The shout-outs of The Great Alicorn Hunt
- During the Coronation Gala, in Chapter 8, Breezy Shy, before attacking the bullies threatening the CMC, places training booties on his hooves. When asked what they're for, his response is almost exactly the same as Kristofferson's in Fantastic Mr. Fox, when he was faced with a similar situation.Breezy Shy: So I don't break your jaw when I kick you in the face.
- Discord briefly dresses up as Ash while fighting the living vines.Discord: Alright you primeval screwheads. This is my BROOMSTICK!
- One of Fluttershy's mother's special plants (that is sentient and has teeth) is named Audrey.
- In Chapter 22, a random pony shouts about cabbages.
- It turns out the reason why unicorns love mountains so much is because of Rincewind Arcology Syndrome, an overpowering nesting instinct that affects unicorns, particularly ones that specialize heavily in arcane research like Twilight. Basically, unicorns have a need to find a location to do all their magic in, fortify it, and build vertically. The higher the better. Twilight's observatory in Canterlot is an example, Canterlot itself is a second one, and even Carousel Boutique is a third example.
- In Chapter 25, one of the bayou ponies borrows comedian Ron White's trademark line when he introduces himself: "They call me Tater Salad."
- Brass rationalizing that he can chase Trixie and Jasper all over Tartarus' Half-Acre because his authority doesn't stop at Promise's town limit (despite the fact that it totally does) is similar to the logic of Sheriff Buford T. Justice from Smokey and the Bandit, and fails for the same reason (that part of the hot pursuit doctrine is so that police officers can stop criminals without getting caught up in jurisdictional red tape if someone commits a crime in one region and then immediately crosses the border to another. It is not a license to indefinitely extend one's jurisdiction so one can chase a suspect across half the country). He even uses a similar line on his deputy.
- George C. Scott's portrayal of General Patton gets a solid nod from Flash Sentry:Flash Sentry: I— no, actually. I'm a soldier, your Highness... Contrary to what most ponies think, our job is to make sure the other guy dies for his country.
- The "Why did you yell 'Fire' over [situation that is most decidedly not fire?"]/"Because no one would come if I yelled [actual situation]." is considered by some fans to be a Shout-Out to Reality Checks Nyx Verse. (Which is by the same author as this fic.)
- In actual fact, both of these are Shout Outs to a routine from The Smothers Brothers, called "Chocolate", in which Tommy describes yelling "Fire!" after falling into a vat of (what else?) chocolate. Cue the above exchange "Why'd you yell 'fire' when you fell into the chocolate?" / "Because no one would've come to save me if I'd just yelled CHOCOLATE!!!
- Red Fort (Chapter 37) is a nod to the Engineer in Team Fortress 2, and even paraphrases part of his speech from the "Meet the Engineer" clip.
- Dapper Blue's mannerisms, suit, and the way he describes his job is reminiscent of the Spy from Team Fortress 2.
- Gred and Forge Weasel (Chapter 38) are patterned after twin brothers Fred and George Weasley in the Harry Potter series. There's even a brief mention of an older stallion with a fang earring - a shout-out to Bill, the oldest of the Weasley children. This one also mentions that he told his mother dragons were easier to work with than weasels, a nod to Charlie, the second-born Weasley child.
- In Chapter 60, Twilight is able to finally drive off a large pack of Timberwolves by turning several trees into Whomping Willows.
- Apparently another name for Twittermites is "Fizzing Whizbees."
- In chapter 63, one of the books Twilight finds is called "The Monstrous Book of Monsters", and it's just as vicious as it's source counterpart.
- Also in Chapter 38, Babs faces off against a giant monster that is entirely made of hair and sneakers, just like Gossamer. That she fights it with a pair of scissors the size of a long sword points toward Kill la Kill.
- After Malfunziona gets a nose-full of Fizzing Whizbees, he starts screaming "Non le api! Non le api!" If you understand Italian (or Neightalian in this case), that translates to, "Not the bees! Not the bees!"
- Dapper Blue's magical home-defense plants bear some noticeable similarities to another group of sentient combat plants. The Maredi Gras celebration is later attacked by their undead foes. And subsequently Mudpuppy and Sweetie Belle use the plants against a lich's zompony minions in Tower Defense fashion.
- The "Trollmatos" are very similar to SCP-504
. - During the Hold the Line moment against Malifec, Sweetie Belle inspires her friends by singing Do You Hear The People (Ponies) Sing from Les Misérables, and Heather Alexander's March of Cambreadth.
- The relationship between Cotton Mouth and Lord Malifec is similar to Quirrell and Lord Voldemort's in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, with a dark lord, obsessed with overcoming his fragility and mastering life and death, depending on a mortal assistant who's bonded with his master's life force. Cotton Mouth is ultimately more sympathetic than Quirrell though.
- The zombies (eventually) assisting the heroes, and the spirit of one thanking Sweetie Belle, who set them free, is similar to the climax and resolution of Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island. Bonus points for also being set in a swamp, and Lord Malifec being a villain who has extended his longevity by absorbing the life force of innocent victims.
- In Ch 43, Mach introduces himself with a variation of a few lines originally sung by Mok.
- The Nobody's Fools like to do a scooter race called the Kessel run, the speed record for which is twelve minutes. Later, when pranking the protesters, they mess with the sound system to play "Cuban Pete".
- The way Doctor Hospice provides Rainbow with information and references to help Scootaloo with her flightless problem is very similar to how Bob Parr can't help his clients.
- The Nobody's Fools have a device they use for pranking called a Magic Mike.
- In Chapter 47, Presto brandishes his staff and yells "YOU... SHALL NOT.... PAAAASSS!" like Gandalf, before he starts throwing stairwell impediments at the guards trying to charge him.
- In chapter 49, Mach One quotes Mal Reynolds' line of "I aim to misbehave."
- In Chapter 51, Mach One pranks Princess Luna by quoting passages from William Shakespeare (Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2) and Lord Byron (his poem "She Walks in Beauty").
- Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon reenact Egoraptor's meltdown and JonTron's Get a Hold of Yourself, Man! over a glitch in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).
- Fosters ends his Calling the Old Man Out speech to his family with a line from "Weird Al" Yankovic's "Albuquerque".
- Two of them in chapter 59. Apple Bloom's giant "Uber-Toaster" is patterned after Micro Chips' robot JVJ-24601 in the "Best in Show" shorts from the ''Equestria Girls'' Digital Series. When the leader of a pack of Diamond Dog pirates attacks Applejack, Apple Bloom delivers the "Get away from her, you bitch!" line from Aliens (with the last word bleeped out).
