Part 2
—The chapter title, "Red sky at morning," is a reference to the old saying "Red sky at morning, sailors take warning."
—Captain Polaris is my own OC, first appearing in the previous story, The Blue Moon Brings Death.
—Silent Knight is the OC of my friend Anzel, the star of the series Memories of a Royal Guard, used with his permission.
—While it worked here because there was only one gun, the trick of counting the number of shots to determine how many bullets the shooter has left probably would not work in real life.
—A raven...sound familiar?

Part 3
—"The sun'll come out tomorrow: it's only a day away!": words taken from the lyrics of the song Tomorrow from the musical Annie.
—"Celie!": according to The Journal of the Two Sisters, this was Luna's childhood nickname for Celestia.

Part 4
—...being in his hooves...: fans of the series may have an idea who "he" is.
—Dirt Nap is from the saying "taking a dirt nap," a slang term for dead.

Part 5
—The idea of Celestia being hidden in the false bottom of an oversized coffin came from The Disappearance of Lady Carfax.
—"You're doing what any sane pony in your appalling conditions would do. You're going insane.": reference to one of Joker's lines in Alan Moore's The Killing Joke, which this story is loosely inspired by.
—Nevermore's costume is inspired by Poe's The Masque of the Red Death.

Part 6
—"You've got rights. Lots of rights. Sometimes I count them just to drive myself mad.": referencing Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns.
—Having Nevermore's base be at Warehouse 13 is symbolic: in many countries, 13 is considered bad luck.
—Flash, being an active member of the guard and the holder of a criminal justice degree, is a bit sterner about the rules than Phil.
—"Are you my mummy?": reference to the Doctor Who episodes, The Empty Child and The Doctor Dances.

Part 7
—Polaris finding that Nevermore's cloak is an empty costume reflects the ending of Poe's The Masque of the Red Death, in which the ball guests seize the Red Death costume to find that it is empty.
—"ABANDON ALL HOPE, YE WHO ENTER HERE": in Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy (Inferno, Canto III), this is inscribed onto the gates of Hell.
—"Doctor, heal yourself." : reference to the Bible, Luke 4:23: "Physician, heal thyself."
—Nevermore's invention is based off of a similar invention that Scarecrow used in The Scarecrow's Trail of Fear (Batman #262, April 1975). As Batman did in the comic, Polaris overcame it by coming to realize that there was nothing to actually be afraid of.

Part 8
—The song being played is Sing, Sing, Sing by Benny Goodman, or Benny Goodpony, as Phillip identifies.

Author's Notes:

Chapter notes from the story.