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 sixth season of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic. Entries on this page must follow the similarity guidelines.
The title is a reference to O. Henry's 1905 short story The Gift of the Magi. Pinkie Pie's trade of her party cannon is a reference to the story's plot.
During the sightseeing trip, the trio visits a toy store where two ponies are playing a duet on a foot-operated electronic keyboard, which is a reference to a famous scene from the 1988 movie Big. The tune they are playing is the beginning of the My Little Pony theme song.
Maud begins the story of how she met Boulder with the line "It was a dark and stormy night", which is attributed as originating as the first sentence of Edward Bulwer-Lytton's 1830 novel Paul Clifford, and was further popularized by Snoopy in his persona of "The World Famous Author" in the comic strip Peanuts.
When imitating Twilight, Rainbow suggests the nickname "Reading Rainboom", a reference to the 1983 literary educational children's TV series Reading Rainbow.
When imitating Fluttershy, Rainbow suggests the nickname "Care Mare", a reference to the Care Bears line of toys.
In addition, Featherweight appears holding a crutch in reference to the character of Tiny Tim, and Octavia appears in the role of the Fiddler at Fezziwig's party.
Snowfall Frost's teacher Professor Flintheart is modeled after Severus Snape from the Harry Potter franchise, as portrayed by the late Alan Rickman.[2]
Pinkie and Featherweight's tap-dancing routine is almost similar to the one with Gene Kelly and Jerry Mouse in Anchors Aweigh.
The scene in which Twilight is suspended over the pigpen and stops falling just short of the ground mimics a scene in the 1996 film Mission: Impossible, complete with a similar-sounding musical score.
Zephyr Breeze tricking Spike into cleaning the throne room windows is a reference to Tom Sawyer getting a boy to paint a fence for him in the Mark Twain novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
An Earth pony stallion in Ponyville bears a resemblance to Link from The Legend of Zelda video game series. This pony wears a green cap, has a Heart Container for a cutie mark, and appears pulling a cart of gems resembling the games' Rupee currency. In addition to that, this pony's fur shares the same color with Epona, Link's recurring horse companion in the series.
When Zephyr Breeze tries living in the woods, he starts talking to his mannequin and names it Wigford, referencing the 2000 Tom Hanks film Cast Away, in which Hanks' character has an imaginary friend that he makes out of a volleyball and names Wilson.
Quibble Pants' dislike of books beyond the original trilogy is very similar to Patton Oswalt's attitude toward the Star Wars prequel trilogy.
Rainbow and Quibble's brief argument over whether Quibble said "go around" or "go over" mirrors a similar argument in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
All of the carts moving in side profile with each other in front of a yellow background during the song Derby Racers is a reference to the 1968 animated series Wacky Races.
The prank that Rainbow Dash uses on Pinkie, where she appears hanging upside down in a closet, alongside Gummy is a reference to a similar scene featuring Grandpa Munster and Igor the Bat, on the episode "Family Portrait" from the 1964 CBS television series "The Munsters".
The title is a reference to the tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, which has had two in-universe counterparts—Ogres & Oubliettes and Dragons & Dragons—introduced in the IDW comics.
The tiny Discord's running sounds is the sound used for Fred Flintstone revving up his Flintmobile.
"Discord as basketball player" "was inspired by actual real sports."[4]
Spike and Discord's role-playing characters Garbunkle and Captain Wuzz bear resemblances to Gandalf and Legolas respectively of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit book/film series.
Big McIntosh's character Sir McBiggun wears a helmet resembling the Dragon born helmet from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
The symbol on the Squizard's amulet is the "Super S" or "Stussy", a stylized "S" commonly drawn by elementary school students.
The beginning scene of Applejack bucking in slow motion is similar to the 1973 science fiction television series The Six Million Dollar Man, right down to the "bionic" sound effects.
The title is a reference to the John Green novel The Fault in Our Stars, which, in turn, was a reference to a line that Cassius says to Brutus in Act I, scene 3 of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings."
The pyramid and Sphinx-shaped building allude to The Luxor.
The Eiffel Tower-shaped building alludes to the Paris Las Vegas.
Gladmane's accent and manner of speech are reminiscent of Elvis Presley.
Applejack reinforces this resemblance by announcing "Gladmane has left the building!", which was often said whenever Presley was demanded an encore by the audience.
The three posters in the lobby bears a resemblance to:
"With a whole lot of power comes a heck of a lot of responsibility" - Spider-Man
The photo with Big McIntosh covered in mud and hiding from a mysterious creature is an allusion to a similar scene in the 1987 science-fiction film Predator.
The episode's premise is similar to the 1950 Japanese film Rashomon, in which one incident is retold from several different, sometimes contradictory, perspectives.
The flag flying on the ship's mast bears a strong resemblance to the flag of British Columbia, the Canadian province where the show's production took place.
The jacket Rarity wears in Pinkie's story is similar to the one worn by Captain Stubing in the 1977 series The Love Boat.
Rarity's dress in Applejack's story is similar to the dress worn by the character Rose in the 1997 film Titanic.
Before Applejack joins Pinkie and Rarity on the ship, Rarity even recreates the film's iconic "I'm flying" scene.
Rarity's line before the wave hits, "Luxury cruises never sink." may also be a reference to the passengers on the Titanic, who thought the cruise was unsinkable, but were proven wrong, much like Rarity.
The wave that capsizes the boat in all three stories mirrors the capsizing scene of the F/V Andrea Gail in the 2000 film The Perfect Storm.
Applejack's line "There'll be no mutiny aboard me ship!" is a direct allusion to the line spoken by Captain Queeg in the 1954 film The Caine Mutiny.[specify]
Twilight and Starlight suspect the object heading toward them might be a bird or a parasprite, a reference to the opening of the Fleischer BrothersSupermancartoons: "Up in the sky, look! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman!"
Spike refusing Starlight Glimmer entry into the Castle of Friendship is a reference to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.[7]
