Intentional Shout-Outs and References in M.L.G.

Some background music. You're going to need it: we're going to be here a while.

To find out who I imagine some of the OCs (and Leviathan in English) to sound like, the story's Trivia page at TV Tropes here has a list of them under "Hypothetical Casting".

For nearly everything else, this is your stop. I will try to update this as new chapters are published.

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Chapter Titles

Like the Summer Sunshine --- A lyric from "Sugar, Sugar", by The Archies. Refers to Leviathan's discovery of Heartbreakers.

Giant Steps Are What You Take --- From "Walking On the Moon", by The Police. The chapter shows the beginning of Levi's association with the MRPD.

Bull Session --- A "bull session" is defined as an informal and impromptu discussion, like the one Levi and Gray have concerning the former's clothing. Continuing the reference, a minotaur's the one who finally breaks up the act (though Bossa would technically be called a 'cow', not a 'bull').

The Head Games of a Foreigner --- "Head Games", by Foreigner. Self-explanatory.

A Limitless Chest of Tales --- A lyric from Nightwish's "Storytime". Features Drama Heart's first musical number.

Bald Bull Needs Not Apply --- Reference to the "Punch-Out!" series. His barber didn't know when to quit, and neither does Bossa.

Sabotages Tin --- An anagram of Bastion and Gates' names. The characters they were meant to be expies of, "Red Vs. Blue's" Locus and Felix, had their own anagram in the form of "Soul Clef IX".

Prismatic --- "Mega Man Zero 3's" music for the Resistance Base and the mission select. This is where Levi chooses which agent to chase after first.

All Alone in the Moonlight --- "Memory", from the "Cats" musical.

Neither Created Nor Destroyed --- The law of conservation of energy.

Shine Aqua Illusion --- One of Sailor Mercury's attacks, though the chapter's content is more malicious than magical. Really I just picked it for the name.

Diluted --- A pun referring to Calico Driftwood. She's both diluted in the coloration sense, and "deluded" in the sense that her point of view is marked with errors.

Gray's Analogy --- "Gray's Anatomy", natch. No, I've never been interested in it.

Buggin' --- To the final song on the first "Space Jam's" soundtrack. Hello, changeling.

Day Three, Part One: Sky High --- "Sky High - Grand Nuage" is a song from "Megaman ZX" that I've always associated with the concept of hope. Levi's hopes begin to rise in this chapter.

Day Three, Part Two: Everybody Look What's Going Down --- "For What It's Worth", by Buffalo Springfield.

As Time Goes By --- The song of the same name, made famous in "Casablanca".

It's Only a Model (sssh) --- To "Monty Python and the Holy Grail". Refers to the scene at the end of the chapter regarding Gray's achievement in ignorance, though otherwise there's nothing in common with the movie.

Which Hazel? --- A pun on Witch Hazel, a rarely seen Looney Tunes character. Another one I just picked for the name.

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In-Story

From Omega To Alpha

"It hasn't been my day. Or week, or month. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that it hasn't been my year, either, but for now I'll settle with the former." --- References the theme song of "Friends", a 1990s sitcom. I never watched the show, but there was a kid's radio station back then called Radio AAHS that played the song from time to time.

The "Meringue" air conditioner is based on "Trane", a manufacturer of HVAC systems. They've been around for quite a while. I remember seeing the name on a heating system in a kindergarten classroom and thinking there were toy trains stored in there.

A DOSage of Bad Medicine

"Water and ice are my friends, and they help me relax." --- Derived from a similar line from a fanmade "Touhou" web animation centered on Koishi Komeiji. Never seen it, and given what I've heard about its content, I never will.

The DOS screens were created with the aid of---what else---DOSBox. The more 'legitimate' error messages were entered in from memory, since they're different in DOSBox than they were on the actual system.

"Human Error - Think Again and Think Fast!" was taken from two different sources: the latter from "The Maltese Falcon", and the former from---I think---"2001: A Space Odyssey". I remember my dad used both of those sound bites on our computer back in the 90's, but I wasn't paying attention when he downloaded the clips, so take it with a grain of salt.

The name "Gray Ghost" originates with the character of the same name from "Batman: The Animated Series", though otherwise they have nothing in common.

"Mortar & Son" is based on the name of a construction/remodeling company in Michigan---"Father & Son"---that was in business while I was growing up. I still remember the jingles in the commercials: 'No job too big, no job too small! We're Father & Son, we do it all!' ...Or something along those lines, anyway.

"Macro's Pizza" is derived from a pizza chain called "Marco's Pizza".

Off the Deep End

"Blue Streak", the name of the pegasus mentioned by Mortar, is the name of a rollercoaster.in Cedar Point, Ohio.

Burning Salamandra/Drama Heart's personality uses "Red Vs. Blue's" Dr. Emily Gray as a starting point.

As a side note, before I settled on her identity, Drama's working name was "Doris Cartloff". If that sounds familiar to fans of old horror movies, it should.

"Don't touch the merchandise" --- Rocket Raccoon, "Marvel Vs. Capcom 3".

Like the Summer Sunshine

"Murder-crush" --- Cell, as heard in DBZ Abridged. I don't know where Team Four Star heard of it themselves, if at all. This term turns up several times in later chapters.

Heartbreakers candy is inspired by Gobstoppers.

Heart of the Theater

Surprisingly, "Millions Umbra" is not based on anything in particular.

"It's better to see how you can get the most mileage out of the cards you're dealt than it is to complain about the unfairness of your opponent's hand." --- Paraphrased from Grimsley in "Pokémon Black/White".

Drama Heart actually was listening to "Danse Macabre, Op. 40". It wasn't just background music for the readers' benefit.

Music and the Moon

The Sapphire Shores song Ebony's listening to at the start of the chapter is the same song that the Question was humming in "Justice League Unlimited".

The cutaway gag involving Gray's explanation of Leviathan's gender to Ebony ("she had the voice of a mare, so as far as I'm concerned she's a mare") and Levi laughing about Harpuia being a "pretty boy" is a reference to the source of Harpuia's voice. >^_^<

The performer that puts Leviathan to sleep, called "Naye" in a later chapter, is the in-universe version of Enya. The record cover is basically that of the "Shepherd Moons" album.

Alexandrite

The "Owner of a Lonely Heart" joke was entirely intentional.

"Playing 'hero' must be a fun way to pass the time..." --- This isn't an original statement. Leviathan's entry in the Mega Man Zero Complete Works artbook starts off with this line.

Crumbling Castle

"...it slowly turned its head to face them over its shoulder and gave them a face-splitting grin that flat-out oozed smugness." --- Reference to Jetstream Sam from "Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance". Add that to the list of games I've never played and never will.

"One day, I'm going to give it to him. Don't believe me? Just watch." --- Reference to "Uptown Funk" by Bruno Mars. I blame the One Piece fanfic "This Bites!" for getting this song stuck in my head.

"Termarenator" is a fairly obvious one to the Terminator franchise.

The Lonely Heart nightclub's owner, a "black-maned earth pony in an incredibly ugly leisure suit", is the in-universe version of Leisure Suit Larry. The games are right next to MGR:R on my "will never play" list.

Wake-Up Call

Leviathan's dreaming of Sheep Man's stage from "Mega Man 9".

"CPU cancels sleeping: hugged by a horse." --- "Dwarf Fortress".

Officer Coffee-and-Cream's full name, "I Like My Sugar With Coffee and Cream", is a lyric from the Beastie Boys song "Intergalactic".

Giant Steps Are What You Take

The first paragraph of Celestia's letter contains what is basically Bon Bon's backstory, as heard in the "Slice of Life" episode.

Gray Ghost referring to herself as a housewife when she's obviously capable of much more --- Izumi Curtis, from "Fullmetal Alchemist".

The picture of Drama's "spider-mane" is meant to further Buried Lede's resemblance to J. Jonah Jameson.

Griffon the Benefit of a Doubt

"Go home along with me, the best is yet to be..." --- Alters a lyric from the song "Grow Old With Me". It was originally written by John Lennon, but the version by Mary Chapin Carpenter is (I think) the one I'm most familiar with.

Bull Session

"Puttin' On the Ritz", which is referenced in the second paragraph, dates back to 1929. Taco's version in 1982 is the one I grew up hearing.

The Head Games of a Foreigner

The magic mint-colored unicorn who witnessed Levi sitting on a bench and left to try it for herself was MLP's designated human fanatic, Lyra Heartstrings.

A Sunny and Gray Day

Ebony's dream of mannequins being tossed at her over fences is a reference to "Silent Hill 2" (again, something I've never played and never will). Her response to them---smashing them with a wooden fence post and waving it around like a parade leader's baton---is taken from RoahmMythril's playthrough of the game.

"Blin Jagwarr" is the in-universe equivalent of Def Leppard.

Thank You, Miss Exposition

"Alien Vs. Pony" -- Alien Vs. Predator, a game made for the Atari Jaguar, among other systems. I've never tried it, but I recorded one of the ads for it as a kid (and watched my brother play it for a bit).

Hassleberry and his snarky article both reference Dave Barry, a former Florida-based (previously Pennsylvania-based) humor columnist who's known nowadays for his year-in-review articles.

Honest Crow is the "Touhou Project's" Aya Shameimaru.

When Leviathan said that she can operate as far down as 11,000 meters below the ocean surface, she's saying she's capable of surviving the Mariana Trench, whose estimated depth is more or less that number.

A Limitless Chest of Tales

The exchange after the latest round of stair shenanigans is--as several people guessed--a reference to "Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff". I'm familiar with the whole 'stairs' thing thanks to "The Henry Stickmin Collection", but I've never looked into it past that (or even cared enough to).

Salamandra's heartsong uses Nightwish's "Storytime" as a base. As stated in the Notes for the chapter, I don't like metal on account of all the noise, but the song fits Sally's M.O. even if the lyrics don't.

Putting the "Logy" in Psychology

Surprisingly, Five-of-a-Kind is not specifically based on Maud Pie. The characters that later served as a basis for Gray Ghost and her family have existed in my imagination since 2008-2009 at the latest, at least a year before MLP: FiM first aired.

"Salamandra blinded me with music and hit me with her harmony. It was poetry in motion ..." --- Another lyric alteration, this time from Thomas Dolby's "She Blinded Me With Science".

"Pure Energy" and "Tell me what's on your mind!" are both references to one of The Information Society's songs.

"Zig-Zag" and "Zeke" are a bit more obscure than most of those on this list. As a kid, I had a book that was called something like "The NBA Book of Fantastic Facts, Feats and Super-Stats". It included a collection of short biographies of pro basketball athletes both past and then-present; one such article was called "Zig-Zagging with Zeke", which was about Detroit Pistons guard Isaiah Thomas. I like to think Zig-Zag is far nicer than him, though.

The Reploid Nobody Knows

Drama's "I'm gonna be an aunt!" freakout is very loosely based on an early-to-mid 1990s "America's Funniest Home Videos" clip.

Letters With a Side of Mocha

"Rip, tear, done." --- Simplified reference to the "Doom" series, which I haven't played. Seeing a pattern here?

"'I am Fairy Leviathan, and this is my favorite eatery in Manehattan.'" --- Obvious "Mass Effect" reference. I don't need to have played the series in order to be familiar with that bit of dialogue.

The Definition of Terror, Part One

The song Drama's humming on her way home is "Walking on Sunshine", by Katrina and the Waves. The song is referenced again in a much later chapter.

"What in Tartarus happened to my stairs?!" "Gray took them down because I'm grounded." --- Reference to "Ed, Edd n Eddy".

The black-and-orange ballcap with the bird emblem has to do with the Baltimare---excuse me, Baltimore Orioles.

"Uh-uh. Uh-uh. No cook. She's terrible. Just serving. She's very servy." --- The last few bits are altered from a quote in the "Detective Pikachu" film: "That's a twist. That's very twisty." (Which again, I haven't seen.)

Drama's deranged laughter at the end was meant to be remniscent of Ed from the original version of "The Lion King".

When I was writing Pinny Lane's speech, I tried to utilize what little I remembered from Funimation's take on "Yu Yu Hakusho's" Botan.

The Definition of Terror, Part Two

One of Haychus's curses, "Peanut butter on a Tuesday", is a reference to a long-since-privatized video of Vannamelon's that involved Rainbow Dash playing "Geometry Dash" and struggling to beat one stage in particular.

Leviathan's story to Gray's family talks about a legitimate tactic for claiming a specific Cyber-Elf in the first "Zero" game.

"...Answer me! Equish! Do you speak it?!" "What?" --- Derived from an exchange in the "Pulp Fiction" movie. I sure as Michigan wasn't going to be using the actual quote, and I dislike the movie anyway, but I saw the direction Gray's speech was heading and went with it.

Bald Bull Needs Not Apply

My use of the Mythos remix of "Departure" in conjunction with Leviathan whipping off her coat was intentional. I was trying to mirror the scene at the start of "Zero 2" that depicted Zero ditching his cloak as the stage music began. As such, I tried to time the link placement so that those reading the scene would hear the music kick in at the right moment. Results have varied depending on reading speed, I'm sure.

Limefrost Spiral is the name of a planetary system in "Descent II". Personally, I think it's another one of those names that sounds like a fancy ice cream flavor.

"Foot Dive!" --- Doctor Doom in the "Marvel Vs. Capcom" series.

Smooth Beat is one of the fan names given to Vinyl Scratch's older brother (the other one that I know of being Long Play), who cameoed in the comics. I regard the comics as a seperate continuity altogether (since I haven't looked at any of them, I know very little about them), but I'll incorporate elements from them if I find them sufficiently amusing or noteworthy.

A Running Gag Continues

"Where's my fishy fish-dish..." and "This is my favorite chapter..." --- Yuumi, from "League of Legends".

"It was either that or dangle some yarn over her nose, and I've got no strings on me." --- This last bit is from "Pinocchio" (the Disney movie specifically).

The swimming pool at Bronclyn High was dreamed up using the one from my old high school as a base.

Fairy Vs. Ghost

"I am the cat that walks by herself, and all places are alike to me." --- Paraphrased from Rudyard Kipling's "Just-So Stories".

Gray's last-ditch attempt at forcing a victory is basically a watered-down version of Wolverine's Berserker Barrage from the "Marvel Vs. Capcom" series.

Winding Down

The 'hardware limitations' comment was a minor poke at the Game Boy Advance, which the "Zero" games were made for.

Gray's story about the "Master of Magnet" showing up at the Gala is a reference to an amusing incident involving a group of fans singing "At the Gala", then Magneto appearing in one corner of the screen. The fans ran with it.

"Alas, they were mistakes, not magnets." --- To the 1992 "X-Men" arcade game. The actual line is "Alas, that was Mystique, not Magneto."

"File C184-GG-N0-RE-SPR1" --- I deliberately bolded the text here for the sake of indication. If you're familiar enough with online multiplayer lingo, you should know what this refers to.

Priorities

Note: If Illudere is mentioned, you may assume that her ability to see past the 4th wall is responsible. Thank you.

"Perhaps he gets some sort of perverse amusement from hearing his followers bang their knees on the furniture?" "You're thinking of that charming Candy Cane fellow." --- Reference to a fan-made novelization of "Command & Conquer: Tiberium Wars", in which Kane was indicated to derive this sort of amusement from his followers hitting their shins against their consoles in dim lighting.

"If by 'charming' you mean 'can't be outsmarted because he's a moron', then we're already having a good meeting." --- The Looney Tunes cartoon "Jack-Wabbit and the Beanstalk".

'Maniac, maniac on the throne, and she's ruling like she's never ruled before...' --- Illudere's take on Michael Sembello's "Maniac".

"Aw, crudbunny." "Oh, you say that too." --- Watered-down reference to "DBZ Abridged".

Intro Stage: Warming Up

Celestia's dream about Twilight wandering through an "endless corridor of realms linked by doors" while music is playing --- The "[SFM Ponies] Doors" trilogy.

Sabotages Tin

"If 'being behind the eight ball' means being in a precarious situation, 'being behind the nine ball' would mean supporting a moron, and I don't want the expression coined with me in mind." --- Reference to a Touhou meme involving the idiotic Cirno.

"I am a dainty sugarplum. ... I... am a dainty sugarplum." --- Illudere was behaving like she was dazed, but she was really imitating Zorak from "Space Ghost Coast to Coast". This statement was among those used by him in the ad bumpers for their old Christmas special.

The song being hummed at the end of the chapter is basically Gray's take on ZZ Top's "Sharp-Dressed Man".

Prismatic

The scene with Knight and Gargoyle installing the new bars at MRPD's jail was inspired by a similar scene in "Support Your Local Sheriff!".

Gates's expression in his dossier photo is a blatant reference to what's called "The Dreamworks Face".

Trifecta - Part One

The "Press X to Doubt" hint Levi finds was taken from "L. A. Noire". If it weren't for "The Henry Stickmin Collection", I never would've heard of this one.

Trifecta - Part Two

"The text is all in Equish, but the cursive is very messy: I can't read it. I suspect that if I took this to a pharmacy somewhere, I could probably get a prescription filled." --- The last sentence in that was actually something I took from a joke I'd once read in "Reader's Digest" circa 2009.

"You think you can take me? Go ahead on. It's your move." --- "Final Justice" with Joe Don Baker, if memory serves. Thank you, MST3K.

Mentions of propane, accessories, and Levi not asking any questions --- "King of the Hill". Watched maybe one episode, and that was it. I'm more familiar with the meme than anything else.

Trifecta - Part Three

Trifecta's Incineration Cannons are taken wholesale from Genos from "One-Punch Man".

Metallium

"The 'hot pink' joke wasn't funny the first time, though I will agree that too much of this is dangerous for my health." --- Refers to the "Too much pink energy is dangerous!" line from "Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers". I never heard that line when I watched the show, so I was only made aware of it relatively recently.

"You wanted to eat me? You got it---and everything that goes with it!" --- Disney's "Aladdin" (1992), altering a line from his defeat of Jafar.

The name of Metallium's "Heavy Sandhog" technique was taken from one of the weapons found in the old DOS game "Scorched Earth".

"In Equestria, it's perfectly legal to hug a Princess." --- Paraphrased from The Rogue Wolf's story "Misunderstandings", which no longer exists on this site.

Canning the Criminality

As with Blue Streak, "Maverick" and "Magnum" are the names of Cedar Point roller coasters.

"...How does a pony learn karate, let alone master it?" --- Boomstick, from the Rainbow Dash Vs. Starscream "Death Battle!".

1st Anniversary Chapter: One Possibility Out Of Many

Fiver's appearance in this chapter has her channeling the Map Bot from "Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach".

"Taxi! Taxi, yo!" --- When I was a kid, my dad purchased an eight-disc collection (at least I think it was eight discs) of shareware games and utility programs from a computer show. The software used to browse the files had two audio clips: "Let-us-begin", heard upon startup, and Caramel's line mentioned above, heard upon exiting. I don't know where the audio actually originated.

"...after that, even Burning Salamandra cannot be expected to wait." --- The King of All Cosmos in "Katamari Damacy".

Zig-Zag's card was created using Broderbund Software's old "Print Shop Deluxe" sign-making program.

Glintlock - Part One

"I'm going to get me a can of hash and some coffee." --- This, among other details, is an indicator that I based Chief Pine Grove on Cosgrove from "Freakazoid!".

The one-shot MRPD officer "Single Arrow" came about after watching randomizers of "Super Metroid/A Link to the Past". I can't remember if it was possible in the latter game (despite having played it within the past year), but sometimes it was possible to find individual arrows in treasure chests (as opposed to pots, where they were very common).

"Somewhere in the distance, a dog barked." ---Reference to a "The Far Side" comic. I want to say it involved some guy and a few animals contemplating a can of mace that had fallen on the floor, but I forget exactly.

Glintlock - Part Two

"I feel like the term "blank flank" is a misnomer. If her peers can't see all of that potential, then her peers need to grow up." --- There's an author I'm acquainted with here on Fimfiction who used to have a similar line at the top of his profile.

"That's a terrible impression." -"But not inaccurate!"- "Maverick, why are you still listening?!" --- "DBZ Abridged", again.

Glintlock - Part Three

While you could probably imagine Glintlock playing any music on his guitar if you wanted to, I didn't link "More Gun" from "Team Fortress 2" just for grins and giggles.

Glintlock's standards come from TF2 as well. He's basically meant to be a combination of the Sniper and Engineer, and several of his lines towards Levi come from the game. (Never played it.)

The "KA-BONG!" of Glintlock's own guitar hitting him is from "Quickdraw McGraw".

"I always come back." --- William Afton, "Five Nights at Freddy's: Pizzeria Simulator". For the record, I've never played the games in the franchise and never will. I like my heart rate right where it is.

Statuette - Part One

Madisoat Square Garden might just be a rip-off of New York's Madison Square Garden, but if it is, the comics beat me to it a long time ago. All I did was add a bit of color to it.

"Do you hear that noise?" "Probably the sound of somepony being an idiot." --- From "Red Vs. Blue".

"Priceless Works" is Vivaldi's counterpart.

"You can't let yourself be held back by common sense in a place like Equestria." Reference to a relatively well-known Touhou meme, courtesy of Sanae Kochiya. This is her rationale for attacking the player character during her appearance in the 11th game. I put it in to show that Levi's becoming more used to Equestria than she anticipated.

Statuette - Part Two

The Ice Slasher comes directly from the first "Mega Man" game. There, it was Fire Man's weakness.

Rest and Reconciliation

"Mellow Sleight" is the in-universe name for John Scarne. He was a card expert and author who lived in the early-to-mid 20th century, and he wrote a number of books related to card playing and gambling. Wikipedia has more on him.

All Alone In the Moonlight

"...Zero to infuriated in a moment. My goodness, you have talent." --- "DBZ Abridged" again, or more specifically the "#CellGames" mini-episode involving Deadpool. Having heard a reference to Cell in a recent episode of "Elements of Justice" (as of this writing), I'm starting to think the series has had too much of an impact on Internet culture. ()^_^

"Rubber shoes? Red mane? White face paint? Squeaky nose? Jagged teeth? Mysteries upon mysteries." Illudere was referencing Pennywise the Dancing Clown, from "IT". On the whole I'm not into horror; it just strikes me as the sort of thing she would say.

Another one from Illudere: "I second that emotion" is the name of a Smokey Robinson song, among others.

"I want you to pulverize that big stupid pufferfish! Do you hear me?! Death to the fugu!" Several references in one here. 'Big stupid pufferfish' references the 'Big stupid jellyfish' line from the "Mass Effect" games (never played).

Meanwhile, 'death to the fugu' is actually derived from a phrase that someone I was acquainted with years ago liked to use, though the word and meaning was altered. As before, though, I'm going to leave you without any additional context for this one. Sore wa himitsu desu. >^_^<

"Oh hai, spoon." Illudere's third reference of the chapter involves Tommy Wiseau's "The Room". Never seen it, and given what I've heard about it, I never will.

Approaching a Crossroads, Unaware

"A home for fleas, a hive for the buzzing bees---!" --- From "Hair". The song, that is, not the theater production or the movie. (Never seen them, would prefer not to.)

Thank You, Miss Exposition - Part 2

The journalist named Burnt Lemons is a reference to the "Portal" series and the whole "burn your house down with the lemons" speech. Never played the games, and I'm only acquainted with the speech thanks to "Ponies the Anthology".

"It was as her gym teacher back home used to say: if you wanted to be successful and productive, then you had to be aggressive." --- Rekka, from "Hi-Fi Rush". Never played, though it is entertaining to watch.

"NO! You've got be kidding me! No-o-o! Not that!" --- Limefrost's fit is a reference to a Twitch streamer I like to watch, PinkKittyRose. She was doing 100% runs of "Pizza Tower" last year, and in one of them it dropped to 99% at the last possible frames, eliciting a burst of anger and the above statement.

Off Your Marks, Get Set, G_o_

"Her little world twists, turns, and flies flies flies~!" --- Illudere derived this from a lyric in the song "My Heart Feels No Pain", from "Hi-Fi Rush". Without actually listening to the song again, I think the original lyric was "try as you might, you'll never fly fly fly".

The Mozart counterpart being named "Moztrot" is taken from several classical-music stories right here on this site, one of which involves the aforementioned musician being restored to life in modern Equestria.

Neither Created Nor Destroyed

The servant "Flower Night" is a reference to "Touhou's" Sakuya Izayoi, whose given name translates to "flowering night". She was also supposed to be Quarter's second-in-command, but that idea didn't make the final cut.

The New Deep Sea Squadron Takes Shape

Illudere's declaration of "The Pyre is ablaze with the sound of music!" should be easy to figure out.

"That was totally wicked!" --- A quote from "The Incredibles".

"We'd just left your office, then it was Topsy Turvy Day all over again." --- Topsy Turvy Day is from Disney's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame".

"Oh. You're back. Hi, Levi." --- Yet another "DBZ Abridged" reference, this one to Mr. Popo's entirely nonchalant response towards Kami's resurrection during the Freeza saga.

Curveball On The Outside Corner

"Yeah. Almost as weird as what's going to happen if you call me that again!" --- Sigh... Same source as the above, this one from Mr. Popo getting fed up with Vegeta calling him "black man".

"Enough power to make an emperor blush!" --- Illudere utilized two references in one. The first is an obvious one towards Palpatine's memetastic declaration in "Revenge of the Sith". The second is to the Let's Player BaronVonGames, who stated during a particularly one-sided round of "Totally Accurate Battle Simulator" that the unit responsible was "making Palpatine blush with all this unlimited power".

"I can hear the Pyre sing, singing the song of angry mares..." --- Illudere referenced "Do You Hear the People Sing?", from the theater adaptation of Les Misérables.

While it's technically not a reference, I did get the idea of using an ettin from "Nethack". A lot of Gen-4 MLP human-in-Equestria stories have obligatory encounters with creatures like manticores, chimaeras, or timber wolves, and I wanted to try something else instead. "Nethack" is a gold mine of monsters.

"May you go stand directly below a torrent of falling buffalo..." --- Illudere had an old Dave Barry humor column in mind. This one was about, and I quote, the "Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump."

Shine Aqua Illusion

HF-88, one of the random Reploids that appear early in the chapter, is a reference to one of the bounty hunters in "The Empire Strikes Back". Take both letters and advance them by one, and you get IG-88.

"If memory serves, he's one of those who keeps images of me at his workstation instead of his significant other." --- "Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach" had an office desk with a framed picture of Roxy set where someone would normally put photos of their family.

2nd Anniversary Chapter: What If...

"And he tells me: 'No, you need the maroon-colored paint, not the pink. They're entirely different colors.' And I tell him, 'look, I have eyes, I can tell the difference for myself!'" --- One of the YouTubers I follow once posted a video---framed as a humorous debate between Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth---that had him claiming to someone that Edgeworth's suit was pink.

"I'm not going to be seen in public with you if you're looking like my dear old departed mother!" "Your mother's dead?" "Nope. She just departed." --- From "Support Your Local Sheriff!", taken (and somewhat altered) from a conversation between the sheriff and the town mayor.

Twilight being told to be on her best behavior, her doing something to defy that, and then Spike admitting that it was one of her better behaviors was pretty much taken wholesale from a 1980's "Garfield" comic.

"I've got cake, and I promise it's telling the truth!" --- "Portal", obviously.

Overused Specter-centric Pun

Believe it or not, the Luminous Cruelty wasn't originally intended to be a shout-out to the Black Mercy from "For the Man Who Has Everything". I didn't even have a name for that spell initially. After comparisons were made in the comments, I decided to follow through on it.

The Calmest Waters [...] - Part One

"...she wanted ponies to see her "innocent smile."" --- Speed-of-Sound Sonic from "One-Punch Man".

The Calmest Waters [...] - Part Two

Leviathan screaming Illudere's name, and the latter asking Energy what to give to the mare who has everything --- The "Superman" comic mentioned a few chapters ago.

The helmet-shaped drone that Levi's rescuers encounter is basically the Class One Driller from "Descent", with magic bolts instead of a Vulcan Cannon.

Diluted

"I'm not helpless just because I've been samused out of my equipment!" --- "Metroid". Samus's ability to lose her suit's powerups in-between games is well-known in the fandom. Someone in the comments actually gave me the idea to give her the "person as verb" treatment.

Gray's Analogy

The dream Levi was having before she woke up involved her seeing the Giga Monty glitch from "FNAF: Security Breach" from Gregory's perspective.

"That crab's like a crab to me!" --- Illudere's been listening to Weird Al Yankovic. This line was based on 'That snorkel's just like a snorkel to me!' from "Albuquerque".

"TSSSSSHHAAAHHH!" --- Serpentine's scream from the "Freedom Planet" games.

Buggin'

"Something something mystery novels, Shadow Spade, and evil lurking in the hearts of ponies that he knows about." --- A well-known line from the old "The Shadow" radio program that goes like this: "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!" My parents have always liked that line.

Gray and Bushwhacker's exchange at the end of the meeting --- "The Princess Bride".

Calico, Fiver, and a Side of Vignettes - Day One

"Get back ... you eight- ... legged ... freaks!" --- To "Eight-Legged Freaks", obviously. Never saw it; I hate and fear spiders, so I never will. I do remember that line from the ads for it, though.

The Morale of the Story - Day Two

"Who... wha... fah... nee... shoo... how..." --- This one's not as obvious, but I had one of Bucky Katt's angrish-y breakdowns from "Get Fuzzy" in mind.

Ocean Guard threatening Ebony with "the box" --- I forget which "Space Ghost Coast to Coast" episode it was, but one of them had ol' Ghostal threatening Zorak with this.

"This is her house. I have to offend it." --- From the first "Home Alone" movie. The original line was something along the lines of: "This is my house. I have to defend it."

Day Three, Part One: Sky High

A song named "Aqua Gal" was mentioned. Cheese Sandwich was present at the get-together: the title's supposed to mirror "Ocean Man".

"I never thought I'd make it through that vent, but now we are togeth---" --- Withered Chica, from "Ultimate Custom Night". I had that voice in mind for Illudere when I created her, so it works out.

"From here on out, I'm an ordinary mare... BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE!" --- From the Talking Heads song "Burning Down the House", natch.

Day Three, Part Two: Everybody Look What's Going Down

"Well, that was a thing. It happened." --- I've known RoahmMythril to use this expression in a few of his videos after something suitably bizarre takes place.

"Gilbert ... called for aid, and Manehattan has answered." --- From the film version of "The Return of the King". I've never seen the movies or read the original books, but "Gondor Calls for Aid" is fairly well-known at TV Tropes.

Illudere is a gold mine of these in the latter portion of the chapter. The rest of the lines listed in this chapter are courtesy of her:

"It felt like I'd been thunder-struck." --- "Thunderstruck", by AC/DC. I don't like the song, if I'm honest. If I hadn't heard it in a "Ponies the Anthology" clip, I might never have thought much about it.

"Kiss me, fat 'bot!" --- "IT", courtesy of Pennywise.

"Are you mad?" --- The "U MAD?" meme.

Isaac Asimov, whom Illudere name-drops, is the person who crafted the Three Laws of Robotics.

"Before destruction comes humiliation!" --- "Dragon Ball Super". Or the two movies that gave rise to it, either or. Beerus's original line was something along the lines of "Before creation comes destruction".

"Was that why I was called here? To have you shower me with compliments?" --- "Sledge Hammer!", first spoken by... well, Sledge Hammer.

Illudere's mad laughter followed by her declaration of "It's showtime!" --- "Beetlejuice".

"Let me show you how to break your face and look like me!" --- Another Withered Chica quote.

Day Three, Part Three: Illudere

Illudere's initial attack is how the Snatcher kicks off his battle in "A Hat in Time". Never played it, though not out of any particular dislike for it.

In connection with the above, "Some advice: don't think twice!" is a line from Man of the Internet's lyrical adaptation of "Your Contract Has Expired", the Snatcher's battle music.

"In my world of pure imagination, you're nothing but chocolate!" --- People have gotten multiple references out of this, but I (and the illusionist by extension) specifically had "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" in mind.

"Attacking someone while they're on the phone. You'll never get a reputation as an undying hero with that attitude." --- In "Undertale", Undyne --- referred to in one route as The Undying --- temporarily halts her pursuit of the player character when Papyrus gives them a call. Never played the game.

"­­¡Ándale, ándale! ¡Arriba, arriba, yah-ha, yah-ha hahaha!" --- Speedy Gonzales.

The doppleganger that Illudere crafted to fight Levi was Sigma, X's long-time nemesis.

"Shot through the mind, and you're to blame. You give stage plays a bad name." --- Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name". This one's from Drama Heart, and I should clarify that she doesn't have her rival's 4th-wall-breaking abilities. I'm no real fan of the song, and I only became familiar with it because it's another of Henry Stickmin's references.

"Means that I have no regrets while I filet you like a salmon!" --- "I'm going to filet you like a salmon", or close to it, comes courtesy of TF2's Spy.

Illudere's final reference is from "Robin Hood Daffy": "Ho! Ha ha! Guard! Turn! Parry! Dodge! Spin! Ha! Thrust!" And just like with Daffy in that cartoon, it backfires.

Day Three, Part Four: Aftermath

"Sounds like something he'd say, that little rascal." --- "The Little Rascals", natch.

As Time Goes By

The song Gates was stated to be humming is the one Felix was singing in the outtakes for "Red Vs. Blue's" Season 13. I can't in good conscience repeat it here.

"I suggested that he should find himself a wife. He told me to give it a rest." --- A summarized exchange between Hughes and Mustang in the first "Fullmetal Alchemist" anime.

"...they weren't going to be moving like tremendous machines anytime soon." --- Reference to a famous description of the racehorse Secretariat.

It's Only a Model (sssh)

I didn't say it, but the photographer that blitzed Gray at the end of the chapter was Photo Finish.

Which Hazel?

"Fat Stallion Island" --- Twitch Plays "Pokémon Red". One of the little islands on the route between Pallet Town and Cinnabar Island (I think) was given the name of "Fat Guy Island" on account of the oversized fisherman sprites.

The Prism Tower was the name of a base defense in "Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2".

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Well that's everything. Time to get back to work and hope that my mind cooperates with me on this next chapter. Ciao mein, everyone!