Part 1
—The toothpick trap, also called the Goldilocks trap, is a common spy trick.
—The indented writing trick is also a frequent staple of fictional detective stories, but it doesn't always work in real life and isn't used by real investigators.

Part 2
—Derpy, the muffin mare, lives on Drury Lane. Get it?
—Manehattan Institute of Technology: this is of course a reference to the real-life Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
—Scientific Equestrian: a reference to the science magazine Scientific American.
—Rainbow Dash calling Time Turner "Doc" is a nod to the common fanart of Time Turner as the Doctor from Doctor Who.

Part 3
—The name of the tavern, the Midnight Oil, is a reference to the saying "burning the midnight oil."
—"Wanker": generic Australian insult. By definition, refers to someone who masturbates ("wanks").
—It's my headcanon that Rainbow Dash and Ditzy were foalhood friends, both from Cloudsdale.

Part 5
—The abandoned rainbow factory in Cloudsdale: a reference to the infamous fanfiction Rainbow Factory. The following part also contains some references to the fanfiction.
—"I'm not a hero!": this, and the dialogue following, is significant to Phillip's character.

Part 6
—"Carrot Top can take care of Dinky": a nod to the popular fan theory that Ditzy and Carrot Top are friends.
—Where not a single soul comes through: lyrics from the song based off of the Rainbow Factory fanfiction.
—"It's been 12 hours, 14 minutes and 48 seconds...": my theory is that Time Turner's talent is the very precise ability to measure time.
—"That's what our boss told us": who is their boss?
—"Oops, my bad": a reference to Ditzy's speaking role in The Last Roundup
—"I just don't know what went wrong": also a reference to The Last Roundup

Author's Notes:

Chapter notes from the story.