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 series My Little Pony Friendship is Magic. Entries on this page must follow the similarity guidelines.
Applejack's name is the name of an alcoholic beverage, and the derisive nickname "Apple Teeny" that Spike gives her in Bridle Gossip is pronounced the same as "appletini," the name of another alcoholic beverage.
Applejack usually has her mane and tail tied with one red ribbon each, and her Rainbow Power appearance bears not red but green ribbons. In real horse shows, a ribbon of one of four colors may meaningfully be tied to a horse's tail, a red ribbon meaning the horse is a kicker, and a green one that it is unpredictable.[dubious – discuss]
Derpy is named for her eyes being off-center, resembling a meme which afterward became a word.
Dr. Hooves is named after Doctor Who, and though his resemblance to the 10th Doctor (portrayed by David Tennant) was at first only coincidental, he has been depicted similarly in various official material. In some material he wears a green or red necktie and/or the 10th Doctor's outfit.
Other names, titles, and design
Canterlot is a portmanteau of "canter," a three-beat horse gait, and Camelot from Arthurian legends.
Las Pegasus is a play on the city of Las Vegas, though the writer of the episode felt that the latter was not a very successful pun,[3] and it was eventually re-interpreted in the map of Equestria poster as Los Pegasus, then later changed to Las Pegasus on a newer map.
Lauren Faust and Rob Renzetti encouraged the writers to infuse mythology into the series.[4]
The show features dragons, griffons, unicorns, and Pegasi in multiple episodes, and several other mythological creatures detailed in individual episode sections below, like manticore, Hydra, cockatrice, a minotaur, and others.
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 voice clip "Move your caboose!" is re-used later in the episode after the third sign, along with the "That's what I said!" voice clip from Sisterhooves Social being re-used, and the "Soup's on" voice clip being re-used yet again. In Ponyville Confidential, the "Move your caboose!" voice clip from Family Appreciation Day is re-used again.
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 nervous squeal from Friendship is Magic, part 1 is re-used three times throughout the series: in A Bird in the Hoof where she is crying over the 'death' of Philomena, again in Hurricane Fluttershy where she is crying under a tree, and in My Little Pony Equestria Girls when her human self gives out fliers to help the animal shelter.
The voice clip of Pinkie Pie's gasp upon meeting Twilight for the first time in Friendship is Magic, part 1, is re-used six times throughout the series: later in the same episode when Rarity confirms that Princess Celestia is missing; in Bridle Gossip, when everyone 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; in MMMystery on the Friendship Express, when Pinkie sees that the Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness has been eaten; and in Too Many Pinkie Pies when the Pinkies find out that Twilight's test is watching paint dry. It is reversed again when Pinkie balloons herself in Simple Ways.
In Friendship is Magic, part 2, after Rarity sacrifices her tail for the serpent's moustache, Twilight begins to sympathize for her, beginning with, "Oh, Rarity!" This audio is re-used in A Dog and Pony Show after the team attempts to find an open hole in the ground to save Rarity from the Diamond Dogs.
Pinkie Pie's final line in Friendship is Magic, part 2 is re-used from a line she says in Friendship is Magic, part 1, with some parts cut out during the iris-in.
The music heard during Rainbow Dash's "so awesome" speech in Applebuck Season is re-used as party music in Daring Don't.
Rainbow Dash's exclamation of "So awesome!" in Applebuck Season is re-used in My Little Pony Equestria Girls when Twilight refuses to hand the element of magic over to Sunset Shimmer.
The mule who appears in Applebuck Season and Hurricane Fluttershy uses the same "None taken" voice clip in both episodes.
The musical cue used during the bunny stampede in Applebuck Season is re-used (in a different key) in The Last Roundup during the stagecoach chase.
The voice 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.
During the welcome party in Griffon the Brush Off, after a prank is pulled the sound clip "that's so funny!" is used three times in a row. It was likely accidental.
Applejack's little giggle in Griffon the Brush Off is used again in Look Before You Sleep and The Crystal Empire - Part 1. In Look Before You Sleep, it was tied in with the laugh that was created specifically for that episode.
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 as the party music in Pinkie's flashback scene in The Cutie Mark Chronicles. Its ending from The Cutie Mark Chronicles is re-used in Sweet and Elite after the first time Pinkie fires her party cannon. The music is used again in A Canterlot Wedding - Part 1 when Pinkie leads Chrysalis disguised as Cadance to her reception plans, and in One Bad Apple for the parade fanfare.
Twilight Sparkle's scream from Winter Wrap Up in the ice skating scene is re-used in Secret of My Excess.
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 Cutie Mark Crusaders' laughter from Call of the Cutie is re-used in Stare Master when they zoom past Twilight.
Rainbow Dash's laugh in Fall Weather Friends when she flips the sign is re-used again in A Bird in the Hoof.
The background music during Rarity's fashion show in Suited For Success is re-used during Fluttershy's first fashion show in Green Isn't Your Color.
The line 'Holy guacamole!' is spoken by Spike twice in Feeling Pinkie Keen, as is the line "Twitchy tail?."
The musical accompaniment to Rainbow Dash and Rarity's routine in Sonic Rainboom is re-used in The Show Stoppers, when Apple Bloom is practicing dancing; The Cutie Mark Chronicles, during Applejack's flashback; Keep Calm and Flutter On, during the main cast's dinner party with Discord; and Simple Ways during Rarity's first presentation and the Ponyville Days gala.
Rainbow Dash's repetition of "Oh my gosh!" in Sonic Rainboom was re-used again in Wonderbolts Academy.
Most of the background music in Wonderbolts Academy was re-used again in Rainbow Falls.
Fluttershy's laugh that was used twice in Stare Master is re-used in Over a Barrel.
Segments of the Cutie Mark Crusaders' theme song are re-used in My Little Pony Equestria Girls.
Applejack's line "Get back here, you thievin' varmints!" from The Cutie Mark Chronicles is repeated later in the episode when she is done with her story and the rabbits run away.
The magic that Cadance and Twilight use to defeat the Tatzlwurm re-uses the sound effect of Nightmare Moon's dark magic from Princess Twilight Sparkle - Part 2.
Pinkie's line when referring to Trixie's exit, "She's gone! Oh, wait, there she is," is used twice in Rainbow Rocks.
The tick-tock music heard while the mane six are making the dresses from Rarity Takes Manehattan is re-used in Bloom & Gloom during Sweetie Belle's dream sequence.
Dancing animations for Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Twist in Call of the Cutie are re-used in Pinkie Pride for filly versions of Flitter, Cloudchaser, Lyra Heartstrings, and Sweetie Drops.
The animations in the background as well as the animations of Cutie Mark Crusaders running from Babs Seed and singing part of their song are repeated throughout the song played in One Bad Apple.
Human Derpy's dance during the end credits of My Little Pony Equestria Girls is re-used in "Perfect Day for Fun," though her muffin is removed and her hands are closed.
Other
Dr. Hooves' descriptions on Enterplay's Mayor Mare & Time Turner trading card, in Gameloft's mobile game, and for Gaia Online's promotional item of him say, to varying effect, that he keeps Ponyville's clocks in sync, sets the hourglass for cider competitions, and takes care of all things "timey-wimey."[6] The phrase "wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff" originates from the Doctor Who episode Blink. In the Korean broadcast of the season one episode Call of the Cutie, Dr. Hooves speaks the phrase "Allons-y!" a signature saying of his live-action counterpart, the 10th Doctor.
Pinkie's line, "Something is rotten in...whatever the name of this village is", is a parody of the line "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" from Hamlet.
Starlight's rallying call of "No pony left behind" during the song In Our Town possibly refers to the negative effect that the controversial No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 had on gifted students and advanced placement programs.[dubious – discuss]
Throughout the episode, while dealing with Tank's hibernation preparation, Rainbow Dash goes through the five stages of grief, also known as the Kübler-Ross model.
Rarity is seen carrying a light blue and yellow winter cap, a dark blue and red winter cap is seen in a bag, while Fluttershy is seen putting a green ushanka on a beaver. These are references to the characters of Cartman, Stan, and Kyle, respectively, from the animated adult sitcom South Park.
Rainbow's sinister grin at the end of act 1 is a reference to the Grinch's grin from the 1966 TV holiday special, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. In addition, Rainbow's plot to keep winter from coming seems similar to the Grinch's infamous plot to keep Christmas from coming.
The back-and-forth scene with Sunshower, Clear Skies, and Open Skies is reminiscent of the classic "Who's on First?" routine by the American comedy duo Abbott and Costello.
The background music that plays when Rainbow Dash sneaks into Cloudsdale's weather factory is similar to Lalo Schifrin's Mission: Impossible theme.
Twilight's line of dialogue "winter is coming" is a reference to a line often used in George R. R. Martin's novel series "A Song of Ice and Fire", which was made more popular by HBO's Game of Thrones, the television adaptation of Martin's novel series.
One of Discord's jokes also references Jeff Foxworthy's "you might be a redneck" one-liners, but other characters' dialogue and the episode's musical score are laid over it.[9]
The scene in which a young colt sees a glowing door is a reference to the 1980 psychological horror film The Shining. The young colt himself resemblances Danny Torrence.
Discord announces where Tree Hugger is going in the style of The Price is Right, including holding former host Bob Barker's microphone.
The transforming sound effect from Transformers is used when Pinkie Pie uncurls from being a ball at the start of the film.[10]
When Twilight Sparkle and Spike see the person walking his dog after Twilight first arrived in the other world, the dog is drawn in the same style as the 2010 version of Pound Puppies.
In the part where the Cutie Mark Crusaders are looking at their music video, there is a brown cat wearing a bow in the related videos that bears a striking resemblance to Fluffy from Pound Puppies. Also, the website that the Crusaders are surfing resembles the video-sharing website YouTube.
During Time to Come Together, when Twilight tosses brooms to the rest of the main cast, Fluttershy flinches and lets the broom hit her instead. This is a reference to a scene from Arrested Development.[11]
In the first Fall Formal dance scene, Sweetie Belle dances similarly to Tsukasa Hiiragi in the opening sequence of Lucky Star.[12]
When the spell is lifted from the Canterlot High School students, removing them from Sunset Shimmer's mind control, the beam travels through them all like the power of the Ark of the Covenant did to the German soldiers in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
In the final dance of the film, near Trixie, a male student is doing PSY's signature "invisible horse dance" from Gangnam Style.[13]
Scootaloo does the Chicken Dance. This is a reference to the episode Stare Master, where she is called a chicken by Apple Bloom.
The Dazzlings were inspired by sirens from Greek mythology.
The video game controllers that Applejack and Rainbow Dash play with resemble those of the now defunct Nintendo GameCube system.
One of the outfits Rarity models during the rehearsal is similar to the suits the Beatles wore on the cover of their 1967 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album, an idea further suggested by Rarity calling it "old-fashioned."
During the Battle of the Bands, Snails goes by the stage name "DJ Snazzy Snails," similar to DJ Jazzy Jeff.
After Pinkie catches Trixie hiding, Trixie escapes leaving some hairpins behind much like Witch Hazel from Looney Tunes.
The arena where the final battle takes place looks similar to the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California, with a saddle replacing the dome.
The fight between the Dazzlings and the Rainbooms near the finale is similar to the scene in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World in which Pilgrim's band faces off against the Katayanagi twins.
The title is a play on the title of the 1979 movie Apocalypse Now.
Fluttershy leading the hamsters into the habitat is an allusion to the legend of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.
Rarity names one of the hamsters Emilia Furhart, a reference to famous aviatrix Amelia Earhart, who mysteriously disappeared in 1937, along with her navigator, whilst attempting a circumnavigational flight of the globe.
The shot of Sunset letting her leather jacket blow away in the wind is similar to the shot of Elsa letting her cape blow away in the wind in the 2013 film Frozen.
Each of the Main Six's attire as well as their respective backdrop represents a different music period: Twilight Sparkle in the 1950s, Fluttershy in the 1960s, Rarity in the 1970s, Rainbow Dash in the 1980s, Applejack in the 1990s, and Pinkie Pie in the 2000s.
The background scenery shown during Rarity's verse is reminiscent of the 1968 animated film Yellow Submarine.
Rainbow Dash smashes her guitar at the end of her verse, which was a trademark of Pete Townshend of The Who.
The scene of the Rainbooms singing together on a darkened background is a reference to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" music video.
The commercial entitled There's a Pony For That is a paraphrase and parody of the Apple commercial There's an App For That, even showing ponified versions of smartphone applications such as Yahoof! and eNay.
The 8 bit commercial features Pinkie Pie playing an 8 bit video game on a console similar to those of Atari, with a controller similar to Nintendo's NES Advantage.
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 pressed 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 Freeling, has her hands pressed against 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, Mad Ponies.[14]
Chapter 1 makes mention of a place called San Franciscolt, a play on San Francisco, California.
Two books in Twilight's library are titled "The Princess Bridle," a reference to The Princess Bride, and "Purple Reign," a reference to the song Purple Rain.
A line by Pinkie Pie in chapter 6 mentions "Sparkle's Six," a reference to Ocean's Eleven. Alternatively, this could be a reference to the title characters referred to as the "Mane Six."
Rarity mentions a place called Mythica, Neigh York, a play on Ithaca, New York.
There are two allusions to the brony fandom: Twilight Sparkle calls Cadance her "pegasister-in-law," and Cadance says that her destiny was to lead other ponies with "True Love and Tolerance."[dubious – discuss]
Pinkie Pie and the Rockin' Ponypalooza Party!
The featured event of the book, Ponypalooza, is a reference to the annual music festival Lollapalooza.
The book makes numerous references to various musical performers and bands:
Pinkie Pie makes mention of "Canterlot Idol," a reference to reality television series American Idol.
Rainbow Dash and the Daring Do Double Dare
A landmark in the new Daring Do book is called Mount Vehoovius, a play on Mount Vesuvius.
Applejack mentions a place called South Amareica, a clear play on South America.
Rarity and the Curious Case of Charity
Chapter 1 makes mention of a place called Neigh Mexicolt, a play on the U.S. state of New Mexico.
Rarity imagines herself as a fairytale character named Raponyzel, a play on Rapunzel.
In chapter 5, Charity mentions having studied abroad in Mare-is, Prance, a play on Paris, France.
In chapter 7, Charity mentions buying a sun hat from Neighcy's, a play on the Macy's outlet of department stores.
The Journal of the Two Sisters
Granny Smith's entry begins, "Four cores and seven seeds ago..." a play on the famous opening words of the Gettysburg Address.
Applejack and the Honest-to-Goodness Switcheroo
Rarity mentions PegasUs Weekly, a reference to the magazine Us Weekly.
Two of the apples trees are named after people who work on the show. Steffan is named after orchestrator Steffan Andrews and Big Jim is named after director "Big" Jim Miller.
Rainbow Dash mentions a Pegasus named "Darwing" after talking about "Survival of the Leafiest," a reference to British scientist Charles Darwin and his studies on evolution.
Pinkie Pie mentions a writer of one of Twilight's books named Cart Bacon, whose name is a reference to American astronomer, Carl Sagan.
Daring Do and the Marked Thief of Marapore
Marapore is a play on Mayapore from the Indiana Jones franchise.[15]
Two of the villages at the base of Mount Vehoovius are called Ponypeii, a reference to Pompeii, and Lusitano, a reference to the Lusitano breed of horse.
Daring Do and the Eternal Flower
The story shares numerous similarities with the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, such the main character's search for a missing family member, an ally that later turns out to be an enemy, and a priceless treasure being hidden in plain sight among various fake or misleading treasures.
Fluttershy and the Fine Furry Friends Fair
Flim and Flam introduce themselves as Farnum and Failey, a reference to Barnum and Bailey, two circus personalities who, along with Ringling Bros., created the famous circus, The Greatest Show on Earth.
One of the ponies thinks that Fluttershy, when dressed as a shepherd, is acting as Little Pony Peep, a reference to the nursery rhyme, Little Bo Peep.
Twilight mentions Trotland and Bales, parodies of Scotland and Wales.
Applejack's last line, "That'll do, Fluttershy. That'll do." is a reference to the line "That'll do, pig. That'll do." from the book The Sheep-Pig or Babe, the Gallant Pig as it is known in the United States, and its film adaptation, Babe.
Princess Celestia and the Summer of Royal Waves
The country of Monacolt is a reference to the country of Monaco.
The part where Celestia asks her students to tear up their essays is a reference to the late Robin Williams telling his students to tear out the introduction of their textbooks in the film Dead Poets Society.
Rainy Air says, "I like raindrops on roses. But that's more a favorite thing than a fun thing." This is a reference to a lyric from "My Favorite Things" from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music.
Collectible card game
A couple of cards that have "Cheese Sandwich" quotes are actually lyrics from "Weird Al's" song, "Albuquerque," specifically, "Hey... you've got weasels on your face." and "Do you have any bear claws?"
The quote "... and when DJ PON-3 starts spinning different tunes, I'll see the Dark Mare of the moon." from the Canterlot Nights expansion set card #41 C of Purple Waters is a possible reference to Pink Floyd's song "Brain Damage".
