Art from 2012.

Artist’s description from DA:

Another preview for Requiem, this time of something completely different than just ponies. There are gonna be quite a few of these too, since we’re trying to sort of world-build for the AU. I have to say, I’m having too much fun with the world-building. xD

So uh… yeah. :3 Everyone, here are a few examples of our version of the Griffons. They are a WIP, but here’s what we have so far:

In Requiem’s universe, the Griffons do not have their own indivivual country(ies), and are relatively scattered all across the world. They live mostly in mountain areas or high-grounded areas, somewhere where flying is very easy to do. Unlike many other countries, the Griffons have a sort of Autonomy in Equestria, but work as allies to Equestria and are just as much a part of the nation as any other.

As for the species itself, in my headcanon, the griffons are often a mixture between big-cat and birds of prey, and are mammals. The most common would be the front of an eagle and the body of a lion, but it isn’t rare to see other sorts of griffons too, such as griffons with ears or griffons with a different sort of body type (like tigers or snow leopards), both of which are pictured above. Griffons are also able to mate with equine, resulting in often infertile Hippogryphs (no matter the gender of the parent, a pony/griffon couple will have a child with a bird-like front, and pony-like body. Coloring and markings vary).

While not rare, it’s uncommon to see a griffon with a canine-like body (pictured with the griffon cub above), and it’s even rarer to see a griffon with something other than a big-cat body.

Now, for the characters seen here:

-Ithel, a griffon with the head of a horned owl, or “tiger owl”, and the body of a tiger. I’m not entirely sure what his role in the story is (it’s a pretty minor role, so…) but I’m thinking along the lines as a sort of advisor, to either the Alicorn sisters or some primarily griffon community in Equestria.

• The griffon with the torso and head of a hawk and body of a snow-leopard. Commanding Officer of the platoon stationed in Canterlot as protection, this griffon is named Gaël, which means “Generous and holy”, if I’m not mistaken. Ironic, really, since he’s anything but. Gaël is something of a jerk; confident, bold, harsh, and someone who is known to sometimes ignore orders from even the princesses themselves. But overall, he’s someone who gets the job done and, while he can be a total ass, he really does try to do what’s best and his intentions are good for the most part. This character may change, both in appearance or species, since he isn’t completely established yet.

-Griffon cub that may or may not appear in the story. If he does, he’s probably gonna be simply a classmate to the CMC. His name…. mmm, I’m currently leaning toward Chel. He has the torso and head of an owl (not entirely sure which type though; I was just doodling when I made him) and the body of a wolf.