Dash, Pinkie and Gilda going for another round, this time in Griffon town!
"I did have a friend once, but you saw how that turned out."
— Gilda
Written by Amy Keating Rogers
While preparing to bake one of Granny Pie's secret recipes, Pinkie Pie's cutie mark glows, indicating that the map in Twilight's castle is calling her there. Pinkie leaves her pet alligator Gummy to finish baking, arriving to find the map calling her and Rainbow Dash to Griffonstone, the kingdom of griffons. Twilight, who has been reading up on griffons, explains that they were once greedy and selfish until the discovery of the Idol of Boreas, which united the griffons. Despite being interested in the kingdom, Twilight elects to stay in Ponyville, since the map is only calling Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. While Pinkie is excited to go, Rainbow is hesitant, since her last encounter with griffons was when her now ex-friend Gilda came to Ponyville and caused no end of trouble. Twilight prepares a summary of everything she thinks her friends need to know as the two ponies set off for the griffon kingdom.
When Pinkie and Rainbow arrive in Griffonstone, instead of a glorious kingdom, they find a series of rundown, dilapidated straw huts, with the griffons all behaving rudely and snidely to everyone, even each other, except when paid with bits. Rainbow and Pinkie soon bump into Gilda, who says that there is no Idol of Boreas and tells them to leave.
- Rainbow Dash: Hello, Gilda.
Gilda: Dash.
Pinkie Pie: Pinkie!!
Rainbow Dash hires another griffon to help her climb down into the Abysmal Abyss, but the strong winds soon knock the pegasus onto a small ledge, injuring her hoof. Since Rainbow doesn't have any more money, the griffon guide walks off, leaving Rainbow trapped. Meanwhile, Pinkie continues to talk to Gilda, eventually finding out that Gilda is selling griffon scones. Pinkie eagerly buys one, but it proves to be almost inedible. She suggests that what the scones need is baking powder (which Pinkie happened to bring with her), and she helps prepare a new batch of much tastier scones. Just then, two passing griffons bump into each other in the air, and one of them falls to the ground. Gilda helps her up, which Pinkie takes to be a sign of friendship, but Gilda denies it. She insists that griffons don't have friends, before acknowledging that she used to have a friend—namely, Rainbow Dash.
Pinkie realizes that the way to save Griffonstone is to teach them about friendship, and she goes off to find Rainbow Dash, who is still stuck on the ledge. Pinkie is unable to save Rainbow Dash on her own, so she rushes to get Gilda's help, but Gilda refuses to help Rainbow Dash after the falling out they had. Pinkie has Gilda remember the day she and Rainbow Dash met at the Junior Speedsters flight school, where Gilda was being bullied until Rainbow Dash stood up for her. At this, Gilda agrees to help and goes with Pinkie to climb down the Abysmal Abyss to get Rainbow Dash. However, the small ledge Rainbow is on finally gives way, sending all three plummeting into the gorge. Gilda manages to stop their descent by catching a ledge, and there she finds the skull of the monster that stole the Idol of Boreas, along with the idol itself on a neighboring ledge. Gilda tries to reach of the idol, but with Rainbow and Pinkie slipping, she chooses to save them instead of the idol, causing it to fall deep into the Abysmal Abyss, lost forever.
Gilda apologizes for her behavior and makes amends with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. Pinkie says that solution to Griffonstone's problems is friendship, encouraging Gilda to approach the griffon she helped earlier. Gilda offers her one of the improved griffon scones, which gets the other griffon to compliment Gilda's cooking. Pinkie and Rainbow head for home, confident that Gilda is going to help Griffonstone towards a better future.
Tropes:
- Added Alliterative Appeal:
- Appears as a light Running Gag that originates from The Journal of the Two Sisters (also written by Amy Keating Rogers). The book on griffon history is titled Bygone Griffons of Greatness; Pinkie says one of her musical numbers can make "the most grumpy griffon grin"; and she later tells Gilda, "You may act like a gruff, grumbling griffon, but inside you're gracious and great!".
- In a non-"gr" example, we also have the Abysmal Abyss.
- An Aesop: The Griffons of Griffonstone lived by a belief that Money and Material Wealth was the most important thing to a Griffon. The loss of the Idol of Boreas, the symbol of Griffonstone's pride and a keystone of this belief, caused a psychological backlash that fragmented Griffonstone's society, driving the Griffons into bitter and indifferent expressions of selfishness and Greed which promoted a long trend of emigration and stagnation throughout the years. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash showed that the selflessness and generosity of Friendship was much better and more important than a Golden Idol and all the Money in the world.
- All Flyers Are Birds: Griffonstone has a lot of bird influence in its design, including lots of birds' nest imagery in their buildings. This is despite the fact that griffons also have the hindquarters of lions.
- All Myths Are True: Gilda initially believes the whole story about the Idol of Boreas to be nothing more then a myth. But when she falls into the abyss with Pinkie and Rainbow Dash, she does indeed see the idol, along with the remains of the Arimaspi that stole it.
- All of the Other Reindeer: In a flashback to her childhood, it's shown that Gilda was the only griffon in the Junior Speedsters and was bullied for it, until Rainbow Dash stood up for her and became her first friend.
- Alphabetical Theme Naming: Griffon names all start with the letter G: Gilda, Grover, Greta, Grampa Gruff, etc.
- Armor-Piercing Question: When Gilda emphasizes that Rainbow Dash used to be her friend, Pinkie reminds her that that means they were indeed friends at one point.Pinkie: Can't you remember when she was?
- Artistic License – Linguistics: "Arimaspi" is a plural noun; the singular should be "Arimaspus".
- Art Shift: Both the stories about Griffonstone's history are told in different styles. The first, told by Twilight, is done in a painted tapestry-like style. The second, told by Grampa Gruff, is done in dynamic comic book-like style.
- Aside Comment: When she agrees to help save Rainbow Dash, Gilda insists that it doesn't make them friends. Pinkie waits for Gilda to walk off before turning to the camera and gleefully exclaiming, "Except it doooooes!"
- Author Tract: In-Universe example. Twilight's guide book describes librarians as Almighty Janitors.Twilight Sparkle: It's a little-known secret that if you befriend a librarian, you can usually find out anything.
- Bait-and-Switch: Done twice, both times poking fun at The Power of Friendship.
- When Pinkie tries to give Gilda baking advice, it leads to this exchange:Pinkie: Grampa Gruff's recipe is good, but it's missing one important ingredient.
Gilda: Don't tell me. "Friendship"?
Pinkie: Uh, no. Baking powder. - Later on, Pinkie actually does deliver a speech about how friendship will lead the griffons into a better future. Rainbow Dash's response?Rainbow Dash: Wow, Pinkie! That was... really sappy.
Pinkie Pie: Eh, what can I say? That's how I roll.
- When Pinkie tries to give Gilda baking advice, it leads to this exchange:
- Big Eater: On the train ride to Griffonstone, Pinkie Pie spends a huge bag of bits on sweets from the concessions trolley.
- Bowdlerise: Treehouse TV's airing of the episode censors out the words "dweeb" and "doofus". As a side note, Gilda's two utterances of the word "loser" are very, very faint and uncensored, respectively.
- Brain Drain: If Gustave le Grand is any indication, Griffonstone seems to have a problem with this. Gilda makes it clear she wants to "leave this dump" until the ponies instead convince her to try and make it a better place.
- Brick Joke: In the beginning, when Pinkie leaves home to answer the map's call, she asks Gummy to take over the baking for her. The last scene shows Gummy still sitting on the counter, having not even moved an inch.
- Brief Accent Imitation: During the train ride, Rainbow Dash briefly imitates Twilight's way of speaking while reading the handbook she gave them. Rainbow Dash's mane even takes the shape of Twilight's front bangs in the process.
- The Bus Came Back: This is Gilda's first return appearance to the series after being absent for three seasons.
- Call-Back: Rainbow Dash and Gilda are less than enthusiastic about meeting each other again in Griffonstone, remembering how they split when Gilda visited Ponyville.
- Can't You Read the Sign?: When Pinkie is about to burst into song, Gilda shows her there is an actual "no singing" sign in Griffonstone, to the pink pony's puzzlement.
- Cargo Ship: Pinkie gets into an imaginary conversation with a statue of King Grover. She gets a bit carried away, and she and the statue flirt back and forth. She even promises to see the statue again at the end of the episode.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: Lampshaded (and called out on it) by Gilda when Dash declares that they will find the Idol of Boreas and restore Griffonstone to its former glory.Gilda: Here we go. Typical pony hero complex.
- Companion Cube: Pinkie Pie has a rather long discussion with a statue, and it even flirts with her.
- Continuity Nod:
- Gilda isn't the only one Rainbow Dash has protected from bullies at flight camp; she's done the same for Fluttershy as well. Same bullies, too.
- Rainbow Dash and Gilda are shown performing the Junior Speedsters' Chant in Gilda's flashback, with Gilda showing much more enthusiasm than when they performed it for Pinkie in Ponyville.
- This isn't the first time that Rainbow Dash has caught Pinkie Pie talking to inanimate objects.
- The Journal of the Two Sisters established that griffons were scared, or at least unnerved, by rhyming. Singing (which usually includes rhymes) is banned in Griffonstone. Amy Keating Rogers wrote both the book and the episode.
- Copycat Mockery: As Grampa Gruff starts telling the story of the Idol of Boreas to the ponies with emphatic gestures, Gilda is silently shadowing him behind his back, cracking up Pinkie Pie.
- Crazy-Prepared: Pinkie never leaves home without a can of baking powder.
- The Cuckoolander Was Right: Pinkie figures out pretty quickly that she and Rainbow Dash weren't sent to recover the idol, as it was not the idol itself that brought the griffons greatness, but rather the unity and pride it symbolized. She also figures out pretty quickly that Gilda is the key.
- Culture Chop Suey: Griffonstone features clear elements of Caucasian and Central Asian cultures like the Ottoman Empire, Uzbekistan or Kazakhstan (which makes sense, seeing how griffons have their mythological origins there), with a little bit of Mongolian and Himalayan culture thrown in for good measure. The former group is especially apparent in the historical illustrations, the traditional caps, and the Duduk-tastic musical cues, while the latter is seen in Pinkie's and Rainbow Dash's Mongol fur caps and the wooden mountain pass gates to Griffonstone.
- Cyclops: Arimaspi, a giant, one-eyed, humanoid goat who stole the Idol of Boreas and is the cause of Griffonstone's decline.
- Deus Exit Machina: The reason Princess Twilight isn't coming with Pinkie and Dashie? The Map didn't ask her to. Lampshaded mercilessly by Twilight:Pinkie Pie: Why don't you just come with us? I mean, you are the Princess of Friendship.
Twilight Sparkle: No, no, if the map wanted me to go to the coolest kingdom in all of Equestria and tour the palace and see the actual idol that unites an entire species, which would be super amazing, I'm sure it would've said so. - Didn't Think This Through:
- Pinkie Pie, in a panic after seeing the rock give out under Rainbow Dash, ties the end of a rope around her waist and jumps into the Abyss to save her. Unfortunately, since the other end of the rope is already tied to Gilda, this causes both of them to fall in.
- Likewise, Gilda notices the Idol safely tucked away on the rock opposite her and tries to reach for it immediately. The only reason it falls further into the abyss is that she inches it close to the edge before being forced to abandon it to save the ponies. If she had pulled Pinkie and Dash up first, they could've reclaimed it easily.
- Disney Villain Death: Arimaspi was last seen when he fell into the depths of the Abysmal Abyss. The characters happen upon his remains later, confirming this did in fact kill him.
- Easily Forgiven: Pinkie, unlike Rainbow Dash, doesn't seem to hold anything against Gilda for her past actions. She spends much of the episode trying to prove that Gilda is actually "gracious and great" under her gruff exterior (and is eventually vindicated).
- Expressive Hair: Dash's mane briefly changes to resemble Twilight's when Dash is mocking her during the train ride to Griffonstone.
- Eye Recall: How Gilda's flashback ends to emphasize the adorable young Gilda's Tareme Eyes with the elder Gilda Tsurime Eyes.
- Facepalm: Rainbow Dash facehoofs upon seeing Pinkie spending so many bits on food while they're on the train.
- Fantastic Racism: Rainbow Dash's anger towards Gilda has colored her opinion of griffon culture as a whole. Oddly, this is the first time this has ever come up; Rainbow Dash has met other griffons before, and at one point, she even mentioned that she always wondered what it would be like to be a griffon. It's implied that it might be more bitterness at Gilda than actual racism.
- Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Griffonstone, to modern Turkey and the former Ottoman Empire.
- Fish Eyes: Pinkie Pie gets a serious case of squinting eyes while having a "Eureka!" Moment.
- Flashback:
- The first of three flashbacks in the episode accompanies Twilight's explanation of how Griffonstone was created.
- The second illustrates Gruff's story about the loss of the Idol.
- Finally, the third shows how Dash and Gilda first met at flight camp.
- Forgiveness: Rainbow Dash and Gilda finally reconciled after four seasons, Rainbow forgiving the offenses to her friends and Gilda forgiving the official breaking of their friendship in the first place.
- Friend-or-Idol Decision: Gilda has a literal one between saving Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie or saving the Idol of Boreas. She chooses to save Rainbow and Pinkie, leaving the idol to fall (further) into the abyss.
- Gale-Force Sound: When Pinkie gets upset over Griffonstone's anti-singing ordinance and its lack of a party store or bakery, Gilda yells that she's welcome to leave anytime, sending Pinkie flying into a wall hard enough to leave a shallow, Pinkie-shaped crater.
- Geographic Flexibility: The Griffon Kingdom is implied to be on a different continent than Equestria on the official map.
Given that it's reached by train, that no longer seems to be the case. That said, you could say that Equestria is connected to the griffon kingdom outside of the map. This was addressed when a revised version of the mapnote was released: Griffonstone is still on another continent east of Equestria, but the sea separating them narrows enough at its northern end to be bridgeable by the railroad. - Gold Fever: The form griffon Greed takes; they are completely obsessed with bits and refuse to help without pay.
- Greed: Griffons used to be as greedy as dragons before the Idol united them, and with it gone, they've backslid, insisting on getting paid in bits before helping.
- Group Hug: A brief one is shared between Pinkie, Gilda, and Dash to consummate their renewed friendship.Pinkie: (while shedding Tears of Joy) Hugging, hugging now!
- Heart Symbol: Pinkie produces one when kissing Gummy on the snout.
- Heel–Face Turn: Gilda performs one, becoming Dash's friend again and burying the hatchet with Pinkie.
- Hellish Pupils: Arimaspi is depicted as a cyclopean goat. Like other goats in the series, his pupil is a horizontal slit.
- Hidden Depths: In addition to having a softer side, Gilda turns out to be a decent baker (at least after she starts using baking powder).
- Hold Your Hippogriffs: "Tough tailfeathers!"
- Impact Silhouette: When Gilda's yell propels Pinkie into a wall, she leaves a perfect imprint of her body, including her hooked forelock.
- Insult of Endearment: When Gilda and Pinkie Pie go to rescue Rainbow Dash, Gilda and Dash cheerfully call each other "loser" and "doofus" to show they're still Vitriolic Best Buds.
- Irony: For all the grief she gave Pinkie last time, Gilda turns out to be a baker herself.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Gilda, as rude and mean as she can be, is actually the nicest griffon in all of Griffonstone. Most of the others will barely even acknowledge another's existence, let alone talk to them, and none of them will do anything without being paid for it first.
- Karma Houdini: The griffon who coldly leaves Dash for dead is never seen being punished (or seen again period, for that matter).
- Lack of Empathy:
- The griffon guide leaves Rainbow trapped on a crumbling ledge because the mare didn't have any bits left.
- According to Gilda, everygriffon in Griffonstone shares this trait.Gilda: We don't care about anything, and that's the way we like it!
- Lethal Chef: Gilda's original griffonscones are so hard that they break Pinkie's teeth when she tries to eat one. With some help from Pinkie in fine-tuning her recipe with the proper baking ingredients, Gilda seems to be otherwise competent.
- Literal-Minded: Rainbow Dash asks Pinkie to throw her a rope, intending to climb it back up the gorge. Pinkie throws down the entire rope without tying it to anything.
- MacGuffin Title: The Idol of Boreas is the eponymous "lost treasure of Griffonstone", serving as a minor MacGuffin in this episode. It turns out that retrieving it isn't what the griffons need to restore their greatness.
- Magic Feather: The Idol of Boreas, a beautiful golden statue, is just that — a statue. The griffons did not need it to be great again.
- Magnetic Plot Device: The map from the season premiere appears again, and is shown to call specific ponies that it considers appropriate for solving the specific friendship problem at hoof.
- Milking the Giant Cow: After learning that Griffonstone has no bakery, party store, or singing, Pinkie Pie shakes her forehooves skyward, screaming "What is this place??"
- Mr. Exposition: Grampa Gruff's only role is to explain how the Idol of Boreas was lost. The trope is justified by the fact that he's clearly in the habit of making some bits out of storytelling. Also, he does it often enough that Gilda can mimic him.
- Musicalis Interruptus: When Pinkie is about to burst into song, Gilda stops her and points out the "no singing" sign.
- Musical World Hypothesis: Lampshaded by Pinkie, who asks how the griffons can burst into uplifting musical numbers when they can't sing.
- Necessary Fail:
- If King Guto hadn't failed at stopping Arimaspi from stealing the Idol of Boreas from the Griffons, then Griffonstone would still be a place where "Wealth is more important than Friendship."
- Gilda nearly comes close to retrieving the Idol of Boreas, which would've returned Griffonstone to being a place of "Wealth above Friendship", but she chooses to give it up to save Rainbow Dash instead.
- Nobody Can Die: Averted. We see Arimaspi fall down a deep abyss and we later find his remains.
- No Hero Discount: The griffon shopkeeper makes Rainbow Dash pay for the supplies needed for retrieving the Idol of Boreas.
- Oblivious to His Own Description: Gilda's response to Pinkie Pie's description of Grampa Gruff's story of losing the Idol of Boreas as "the saddest story ever".Gilda: It's not sad! Do we look sad to you?
- Only in It for the Money:
- The griffons refuse to do anything without being paid. The guide who leads Rainbow Dash to the Abysmal Abyss refuses to help her simply because she couldn't continue paying, despite the fact she was stuck on a crumbling rock with a sprained leg.
- Gilda ends up subverting this. At first, she seems as greedy as the rest of the griffons when she sells Pinkie a (nearly-inedible) griffon scone. However, when Rainbow Dash is in trouble, Gilda comes to her rescue without asking for payment, even going so far as to let the idol fall into the abyss in order to save Rainbow and Pinkie. By the end of the episode, she's ready to start teaching the other griffons about generosity and friendship as well.
- Our Griffons Are Different: The griffons inhabiting Griffonstone have a wide variety of designs. Some resemble hawks, there's one that looks like a barn owl, another one has tiger stripes on its body, and Grampa Gruff resembles a turkey vulture.
- Overly Narrow Superlative: Pinkie Pie calls Gummy "the best alligator baker I've ever met". There isn't much competition.
- Parody Commercial: Toward the conclusion of the episode, Pinkie Pie lauds the baking powder that saved the day in the style of an old commercial.
- Plot Tailored to the Party: Inverted to the Theory of Narrative Causality. The Cutie Map specifically summons only Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash to address the friendship problem at Griffonstone. They prove to be the perfect ponies for the job.
- Prehensile Hair: Pinkie is again seen using the forelock of her mane to manipulate objects; she uses it to pass a whisk to Gummy when she is summoned by the map.
- Pride: A rare example where this is shown as a virtue in the case of the griffons. Their pride in the Idol of Boreas was what united them and let them overcome their natural greed, and Gilda's pride in her scones is shown as a positive thing that helps her.
- Raiders of the Lost Parody: The episode is a ponified, kid-friendly Compressed Adaptation of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, complete with a strained friendship that gets patched up after a literal Friend-or-Idol Decision and a Fantasy Counterpart Culture to Turkey.
- "Ray of Hope" Ending: It's shown here that despite other communities throughout the show's universe readily taking to friendship and cooperation, Griffonstone's population consists of selfish jerks who only help each other when there's something in it for them. By the end, Gilda is still the only one who's even willing to consider showing even a little empathy, and only after she recalls her time with Rainbow Dash outside of the kingdom. It's implied that it will be a long road towards restoring Griffonstone's former glory (this time through friendship instead of idol worship), though Pinkie and Rainbow Dash do promise to visit regularly.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: Gilda as a "chickub", as well as filly Rainbow Dash whom we've seen before. Their huggability factor is immense, especially when they enthusiastically recite the Junior Speedster's motto.
- Rocky Roll Call: When Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash bump into Gilda. Rainbow and Gilda greet each other with thinly-veiled hostility, while Pinkie comically misses the point.Rainbow Dash: Hello, Gilda.
Gilda: Dash.
Pinkie Pie: Pinkie!! - Rugged Scar: Grampa Gruff has a big one across his left eye. Maybe it came from the good-old-days of the mighty Griffon Empire, like in the story he talks about.
- Self-Deprecation: Rainbow Dash's response to Pinkie's speech about The Power of Friendship is that it was "really sappy," even though this very trope is central to the show.
- Sequel Episode: To "Griffon the Brush Off", both of which focus on Rainbow Dash and Gilda's friendship and Pinkie's attempts to improve Gilda's attitude. She succeeds this time.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: A downplayed example, but still applies for later episodes. Most of the griffons seen in the rest of the series are still rude and unfriendly, exceptions like Gabby and Gallus notwithstanding, and while the glimpses of Griffonstone we see show it to be in marginally better shape compared to this episode, we never get a full return to the town in the series proper to see if there's actual progress toward reforming the griffon kingdom. However, the Cold Open of "Stranger Than Fanfiction" does mention a friendship summit being held there, and the town makes a full return in Issue 24 of My Little Pony: Friends Forever, wherein the Griffonstone populace has developed a passion for the cooperative sport of boffyball, and there's even a stadium for it.
- Shaped Like Itself: The chasm in which the Idol of Boreas was lost is called the "Abysmal Abyss".
- Shout-Out:
- To Classical Mythology — Arimaspi is based on a mythological race of one-eyed people who constantly feuded with griffons over the gold and treasures found in their northern homeland. The Idol of Boreas is named after the god of the North Wind, Boreas, who factors into this legend.
- The way Griffonstone was founded takes some elements from the Dwarf Kingdom of The Hobbit, such as how a certain artifact brought greatness to the kingdom but likewise led to its ruin when it attracted a beast that attacked the kingdom (in this case an Arimaspi, rather than a dragon). Likewise, the artifact supposedly inciting greed as well.
- Pinkie asks Rainbow Dash, "Whatcha reading, Rainbow?"
- When Pinkie and Rainbow first enter Griffonstone, they see it as the run-down ruin that it is, and upon asking how they should reach the ruler in his castle, they're rudely told that there is no ruler.
- The Friend-or-Idol Decision Gilda has to make between saving the ponies and recovering the Idol before it falls into the abyss is similar to the one from the end of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
- Pinkie spending a huge amount of gold coins to buy up an entire snack trolley on a train is reminiscent of Harry Potter's first meeting with Ron Weasley.
- Gilda sending Pinkie flying with her voice is reminiscent of the Unrelenting Force Thu'um from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
- To Classical Mythology — Arimaspi is based on a mythological race of one-eyed people
- Shown Their Work:
- Griffons hoarding treasure makes a lot of sense, since the original griffon legends painted them as guardians of riches and rare artifacts.
- Similarly, Arimaspi is based on a mythological race of one-eyed people who constantly feuded with griffons over the gold and treasures found in their northern homeland. The Idol of Boreas is named after the god of the North Wind, Boreas, who factors into this legend.
- Story Arc: The castle's map and its purpose reappear. It's time for a friendship mission!
- Stylistic Suck: The crude drawing of a griffon that Twilight put on the cover of her guidebook demonstrates once again that she doesn't have any artistic talent at all.
- Tastes Like Friendship: Gilda makes her first (non-pony) friend by offering her a scone.
- Tasty Gold: Grampa Gruff nibbles on the bits Rainbow Dash paid him with his beak before starting to tell his story.
- That Reminds Me of a Song: Defied by Gilda when she pointed to Pinkie at a "No Singing" sign.
- Theme Naming: Apparently griffon names almost always begin with "G". In addition to Gilda (and Gustave), we now have Gretta, Gudeau, Grover, and Grampa Gruff.
- The Tooth Hurts: Gilda's original griffon scones are so bad that Pinkie loses several teeth trying to eat one. It's Played for Laughs, though, as her smile is back in pristine condition in following scenes.
- Treetop Town: Griffonstone's houses are built on top of giant birds' nests in the branches of a giant tree.
- Truth in Television: For some communities, it can take a long time and a lot of effort to implement a change to the status quo. Many cultural traditions and practices in real life are often still treated as golden rules to be followed without question, purely out of respect for the way they allowed the culture to come to be at all - even those that might be backwards and regressive nowadays. As Gilda shows in the end, it's up to the individuals of the community to decide whether to continue clinging to tradition out of cultural pride or to accept changes that might enable their society to move forward.
- Turn the Other Cheek: In contrast to Rainbow Dash's hostility, Pinkie Pie never stops trying to befriend and help Gilda, despite being the primary victim of the griffon's Jerkassitude in her previous appearance and enduring some more of it in this one. It pays off in the end.
- Twisted Ankle: Dash's injured hoof prevents her from climbing off the crumbling ledge in the Abysmal Abyss, while the high winds prevent her from flying away like she normally could.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Not only were Gilda and Rainbow Dash friends, but both of them go way back, having first met when they were kids. Rainbow Dash was little Gilda's first friend in the Junior Speedsters, if not her first friend period. Gilda is a genuine Nice Girl in this flashback instead of the jerkass she is now.
- Villainous Legacy: Griffonstone's current state of disrepair is due to Arimaspi's theft of the idol. A lightning strike sent him and the idol off the mountain and into an abyss, never to be seen again until this episode, where all that remains is the idol and his skull.
- Visual Pun: With his Rugged Scar and gaunt, buzzard-like features, Grampa Gruff is undeniably a "tough old bird".
- The Voiceless: We never hear Greta speak; we only get Gilda's report that she enjoyed the griffon scone Gilda gave her.
- We Used to Be Friends: Gilda and Rainbow Dash both show severe bitterness towards one another due to their broken friendship... though by the end they're friends again.
- What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?: Most griffons no longer have any idea or appreciation for what friendship is, since, without the idol to unite them, their culture is very selfish and greed-oriented.
- "What Now?" Ending: Gilda really has her work cut out for her trying to introduce Friendship to Griffonstone which is a country that has been in stagnation for many years. Given the highly apathetic society and inept government, assuming that it even still exists, Gilda will be hard pressed to make new friends and change the society's selfish attitude into a better one. It's a good thing she has those tasty scones (and promised future visits from Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash).
- Worldbuilding: Griffonstone is the land from where griffon characters originate, as suggested on the Equestria map (with labels pointing off to the east as to "this way to griffons") that has been created by Hasbro for posters and other materials.
- Worst. Whatever. Ever!: Pinkie's comment about Grampa Gruff's tale.Pinkie Pie: That was the saddest story ever!
- Wrong Genre Savvy: Rainbow Dash, who believes that recovering the Idol is the reason the map called them to Griffonstone. You'd think she'd know that Friendship was the answer here.
- Wrong Side of the Tracks: Since the loss of the Idol of Boreas, Griffonstone has become a rundown town of dilapidated houses and nests, and the griffons themselves have returned to their greedy, selfish, and surly ways.
