Griffonstone

Griffonstone was a realm located on a continent away from Greater Equestria. It was a former kingdom ruled by around 14 kings in its entire reign, with their first and most legendary king being King Grover. After the kingdom resolved with the failure of King Guto, the realm became ruled by a series of "Griffon Lords" instead, which seemed to rule simultaneously. The culture of Griffons was starkly different than that of Equestria, instead being a more cold and less friendly society.

Ancient past
Little of Griffonstone history before the reign of King Grover is known. During his reign, Grover came across an artifact known as the Idol of Boreas which became a symbol of Griffonstone culture, becoming an identity to its people and brought pride among its many citizens. The idol was safely passed on by the kings until the reign of King Guto. During his reign, the Idol was stolen by the Arimaspi despite Grover's efforts to fight off the creature. Eventually when passing over the Abysmal Abyss, the bridge the creature was standing on broke and the creature fell to its death, with the Idol still in hand, causing the Griffons to lose the artifact they cherished so dearly.

At some point in ancient history, presumably when they spoke Olde Equestrianne or perhaps as a lingua franca, they owned a large portion of what eventually became Equestria and sold the land to the rulers of the time. As this was where Canterlot was eventually built, this was likely far, far in the past, possibly even predating the Age of Heroes period of Equestrian history. The purchase came up at the Convocation of the Creatures when the Bureaucracy Buddies discovered a document writing of it.

At some point, potentially before the unification of Equestria, the Griffons, or at least a large sect of them engaged in war with the cultures, resulting in a short lived conflict referred to as the "Zephyr War", which was promptly stopped by the Hippogriffs of Mount Aris who peacefully mediated the conflict and had the two found a new kingdom in Eastern Equestria.

Modern eras
Much of Griffonstone history even in the modern eras was unclear. In a political sense, they considered Equestria to be their "great friends", even going as far as to say they would not want to risk that for "ten times the land of Equestria". Indeed, out of any foreign realm, Griffonstone always appeared to be the one Equestria had closest ties to, as Griffons were allowed to attend events in Cloudsdale such as the Junior Speedsters Flight Camp and Griffons were welcomed into Equestria with open arms.

Despite this nice sediment, Griffon society was often characterized by a generally uncaring nature. When and  traveled to Griffonstone, they were met with constant hostility and selfishness from the locals, though Pinkie witnessed a one-sided act of kindness from Gilda to Greta, a griffon who Gilda cared about. While in the kingdom, Rainbow Dash went to search for the Idol of Boreas in hopes it could restore Griffonstone's pride once again while Pinkie Pie realized the problem lied in their lack of friendliness. After making Gilda realized she cared about Rainbow Dash, they managed to save her after she was trapped in the Abysmal Abyss and Gilda decided to spread friendship around in Griffonstone.

Later, Griffon attitude began to shift slightly, with Grampa Gruff allowing to attend the School of Friendship, though as seen well over a year later, the attitude of Grampa Gruff did not change at all, and if anything, only got more vile and vitriolic.

Culture
Most Griffon names start with "G", such as Gilda, Greta, Grover, Gestral, Gonestone, etc, though there have been exceptions to thus, such as Klaus, Firegem, Elke, Hilda and Franz.

Even after Gilda began to spread friendship, Griffons were notably a bit brutal in some regards, with many griffons including Gilda overlooking acts of bullying as being par for the course in Griffonstone.

Griffon's invoke the name of Grover similarly to how invoke Celestia.

For at least a little while, Griffonstone became "obsessed" with the sport Boffyball.

Aspects of Griffon culture could be seen in posters held up by Coach Klaus, with phrases such as "Part Eagle, Part Awesome and I'm ain't LION" (possibly signaling a dislike of lions), "You can't spell WING without WIN" and "When the going gets tough, the going goes GRIFFON!", possibly signaling an importance on strength, though this does not appear to be a universal aspect of Griffon culture as other griffons such as Firegem seemed more passive and meek.

Artwork and architecture
Griffons were famous for their carving artwork and built many impressive statues, castles and other structures.

Cuisine
Griffon Scones was an iconic part of griffon diet, with wanting a taste of them when she sent off Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash to Griffonstone. They were originally awful tasting, but after Pinkie Pie added Baking Soda, they became much more desirable, causing other Griffons to call them "good".

A popular drink appeared to be Griffonade.

Insults
Aside from insults such as "dweeb", Griffon-exclusive insults seemed to include Birdbeak, Lamer-Brainer.

Natural geography

 * Abysmal Abyss: A large chasm, famous for being the spot were the Idol of Boreas fell into.
 * North Wind: Possibly referred to a region of northern Griffonstone, where the Hyperborean Mountains stood.
 * Guto River: A large river, probably named after King Guto.
 * Mountain Trail: A large street that connects Griffonestone Train Station to Griffonstone Proper.

Settlements

 * Griffonstone Proper: The capital of the realm, used to be the seat of the Griffon Kings, now presumably where the Griffon Lords stay. Also the residence of, and , among other Griffons.
 * Beakwick: A small town that was on the Griffonstone-Pegasus Kingdom border.

Historical structures

 * Castle of Griffonstone: The former place of residency for the Griffon kings.
 * Gateway to Griffonstone: A fanciful gateway welcoming travelers into the city of Griffonstone Proper.

Entertainment

 * Boffyball Stadium: A stadium for the Boffyball sport, a fad sport that was big in many kingdoms.

Inspirations
Many of the locales and creatures in Griffonstone take after Eurasian Steppe and Greek mythology and culture. Creatures such as Arimapsi, which was directly lifted from Scythian religion. Names such as the "North Wind", "Hyperborea" and "Boreas" are taken from Greek Mythology and are used to describe the race of, which were giants who lived beyond the North Wind. In addition, it's possible it may be based off the Conan the Barbarian mythos, which used the places of Hyperborea and North Wind as major locations.

Kingdom or lordship?
In "The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone", Twilight told Dash and Pinkie Pie that if they couldn't get the help of the king, they should ask a librarian instead. This implies Griffonstone is still a kingdom, while the Convocation of the Creatures storyline suggest they are ruled by a series of lords instead. Since the IDW comics are technically another continuity, it may be that it's a kingdom in the main continuity, but a lordship in the other.

Appearances

 * "The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone"
 * "The Hearths Warming Club"
 * "A Horse Shoe-In"
 * "The Hearths Warming Club"
 * "A Horse Shoe-In"
 * "A Horse Shoe-In"