Season seven
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 seventh season of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic. Entries on this page must follow the similarity guidelines.
- Twilight mentions "Claw-achella", a reference to the Coachella music festival.
- Starlight Glimmer and Sunburst's use of a drawn circle to "materialize an object that was lost in the past", as well as the ritual's result in failure, mirror the similar plot point of the anime/manga series Fullmetal Alchemist in which lead characters Edward and Alphonse Elric use a Transmutation Circle in an attempt to resurrect their dead mother.
- While on their Friendship Retreat the Mane Six play an "Escape Room".
- The Jewelry Store Pony throws her hat at Trixie in a similar fashion to the James Bond villain: Oddjob from the Bond movie Goldfinger.
- The title is a play on the expression "forever young", which is frequently used in film, television, and music.
- The title is a play on "parental guidance".
- The phrase on Rainbow Dash's motivational poster alludes to the classic proverb "when the going gets tough, the tough get going".
- The title is a reference to the 1989 film Say Anything..., which is also referenced at the end when Feather Bangs plays a gramophone over his head like John Cusack in the movie.
- While playing with their disguises, the Cutie Mark Crusaders assume a group pose similar to that of Charlie's Angels.
- The three swooning ponies sigh and swoon over Feather Bangs in a manner similar to how the "Bimbettes" do the same over Gaston in Walt Disney's Beauty and the Beast.
- Pictures in Sweetie Belle's book of fairy tales allude to real-life fairy tales:
- The shot of Feather Bangs pouring cheese fondue on himself is a parody of the scene in Flashdance.
- Scootaloo's line "The cupcake has landed!" alludes to the phrase "The Eagle has landed" spoken by Neil Armstrong when he landed on the moon in 1969.
- The title is a reference to "Honest Abe", the nickname of sixteenth U.S. president Abraham Lincoln.
- Hoity Toity and Photo Finish argue over which of a pair of identical-looking belts goes best with Starstreak's dress design, similar to how Miranda Priestly had to choose between two identical belts for a dress in the 2006 film adaptation of The Devil Wears Prada.
- Applejack's line "I don't think that word means what you think it means" is a reference to a near-identical line by the character Inigo Montoya in the 1987 film The Princess Bride.
- In one of the bubbles of Celestia's dreamscape, Dr. Hooves is seen in a hedge maze avoiding a statue trying to catch him. This is a reference to the Weeping Angels from the sci-fi TV series Doctor Who.
- In Princess Luna's nightmare, the fillies sing in creepy voices in a similar manner to the children singing in A Nightmare on Elm Street. Celestia appears in the mirror and pulls Luna into it, similar to how Freddy Krueger pulls Nancy's mom into a mirror after killing her at the end of the 2010 remake.
- Prince Rutherford says "Pink Pony better check self before wreck self", a reference to the Ice Cube song "Check Yo Self".
- Pinkie Pie's expression "You can lead a yak to water, but you better not let him know you're doing it" is a play on the real-life expression "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink".
- The title is an allusion to the phrase "the perfect pair" referring to an ideally matched couple.
- Young Granny Smith's bedtime story to her apple trees is a reference to the children's book Goodnight Moon.
- Bright Mac and Pear Butter's love story as the son and daughter of feuding families is somewhat similar to that of Romeo and Juliet in the Shakespeare play of the same name.
- The way Bright Mac and Pear Butter meet each other for the first time through a fence between the estates of two feuding families mirrors the story of Pyramus and Thisbe, which itself inspired the story of Romeo and Juliet.
- Burnt Oak bears a resemblance to frequent Western film actor Sam Elliott.
- Bright Mac and Pear Butter sharing a milkshake and their noses meeting in the middle is a reference to the iconic spaghetti scene in Disney's Lady and the Tramp.
- The pear and apple trees wrapping around each other is a reference to some versions of the story of Tristan and Iseult, where branches of two plants growing out of the lovers' separate graves intertwine each other.
- Each legend draws influences from different real-life cultures:
- Rockhoof: Norse
- Mistmane: East Asian
- Flash Magnus: Roman
- Sable Spirit is based on Chinese empress Dowager Cixi.[dubious – discuss]
- Trixie suggests using the "good pony/bad pony" routine on Pharynx, alluding to the "good cop/bad cop" tactic used in law enforcement interrogations.
- Starlight's speech is patterned after that of Mel Gibson's character, William Wallace, in the 1995 film Braveheart.
- When Pinkie, Rainbow, and A. K. Yearling travel to Somnambula, a map with a moving red line marks their journey, identical to the traveling scenes in the Indiana Jones films—the same allusion to which was made in Daring Don't.
- Just as the legends in Campfire Tales were influenced by real-life cultures, the legend of Somnambula draws influences from Ancient Egypt, such as the ponies' clothes and makeup, the pyramids, and the sphinx.
- Somnambula shares her name with a G1 villain, a human witch who steals youth from others.
- The sphinx's bridge challenge for Somnambula, and Dr. Caballeron's challenge for Daring Do, bears a resemblance to the "Path of God" challenge in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
- The title is a play on the expression "a wealth of information".
- According to Fluttershy, ancient Equestrian healers like Mage Meadowbrook would wear bird masks to prevent them from getting sick themselves. Twilight and Fluttershy also wore bird masks in the episode to protect themselves from Swamp Fever. This all alludes to the real life plague doctors who would wear bird shaped masks to prevent infection from the bubonic plague.
- The title alludes to the phrase "once upon a time", a common opening line in fairy tales.
- Twilight recalls Shining Armor getting sick on a ride at Pony Island, a reference to Coney Island, a borough of Brooklyn best known for its beaches, boardwalk, and especially its amusement parks Astroland and Luna Park.
- Shining Armor does the famous "I'm flying" scene from Titanic while on the airship.
- The Neighagra Falls barrel-jumping activity alludes to Annie Edson Taylor, the first woman to survive going over Niagara Falls in a barrel.
- The autographs in a cruise attendee's autograph book appear to be those of David Bowie, Elvis Presley, Alan Rickman, and Celine Dion.
- The title is a play on the phrase "secrets and lies".
- One of the episode's scene transitions mimics the classic scene transition of the 1960s Batman television series.
- The title is a play on the phrase "common bond".
- The board game Dragon Pit shares some similarities with the obscure 1986 board game Fireball Island.
- Trixie attempts the classic illusion of sawing a woman in half.
- Ponhenge is a play on Stonehenge, a famous stone monument in Wiltshire, England.
- A ponified version of Indiana Jones appears when Applejack retrieves Rockhoof's shovel.
- One of the background ponies in the Pillars' flashback is ugly and has a hunched back and an association with bells, similar to Quasimodo of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.
- The nature of the "darkness" that possesses Stygian as a parasitic "entity" that promises power to its host, refuses to let go, and creates constructs from its substance resembles the Symbiotes from Marvel Comics, most notably Venom and Carnage.
