The correct term is hippo-birb-fish-creature Smolder. Check your privilege.

I wish this guy would draw the Student Six more. He’s second to Sintakhra in making them look cute and accurate to their kid personalities and expressions.

You do know there are creatures called flying lizards, right?  

I’m still going with griffin and pony for my head-canon. I mean it’s even in their name.

@ObliviaTheChangeling  
True - I more brought that up so I could emphasize how hippogriffs, in FiM, are a combination of two real life animals, rather than a real life animal and another mythical creature. But yeah, griffons do appear to be more just lion and bird in FiM - I suppose it could be argued that hippogriffs are more just horse (or pony, if you prefer) and bird, though we see less of them (since they’re not introduced until the movie), so there’s less evidence of that.
 
And then there’s the latter’s seapony transformation (which seems to remove their bird characteristics, shift their pony ones up front, and replace their other half with fish ones), but since it’s magically induced, I don’t think it’s particularly relevant to this discussion.

@Jonny Manz  
Except we later find out that “lion/eagle” was only Gilda specifically, as the Griffons we see in Griffonstone were all various combinations of cats and birds. For example, Gabby clearly has a more pigeon-inspired head and I think I saw a background Griffon who looked like an owl.

@Background Pony #8D65  
I mean, in mythology, sure, but hippogriffs in FiM were clearly stated to be part pony, part eagle, like how griffons were stated to be part lion, part eagle.

Yeah, and techincally Changelings are bug-horses. But don’t you dare call them that face-to-face unless you want to know how crops feel like when grasshoppers come by.

“That’s ridiculous! I’m a FIRE-BREATHING bat-lizard!”

Well, hippogriff are offspring of horses and griffin making them more of a griff-horse. Or a hippogriff.
 
Fun mythology fact: Griffin used to prey on horses but when a male griffin encountered a mare in heat it did a different sort of preying.

Touché.

Actually, that would be a wyvern.

Smolder: Touché.
 
Iruka: Hey, get your own lines!
 
(No one will get this reference)

“She’s got a point, Smolder.”