Griffons

Griffons
	; Lauren Faust's concept art of Gilda
Residence	Griffonstone
Other links	Griffons image gallery;

Griffons are a race of creatures in Equestria; according to The Bestiary of Equestria page 115, "their front half resembles an eagle with the talons and wings of such, whereas the back half is clearly that of a lion".^[1] A griffon named Gilda first appears in Griffon the Brush Off, and various other griffons appear throughout the series and other material. Of the named griffons, around two-thirds have names beginning with the letter G.

Development[]

While the show, the toys, the chapter book Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell, and other merchandise render the word as "griffon", the more common spellings for the mythological creature are "griffin"—used by a Discovery Family press release^[2] and sometimes in Gameloft's mobile game—and "gryphon".

On Twitter in early January 2016, IDW comics writer Georgia Ball said, "I wish I had caught on that ALL griffons have G names, for some reason I thought that was just the girls. All of the girls have G names."^[3] "All of their names are of Germanic origin though. Digging through German baby names... I spend a lot of time with baby name sites."^[4] However, Ball was further still mistaken, as even before Coach Klaus, Firegem, Elke, Hilda, Franz, and Rinehart, already not all griffons followed the intention of having G names,^[5] an example being Vermouth Roux. There has since also been Blackbeak.

Depiction in the series[]

In Griffon the Brush Off, Gilda, an old friend of Rainbow Dash's from Junior Speedsters flight camp, appears as an antagonist. Like Pegasi, Gilda can fly and stand on clouds. Pinkie Pie tries to join in on the duo's time together, but Gilda is hostile and insulting toward her. When left alone for a short time, Gilda pranks Granny Smith, steals an apple from a fruit stand, and bullies Fluttershy to tears. Pinkie throws a party in Gilda's honor, hoping to improve her attitude. When Gilda falls for various pranks at the party, she snaps and calls everyone at the party except Rainbow Dash "dweebs". Realizing Gilda's true colors, Rainbow Dash effectively renounces her as a friend.

In Read It and Weep, the second book in the Daring Do book series is titled Daring Do and the Griffon's Goblet. A griffon is depicted on the cover of this book and on another Daring Do book cover in A Friend in Deed.

Confident Gustave le Grand S2E24 — Gustave le Grand.

In MMMystery on the Friendship Express, a griffon named Gustave le Grand appears as an éclair chef and entrant in the National Dessert Competition. During the train ride to Canterlot, he comes under suspicion of eating a portion of Mr. and Mrs. Cake's Marzipan Mascarpone Meringue Madness, with Pinkie imagining him as a stereotypical dastardly villain from black and white silent films. While he's cleared of suspicion of eating the MMMM, he does eat Mulia Mild's Chocolate Mousse Moose after Pinkie Pie makes it sound appetizing.

In The Crystal Empire - Part 1, two griffon statues appear outside the entrance to the Crystal Empire library. The same statues appear in Games Ponies Play.

In Rainbow Falls, Giselle and two other griffons appear as a qualifier team for the Equestria Games' aerial relay event. After the Mane Six are temporarily Breezies via Twilight Sparkle's magic in It Ain't Easy Being Breezies, Rainbow Dash says to Twilight, "I've always kinda wondered what it would be like to be a griffon." Griffons appear in Trade Ya! Giselle and her two teammates, as well as Gilda, Gustave le Grand, and four more griffons, appear in the episode Equestria Games.

Pinkie and Rainbow walking in Griffonstone S5E8 — The griffons of Griffonstone.

The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone introduces the griffons' home kingdom of Griffonstone. The griffons here are depicted as a greedy race whose lust for gold and treasure is stated to rival that of dragons, and they only offer their services in exchange for bits. In ancient times, their ruler King Grover ushered in an era of prosperity for the griffons with the golden Idol of Boreas, which became the city's centerpiece. According to Grampa Gruff, however, the griffons returned to their selfish old ways during the rule of King Guto when the idol was stolen by the monster Arimaspi, both of which plummeted into the Abysmal Abyss nearby, leaving the once glorious city in shambles. When Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash come to visit Griffonstone, Rainbow tries to recover the lost idol to restore the kingdom's former glory, but it falls further into the abyss beyond all reach. Pinkie encourages Gilda to spread friendship and goodwill among the griffons so that they may rebuild their home together. In the process, Rainbow Dash and Gilda rekindle their friendship.

Gustave le Grand and one other griffon appear in Princess Spike. A griffon costume is worn for Nightmare Night in Scare Master. Gustave le Grand is mentioned by Svengallop in The Mane Attraction.

Twilight briefly mentions griffons in The Crystalling - Part 1 when she reveals that one of her planned friendship lessons for Starlight Glimmer concerns traveling to Griffonstone and befriending a griffon.

In Stranger Than Fan Fiction, griffons are depicted fighting Pegasi on two of the seven doors in the Temple of Chicomoztoc's treasure chamber. In The Fault in Our Cutie Marks, a griffon named Gabby meets the Cutie Mark Crusaders in the hopes of getting a cutie mark herself. Other griffons also appear in shots of Griffonstone.

In Secrets and Pies, a griffon statue takes the place of a pony statue in Pinkie Pie's fantasy sequence. Near the end of Uncommon Bond, "Natalya" briefly appears getting off the Friendship Express train.

In School Daze - Part 1, a griffon named Gallus enrolls as a student at the School of Friendship. In The Hearth's Warming Club, Gallus tells of a Griffonstone holiday called the Blue Moon Festival, in which griffons try to be as nice to each other as they possibly can.

In The Ending of the End - Part 2, the griffons are rallied by Gallus to help the ponies in the final battle against Queen Chrysalis, Lord Tirek, and Cozy Glow. In The Last Problem, some griffons appear in future Canterlot and at Twilight's coronation in flashback.

Other depictions[]

IDW comics[]

In My Little Pony Micro-Series Issue #5 page 4, Pinkie Pie tells Twilight Sparkle that Ponyacci got a standing ovation from the Griffon Kingdom. In My Little Pony: Friends Forever Issue #1, a griffon named Vermouth Roux appears as one of the judges in the cooking competition. In My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Issue #19, an alternate universe paper—obscured on page 3 but unobscured on page 0—reads, "Griffons sense the cross overs?" My Little Pony: Friends Forever Issue #24 features and/or mentions Gilda, Greta, King Grover, Coach Klaus, Firegem, Elke, Hilda, Franz, Gertie, Rinehart, Gretchen, Grampa Gruff, and other griffons.

Griffons are also mentioned in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Issue #37 and My Little Pony: Friends Forever Issue #26, discussed in Issue #28, and appear on Issue #36 pages 6, 10, and 19. In the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Issue #50 mini-comic For the Pony Who Has Everything, an ambassador/representative of the Griffon Kingdom appears on page 2 at Princess Celestia's birthday party; unlike most griffons, this griffon has at least one front paw.

My Little Pony: Legends of Magic Issue #4 features Blackbeak, the Royal Griffon Defense Force of Griffonstone, and the griffon residents of a village on the griffon/Pegasus border. In the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Issue #61-Issue #62 story arc Convocation of the Creatures!, griffons including Lords Gestal and Goldstone and archivist Glenda attend the titular gathering. In My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Issue #70, a griffon is seen living in a nest atop Ponyville Schoolhouse.

A griffon appears in My Little Pony: Ponyville Mysteries Issue #5 page 12 panel 2. Griffons appear in the background in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Issue #74. In My Little Pony: Classics Reimagined - The Unicorn of Odd Issue #3, a village of griffons is among the locations of Odd. In My Little Pony: Classics Reimagined - Valentine's Day Special, Romeo & Juliet, griffons are among the varied inhabitants of Porona.