference to Spider-Man's spider-sense ability.

May the Best Pet Win!

 * One of the cats under Fluttershy's care looks similar to those from the Littlest Pet Shop toyline, another Hasbro-owned property.
 * The bat contestant plays the My Little Pony theme song on a glass harmonica.
 * The fire trail left by Rainbow Dash is similar to Back to the Future when the Delorean reaches 88mph.
 * The streaks left behind by Dash's sprinting bears resemblance to those of the lightcycles from Tron.
 * The music that plays while Rainbow Dash flies through the canyon, up until the rockslide, is "Ride of the Valkyries" from famous German composer Richard Wagner. The piece is better known for its use in the helicopter scene from "Apocalypse Now".
 * The episode is an allusion to the famous Aesop fable "The Tortoise and the Hare".

The Mysterious Mare Do Well

 * The episode's lead storyboard artist, Sabrina Alberghetti, commented on how the crew incorporated "one [superhero] cliché after another" in a "fun tongue-in-cheek kind of way." Among them:
 * Rainbow Dash's catchphrase, "never fear, your friendly neighborhood Rainbow Dash is here!" is a play on both "your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man" and "There’s no need to fear, Underdog is here!"
 * The Mysterious Mare Do Well shares the same purple-and-black color scheme and wide-brim hat and black ribbon as Darkwing Duck. Alberghetti had worked on Darkwing Duck comics before; however, she did not design the character.
 * The fanfare, accompanying music, and rally posters of the Mare Do Well strongly resemble the same from Batman: The Animated Series.
 * The musical score as the cart rolls uncontrollably downhill mimics the score of the film Speed.
 * The name "Mare Do Well" is an ironic reference to the term ne'er-do-well, a person who does no good.

Sweet and Elite

 * Among other places Rarity visits in the montage is an art exhibit, where the central painting on the wall combines elements of Salvador Dalí's paintings, particularly The Persistence of Memory. The painting to the left resembles Pablo Picasso's signature style of Cubism. The painting to the right is an abstract style akin to the works of Kandinsky. The show's director, Jayson Thiessen, had hinted about Salvador Dali and avant-garde in an interview in September 2011, long before the episode's initial broadcast.
 * The bags that Rarity uses to carry her shopping in before she runs into Fancypants for the first time have two horseshoes arranged to imitate the Chanel fashion house branding.

Secret of My Excess

 * One of the working titles of the episode, "Attack of the 50 Foot Dragon", is a play on the movie title Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, and it hints to the episode's "giant monster rampaging through a city" theme that popularized by the 1954 film Godzilla.
 * The siren that sounds when Spike begins rampaging through the town is similar in design to the Federal Signal 550AT, and uses the sound of a Castle Castings from England in WWII.
 * The kidnapping of Rarity and subsequent aerial assault on Spike draws parallels with the classic 1933 film King Kong.
 * The music that plays when Twilight is re-shelving bears a strong resemblance to the theme for Disney's The Sorcerer's Apprentice, a musical piece written in 1874 by Paul Abraham Dukas.
 * The episode title is pun on the comedy film "The Secret of My Success" starring Michael J. Fox.

Hearth's Warming Eve

 * A creature similar to Discord is depicted fighting a Pegasus on a relief in the theater.
 * The Pegasus Tribe culture is based on Classical Greece.
 * Some of Canterlot's decorations are similar to Christmas Decorations.

Family Appreciation Day

 * The Smith family's appearance highly resembles the Western American pioneers of the late 1800s. Additionally, the wagon they hauled resembled the type of covered wagons used during the period.

Baby Cakes

 * Pound and Pumpkin Cake's mannerisms mirror those of Bam Bam and Pebbles, respectively, of the Flintstones series.
 * The brief screeching violins that play when Pinkie Pie finds Pound Cake on the ceiling echo the musical piece The Murder, made famous by the film Psycho. The scene in general is modeled after horror films, with an unidentified silhouette crawling in the shadows.
 * Also, Pound Cake walking on the ceiling is a possible homage to Danny Boyle's film, Trainspotting, in which Ewan McGregor's character, Mark Renton, hallucinates a baby crawling on the ceiling during the detoxing scene.
 * The music that plays when Pinkie Pie urges the Cakes to pick her as babysitter is based on Aquarela do Brasil, a Brazilian samba standard from the 1930s.
 * Pinkie's instructions for using the crib mirror a line from The Simpsons episode The Last Temptation of Homer.

The Last Roundup

 * The scene where Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy work at a conveyor belt and can't handle the pace is a homage to the television series I Love Lucy. The scene replicates one from the I Love Lucy episode "Job Switching", where Lucy and Ethel wear mushroom-like hats and work on a production line wrapping candies. They can't handle the pace and stuff the unhandled chocolates into their hats and mouths.
 * Rainbow Dash mentions Calamity Mane and Wild Bull Hickok, whose names are based off two prominent Wild West figures.
 * Dodge Junction is a namesake of Dodge City, a famous locale for Western films.
 * Applejack's quote "I gotta get the heck out of Dodge" is a reference to a quote from the TV show Gunsmoke, in which villains were told to "Get the hell out of Dodge."
 * The backround music that plays when Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rainbow Dash run around the rodeo statium trying to see if anybody recognizes Applejack is similar in sound to the song Wipeout by the Surfaris.

The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000

 * The musical number The Flim Flam Brothers shares many similarities with the number "Ya Got Trouble" from The Music Man. Specifically, the identical rhyming styles, staccatos, and theme of smooth talkers trying to win over a small town. Also, mid-song, the ponies chant "cider, cider, cider" in the same manner that the people of River City chanted "trouble, trouble, trouble" in the Music Man number.
 * The scene where one of the Flim Flam brothers asks Granny Smith if she's "chicken" bears similarities in staging and dialog to a scene from the film Back to the Future Part II.
 * The competition between the Apple family and the machine is a homage to the legend of John Henry.

Read It and Weep

 * The musical cue that plays when Rainbow Dash looks at the book and starts reading it is very similar to the one that plays in a similar scene in the film The NeverEnding Story.
 * The title "Read It and Weep" is a reference to a saying of the same name.
 * The quote of Pinkie Pie saying "Did the crash somehow give her super-duper spider powers?" and the doctor saying "No, nor it gave her the amazing healing powers", resembles to Marvel Comics references; the "spider powers" resembles Spider-Man, and "healing powers" resembles Wolverine from the X-Men.
 * The game that Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle play with Rainbow Dash is very similar to Battleship, which is produced by Milton Bradley and owned by Hasbro.
 * The Ahuitzotl is a creature of Aztec mythology.
 * Ahuitzotl petting his white cat at the end of the Daring Do story is a cinematic element made famous by the character Ernst Stavro Blofeld of the James Bond series.
 * There are several allusions to the Indiana Jones franchise:
 * The harp plucking that plays when Daring Do first enters the temple bears a strong resemblance to the music that plays in the opening of Raiders of the Lost Ark when Indiana Jones casually brushes spiders off of his back.
 * The sunlight shining into the chamber is a reference to the map room scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark, where the sunlight shines on a crystal at the center of the room.
 * The way Daring Do makes her way to the Sapphire Stone's pedestal mirrors a scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade where the titular hero navigates a trap floor by only stepping on the correct tiles.
 * The scene where Daring Do retrieves the Sapphire Stone mirrors a scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark in which Indiana Jones retrieves a statue of an idol from pedestal.

Hearts and Hooves Day

 * The holiday featured in the episode shares many similarities with Valentine's Day and was originally aired a few days before the holiday. It features couples spending time together and the exchange of greeting cards.
 * The story behind the Love Poison is based on the Arthurian legend "Tristan and Isolde".

A Friend in Deed

 * The episode's title is part of the phrase "a friend in need is a friend indeed".
 * "Cranky Doodle Donkey" has the same meter as Yankee Doodle Dandy, a pejorative song sung by the British to mock the American revolutionaries. Pinkie sings a song about him to the tune of Yankee Doodle Dandy.
 * The song she sings at the end is based on the version of the song from the film of the same name.
 * Pinkie's line "Ooh, what does this bauble do?" is nearly homophonic to "Ooh, what does this button do?", the catchphrase of the character Dee Dee from the cartoon Dexter's Laboratory.

Putting Your Hoof Down

 * Fluttershy paraphrases the famous line from the 1939 film Gone with the Wind "As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again!", much like Rarity in Sisterhooves Social. Though in these cases, "God" is replaced by "Celestia".
 * The title "Putting Your Hoof Down" is a reference to the saying "Putting your foot down", which refers to when someone stops dealing with an exasperating situation.
 * In a scene featuring the character Iron Will in his workshop for assertiveness, a background music clip borrows from the primary motif of Eye of the Tiger by Survivor.
 * Iron Will's presentation takes place in the center of a hedge-maze, a reference to the Labyrinth of Greek mythology, which held the Minotaur, a half-man, half-bull creature, at its center.
 * Iron Will's character appears to be inspired by actor Lawrence Tureaud, also known as Mr. T, and other characters of the 'Macho Man' archetype. The inspiration extends even further to the former using a variation of the latter's famous "I pity the fool" catchphrase.
 * Pinkie Pie's negotiation trick with the tomato stall owner and Iron Will is derived from a similar trick used in several Looney Tunes animated shorts, including 1946's Baseball Bugs and 1951's Rabbit Fire.
 * Some of Iron Will's gestures in theatrics resemble those of professional wrestlers. Most notably, when Iron Will states that he wants to hear the audience, he makes a hand gesture to his ear similar to that of one of wrestling legend, Hulk Hogan's signature taunts.
 * The episode incorporates a sound-alike of the theme "The Lonely Man" from the CBS television series The Incredible Hulk.

It's About Time

 * This episode borrows two elements from Greek mythology:
 * The Cerberus is the three-headed canine that protects the gateway to the Underworld, the realm of the dead.
 * Tartarus, the area that the Cerberus in this episode guards, is one of the darker and deeper depths of the Underworld where the wicked are said to depart to after death.
 * When Rainbow Dash reports to Twilight about the safety of Ponyville, she mentions "Fillydelphia" and "Las Pegasus", a play on the cities of Philadelphia and Los Angeles or Las Vegas, respectively. Later, she also mentions "Baltimare", a play on the city of Baltimore.
 * The background music that plays during the encounter between Twilight and her future self is homophonic to I am the Doctor, the main theme of the Doctor Who series.
 * Future Twilight's arrival is preceded by wind blowing paper around, then she appears in a bright flash and electrical discharge while crouched on the ground, in homage to The Terminator. Present Twilight also refers to an "epic pony war in the distant future", the entire premise of the Terminator franchise.
 * Future Twilight's outfit resembles Solid Snake's from the video game Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.

Dragon Quest

 * The episode shares its name with a popular RPG series.
 * The episode's plot is similar to an episode from the 1980s series My Little Pony, "Spike's Search", where Spike goes on a quest to learn to be a dragon and gets involved with a group of dragons who turn out to be thieves and bullies.
 * The game "King of the Hoard" the teenage dragons play appears to be the same as the children's game "King of the Hill".
 * The music clip played during Spike's encounter with the teenage dragons is nearly homophonic to the entrance theme of retired professional wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Hurricane Fluttershy

 * In the opening scene, Fluttershy tries to avoid going to the Pegasus meeting by disguising herself as a tree. This is likely a reference to her famous line from Over a Barrel, "I'd like to be a tree", which has become an in-joke in the fan community.
 * Fluttershy's training montage features music very similar to Joe Esposito's "You're the Best", as featured in The Karate Kid.

Ponyville Confidential

 * The title of the episode is an allusion to James Ellroy's 1990 novel L.A. Confidential and the 1997 film adaptation. The episode's theme is a reference to its Hush Hush Magazine subplot.
 * A poster in Apple Bloom's room references the famous Internet meme Nyan Cat, but with Rainbow Dash rather than the iconic pop-tart cat.
 * The headline "Snips and Snails and Bubblegum Fails" is an allusion to the nursery rhyme "What Are Little Boys Made Of?".
 * Rarity's line "Et tu, Gabby Gums?" is an allusion to the Latin phrase "Et tu, Brute?", traditionally attributed to Julius Caesar in the Shakespeare play of the same name, and is meant to express great shock against a trusted one's betrayal.
 * "Gabby Gums'" line "XOXO, Gabby Gums" is an allusion to the book and TV series "Gossip Girl", where the voice of the character always signs out with the phrase "XOXO, Gossip Girl".
 * One of Apple Bloom's baby photos is posed the same as the Coppertone girl ad.
 * Ponyville's newspaper, The Ponyville Express, is similar in name to the Pony Express, a famous mail service used in 1860 and 1861 in the United States.

MMMystery on the Friendship Express

 * The title of the episode references the 1934 crime novel Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie, as does the outcome of the case: nearly every passenger is responsible for one part of the "crime".
 * The hat Pinkie Pie wears and the bubble-blowing pipe are references to the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. Twilight's hat also resembles that of John Watson, Sherlock's partner.
 * One of the books sticking out of Twilight's bag in her first appearance in the episode is the history book from the beginning of Friendship is Magic, Part 1.
 * When describing the cake, Pinkie Pie references the song "It's De-Lovely".
 * Mulia Mild's name and mannerisms are a reference to Julia Child.
 * Doughnut Joe appears to be a reference to Buddy Valestro from the TLC reality show Cake Boss.
 * Pinkie's fantasies of the other bakers during her accusations are all allusions to multiple styles and genres of film.
 * First, the Gustave le Grand fantasy references black and white silent films, with the griffon playing the role of the dastardly villian often assoicated with films from the period.
 * Doughnut Joe's persona in Pinkie's fantasy, "Con Mane", is a reference to fictional secret agent, James Bond; addtionally, the opening to this fantasy parodies the franchise's iconic gun barrel sequence.
 * Finally, Pinkie's fantasy about Mulia destroying the cake is a reference to the Japanese film Yojimbo and similar ninja genre films.
 * At one point Pinkie Pie says she wants to know "who done it" before Twilight Sparkle pedantically corrects her grammar. The type of mystery being spoofed in this episode is known as a "Who Done It" as opposed to a "How Catch 'Em" or "Procedural".
 * The episode also references the 1943 film I Dood It, starring Red Skelton.

A Canterlot Wedding - Part 1

 * The Canterlot wedding and the advertisements and promotions for the episode are all a nod to the Royal Wedding of 2011. Specifically, the characters' attires match that of the special guests.

A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2

 * The lyrics and motif of This Day Aria reference the 1989 Disney film The Little Mermaid when Ursula, under the guise of Vanessa, is singing in front of a mirror talking about how she will have control over Ariel.
 * At the end of the fight sequence, the six ponies burst through a group of Changelings as a dramatic music cue plays. This is a reference to a sequence from the second Matrix movie, where the protagonist Neo escapes a mob of Smith clones in the same fashion.
 * Queen Chrysalis's siphoning of Shining Armor's love draws from the succubus of medieval lore, a female demon that seduces men in their slumber and drains them of their life force in order to sustain itself, usually through sexual intercourse.
 * In the crowd at the wedding (seen in this screencap in the top right), there is a pony with Harry Potter-like glasses and a scarf (also worn by Harry Potter) whose colors resemble those of the Gryffindor house. In addition, a protective magic bubble is placed around Canterlot, which is later broken into small pieces by the enemy, looks extremely similar to the scene when the magical shield is broken around Hogwarts in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2.
 * Bridal Chorus, composed by Richard Wagner, is used during the wedding sequence.