List of allusions

Rarity wearing a costume similar to the one worn by Guy Manuel de Homem-Christo, one half of the French house music duo, Daft Punk.

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

Development

Character names and designs

• All the designs of the pony version of the Equestria Girls, Princess Twilight Sparkle, her friends (Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie), and Spike are inspired by characters from G1 named: Twilight, Applejack, Firefly, Sparkler, Posey, Surprise, and Spike, respectively.
• Applejack's name is the name of an alcoholic beverage.
• Applejack usually has her hair tied with a red ribbon. Her pony counterpart also has her mane and tail ted with one red ribbon each. 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 akicker, and a green one that it is unpredictable.^​
• Big McIntosh, and Granny Smith' names are of apple cultivars. Other members' names are of culinary dishes made with apples.
• The royal guards in Equestria wear crested helmets which are reminiscent of Roman galea.
• Snips and Snails, two boys, are a reference to the nursery rhyme "What Are Little Boys Made Of?."
• Flim and Flam appear to be inspired by the character of Professor Harold Hill in The Music Man.
• Derpy is named for her eyes being off-center, resembling a meme which afterward became a word.

Other names, titles, and design

• Canterlot (the capital city of Equestria and also the name of the city where Canterlot High located) is a portmanteau of "canter," a three-beat horse gait, and Camelot from Arthurian legends.
• Canterlot's (from Equestria, shown in the opening credits) design is inspired by the city of Minas Tirith from the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien.
• Cloudsdale's (the name of a cloud city in Equestria, shown during Midnight Sparkle's rampage in My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Friendship Games) suffix, "dale," is an old word for a valley or open river valley, but the name is a play on the Clydesdale breed of horse as well.
• Manehattan (the name of a city in Equestria, shown during Midnight Sparkle's rampage in Friendship Games) is a play on Manhattan, one of the five boroughs of New York City.

Mythology

• Lauren Faust and Rob Renzetti encouraged the writers to infuse mythology into the My Little Pony Friendship is Magic series and in the Equestria Girls series.
• The show features dragons, unicorns, and Pegasi in Equestria, and several other mythological creatures shown in the films, like demons, sirens, and a jackalope.

Re-use of assets

Audio

• The famous Wilhelm scream is used in My Little Pony Equestria Girls when Sunset Shimmer starts flying toward the crowd behind the gap she broke in the front of Canterlot High, and in Player Piano when one of the students is pushed by the grand piano. Dick & Roger's Sound Studio designers worked the scream in a few episodes.
• Fluttershy's nervous squeal is used My Little Pony Equestria Girls when shegives out fliers to help the animal shelter.
• The main cast's laugh is used in My Little Pony Equestria Girls, shortly after the conclusion of This is Our Big Night.
• Rainbow Dash's exclamation of "So awesome!" is used in My Little Pony Equestria Girls when Twilight refuses to hand the element of magic over to Sunset Shimmer.
• The sound used for Fluttershy's grin is used in Rainbow Rocks.
• Segments of the Cutie Mark Crusaders' theme song are from My Little Pony Friendship is Magic.
• Rarity's gasp is used in My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks when she gasps at her spilt nail polish.
• Twilight's line "Never mind. It's not important." is used in Rainbow Rocks.
• Pinkie's line when referring to Trixie's exit, "She's gone! Oh, wait, there she is," is used twice in Rainbow Rocks.
• Rarity's scoffing sound from Equestria Girls is reused once in Friendship Games.

Other

• When Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy introduce themselves, they pay homage to when Twilight Sparkle first meets Fluttershy's pony counterpart.

My Little Pony Equestria Girls

My Little Pony Equestria Girls

• The transforming sound effect from Transformers is used when pony Pinkie Pie uncurls from being a ball at the start of the film.
• When Princess Twilight Sparkle and Spike see the person walking his dog after Twilight first arrives in the human world, the dog is drawn in the same style as the 2010 version of Pound Puppies.
• The beginning of This Strange World is similar to "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen.
• Fluttershy describes all the different student cliques to Twilight while they're in the cafeteria, referencing a scene from Mean Girls.
• The skull that one of the drama students in the cafeteria is holding is a reference to the character Yorick from William Shakespeare's Hamlet.
• Sunset Shimmer comments to Twilight Sparkle about Spike, "and your little dog, too," referencing The Wizard of Oz.
• 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 Twilight and Rainbow Dash's one-on-one soccer match, the music is similar to "A Little Less Conversation" by Elvis Presley.
• The beginning of Equestria Girls (Cafeteria Song) is similar to "We Will Rock You" by Queen.
• 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.
• In the first Fall Formal dance scene, Sweetie Belle dances similarly to Tsukasa Hiiragi in the opening sequence of Lucky Star.
• 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 Lulamoon, a male student is doing Psy's signature "invisible horse dance" from Gangnam Style.
• Scootaloo does the Chicken Dance. This is a reference to episode 17 of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic Stare Master, where she is called a chicken by pony Apple Bloom.

My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks

My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Rainbow Rocks

• The Dazzlings were inspired by the 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."
  • Another one is a robotic suit similar to that worn by Guy Manuel de Homem-Christo, one half of the French house music duo, Daft Punk.
• During the Battle of the Bands, Snails goes by the stage name "DJ Snazzy Snails," similar to DJ Jazzy Jeff.
• After Pinkie Pie catches Trixie Lulamoon 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.

Rainbow Rocks animated shorts

Prequel

Music to My Ears

• The scene of DJ Pon-3 walking and dancing down the street is a reference to the "Staying Alive" scene in the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever.
• One scene in the short depicts a dog alluding to Paris Hilton's pet that she carries around.

Guitar Centered

• The title is a reference to musical instrument store chain Guitar Center.
• The Shred Off is an allusion to a scene from the 2010 film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World when Scott faces off against Todd Ingram in a Bass Off.
  • It also alludes to the guitar battles against Tom Morello, Slash, Lou, Zakk Wylde, and Ted Nugent in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and Guitar Hero World Tour.
• During the Shred Off, several of the licks Rainbow Dash plays are similar to actual rock songs.
  • The opening lick Rainbow Dash plays at the beginning of the Shred Off is similar to the opening chords in the song "Runnin' Down a Dream" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
  • The second opening lick she plays is similar to the opening chords in the song "Barracuda" by Heart.
• There is a poster in the guitar store that features the logo of British rock band, The Who.

Hamstocalypse Now

• 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.

Pinkie on the One

• Pinkie's drumming style is reminiscent of that of Animal from the Muppets.

Player Piano

• Pinke saying "Po-tay-to, to-mah-to" is a reference to the George Gershwin song "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off."

A Case for the Bass

• The record albums on display are Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, The Velvet Underground's self-titled album, and Wilco's "A.M.".
• Also on display is the poster for Steven Spielberg's 1975 film Jaws.

Shake your Tail!

• The Equestria Girls' facial makeup displaying their cutie marks resembles the band KISS' facial makeup.
  • The makeup is also reminiscent of the Hasbro TV series and property Jem and the Holograms.
• Granny Smith and two students from Canterlot High do Beyoncé's "Single Ladies" dance.

Perfect Day for Fun

• In a photo showing Princess Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity having fun on the carousel, Pinkie Pie is shown riding a carousel horse version of herself.

Encore

My Past is Not Today

• 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.

Friendship Through the Ages

• Each of the Equestria Girls' 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 scene where Sunset Shimmer is singing while on a spinning record is a reference to the opening sequence of Happy Days.

Life is a Runway

• The title of the animated short alludes to Tom Cochrane's "Life Is a Highway."
• When Rarity gives Cheerilee a new look, she has pigtails tied with green flowers, like her pony counterpart's G3.5 look.
• Rarity does Gene Kelly's lamppost dance from Singin' in the Rain.

My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Friendship Games

My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Friendship Games

• Sci-Twi going through Crystal Prep's doors before the opening credits is a parody of the main title sequence from the 1995 TV series Get Smart.
• The filling of the winning cake during "ACADECA" is shaped like the famous Mona Lisa painting by Leonardo da Vinci.
• Applejack loosing her second arrow in slow motion is similar to when Merida in looses her final arrow from the 2012 Disney animated film Brave.
• The song "Unleash the Magic" has a very similar sound and rhyme scheme to "Poor Unfortunate Souls" from the 1989 Disney animated film The Little Mermaid.
  • Similarly, the chorus resembles that of the song "Cell Block Tango" from the 1975 musical Chicago.
• After Twilight sees Sci-Twi, the entire orchestra becomes silent for two xylophone hits for an eyeblink. This was a trademark of Warner Bros. cartoon composer Carl Stalling.

Friendship Games animated shorts

All's Fair in Love & Friendship Games

• The title is a parody of the proverb "All is fair in love and war," which is often attributed to John Lyly's Euphues.
• One brief scene of Lyra Heartstrings and Sweetie Drops fighting parodies old-school fighting arcade games such as Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter.
  • Another scene is reminiscent of a fight scene in episode 3 of the 2013 anime television series Kill la Kill.

Merchandise

Equestria Girls: Through the Mirror

• Pinkie Pie makes mention of "Canterlot Idol," a reference to the reality television series American Idol.

See also

• List of allusions from MLP:FiM wiki.