History ShoutOut / ADiplomaticVisit

** At one point, the Lord of Health says that Love can automatically understand the language of the changelings, and also Prench. In the ''Literature/CampHalfBlood'' continuity, the demigods have an affinity for the ancient language of their immortal parent, but children of Aphrodite (Greek goddess of love) also have an affinity for French, since it's the language of love.

[[/folder]]

-->Sonata: "Can I ask a dumb question?"
-->Aria: "Better than anyone I know."

-->Aria: "A worthy enigma, sis."

** Spike and Thorax end up bonding over a comic titled ''The Mighty Brave Heart'', about [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor an ancient warrior armed with a magic hammer who protects the world from various villains, including his evil brother, and is based on character from folklore]] (in-fic, his appearance is based on the historical figure Rockhoof).

* Chapter 26:

** Spike and Thorax end up bonding over a comic titled ''The Mighty Brave Heart'', about [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]] an ancient warrior armed with a magic hammer who protects the world from various villains, including his evil brother, and is based on character from folklore]] (specifically Rock Hoof).
* Epilogue:
** The parting scenes derive from two sources. First, [[spoiler: Twilight's declaration to her friends that they're her sisters, though not using the exact dialogue, comes from the finale of ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'']]. Second, the very last line of the fic is inspired by the last line in ''[[Literature/TheHanSoloAdventures Han Solo and the Lost Legacy]]''.

** Spike and Thorax end up bonding over a comic titled ''The Mighty Brave Heart'', about [[ComicBook/{{Thor}} an ancient warrior armed with a magic hammer who protects the world from various villains, including his evil brother, and is based on character from folklore]] (specifically Rock Hoof).

** When [[spoiler:Maxilla is talking about their hive and queen, the Queen's name is Metamorphia. This was also the name of the changeling queen in ''[[Fanfic/TheMLPLoops MLP Time Loops]]'' 77.1 and 78.1, a sister of Chrysalis's who'd won control of the hive and was effectively acting in her place in the MLP timeline. This version is indicated to be much friendlier from the start though.]]

** Twilight remembers something Cadance had once told her - "If you want to know somepony, get them to tell you their stories." This comes from book 4 of the ''Rod Allbright Alien Adventures'' series.

** The parting scenes derive from two sources. First, [[spoiler:Twilight's declaration to her friends that they're her sisters, though not using the exact dialogue, comes from the finale of ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'']]. Second, the very last line of the fic is inspired by the last line in ''[[Literature/TheHanSoloAdventures Han Solo and the Lost Legacy]]''.

** When talking about the current Lord or Lady of Lies, Discord says that they're perfect for the Role - "They don't mean what they say, they don't mean what they do and they don't mean what they are." This references the Demon of Insincerity in ''Literature/ThePhantomTollbooth'', who says almost the same thing of themselves.
** The message that Pinkie and an unidentified Power give - "Just cheer up and never ever give up hope!" - is the final moral from ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'', specifically the one from its grand finale, the movie ''WesternAnimation/WakkosWish''.

** When Discord phases through the wall into Luna's office, she decides not to think about the mechanics of it because "she was afraid if she did so for too long, it would start to make sense." This derives from another line in ''Talking to Dragons'' - "I thought about it for a minute. Then I decided not to think about it. I was afraid it was going to make sense."

** [[spoiler:The Storm King, when his fight is beginning, points his Staff at the heroes to attack them, shouting "''Aroint ye!''" (literally, "''Begone!''"), but gets no effect. The villain of ''Literature/TheHouseWithAClockInItsWalls'' had the same thing happen to them.]]
** [[spoiler:In the aftermath of the fight with the Storm King, Tempest mentions Grubber. Pharynx asks, "What's that mean, when it's at home?" The same phrase was used by Jack in ''Searching for Dragons'' when he was confused over Telemain's MagiBabble.]]

** Spike's welcome-home gifts include a book series, ''Mysteries at Two-Door Mansion'', which are based on the board game of the same name and are "written for a younger audience, in which the reader must put the clues together and identify the culprit, or competition winner, in each chapter." They're basically Equestria's version of the ''Literature/{{Clue}}'' book series (the game setting has been alternately referred to as ''Tudor'' - Two-Door - ''Mansion'', ''Tudor Close'' or ''Tudor Hall'', along with other names, in various editions).

** When Twilight and co. arrive in Laronda, the scene of their being greeted by an airskimmer squadron is inspired by the opening of ''Star Wars - X-Wing #5: Wraith Squadron''.

** King Scorpan's history as a pilot, and his personal skimmer being named the "Golden Yoke", derives from ''Star Wars - X-Wing #9: Starfighters of Adumar''.

** Rockhoof quotes a line from [[Manga/OnePiece Dorry]] in ''Fanfic/ThisBites'' before letting out the same yell [[Literature/TheCurseOfTheBlueFigurine Father Higgins]] did in ''The Spell of the Sorcerer's Skull'', doubling as a MythologyGag - Night Blade did that very yell at one point in ''Fanfic/ThePiecesLieWhereTheyFell''.

** During the closing section, when Twilight, Trixie and Moondancer are talking about moving into Twilight's new castle, Twilight mentions that Cadance had to deal with a surprise in her castle when she first moved in, and afterward "enchanted certain parts of certain rooms in there to be self-warming at all times for the comfort of anyone who had to use those rooms", and that she'll be doing the same in her own castle. This references the late [=MythrilMoth=]'s fic ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/200912/sowhat-now So...What Now?]]'', in which Twilight had an unexpected encounter with a [[spoiler:frigid crystal toilet seat]].

** Swift-Pad explains to Twilight at one point that she cannot let fear rule her life, because if she does, she won't think clearly; he also repeats the advice of a teacher of his, who "tried to always act out of love, not of fear. And that it was a good piece of advice, because every time he forgot it, he managed to get himself into trouble." Both pieces of advice are derived from scenes in ''[[Literature/RodAlbrightAlienAdventures Rod Allbright Alien Adventures]]'', in which Rod receives the same advice from Tar Gibbons and Snout, respectively.

** Fluttershy mentions having previously met a civilized wolf on what he called a "meditation journey". This is inspired by a scene from ''[[Literature/RodAlbrightAlienAdventures The Search for Snout]]'', in which Captain Grakker explains that he and all of his people go on such a journey in their ninth year (a little over fourteen in Earth years).

** Shining Armor's explanation on empathy and cruelty is nearly all taken from chapter 13 of ''[[Literature/RodAlbrightAlienAdventures Aliens Ate My Homework]]''.

** In the same section, Caplan names Laronda, land of the gargoyles and later the centaurs. In the book ''[[Literature/RodAlbrightAlienAdventures I Left My Sneakers in Dimension X]]'', Laronda is the proper name for the Valley of the Shapeshifters on the planet in Dimension X that the heroes visit.
** When Diamond Tiara is describing Cozy Glow's behavior to Twilight, some of it comes from a description of BKR's behavior as discussed in ''[[Literature/RodAlbrightAlienAdventures The Search For Snout]]''.

** Descriptions of Laronda (including its singing plants) are partly inspired by its namesake, which appeared in ''[[Literature/RodAlbrightAlienAdventures I Left My Sneakers in Dimension X]]''.

** At one point, Twilight describes one assignment being a hooves-on project for classes on different cultures, using ingredients from that country. As an example, she mentions making a pan of brownies done up to look like the country's flag. That exact thing appeared in the book ''Monster of the Month Club''.

** Descriptions of Laronda are partly inspired by its namesake, which appeared in ''[[Literature/RodAlbrightAlienAdventures I Left My Sneakers in Dimension X]]''.
*** When talking about the singing plants, Pinkie proclaims that "[[Film/TheSoundOfMusic The hills are alive with the sound of music!]]".