Derpy

Derpy Hooves is the unofficial name of a background-character pegasus pony. She was named by fans for the googly-eyed expression she exhibits in episode one while standing in the background, most likely due to an animation error. The character is currently officially nameless, but the show's creator, Lauren Faust, may use her design for a pony named "Ditzy Doo", who is mentioned in the episode Winter Wrap Up as a rather dimwitted pegasus pony, yet she has not been introduced onscreen.

History
Alert viewers noticed a googly-eyed pony in a crowd shot in the first episode. After the image was captured and posted on the 4chan imageboard /co/, fans began to speculate as to the nature of this odd pony. An extensive amount of fan lore continues to grow around her. Despite only being a background character, Derpy has become as popular as the main cast among fans.

Official information
Lauren Faust acknowledged /co/'s community's interest in Derpy on DeviantArt. She explained Derpy is simply one of several generic ponies created by the animators to fill out incidental or background roles. Her cutie mark, seven bubbles, was chosen at random. Her wall-eyed expression was placed either by accident, or as a small joke by one of the animators. Derpy's face was not originally meant to be visible at the party scene, but late in production, a last-minute change was called in, and her expression became visible.

Her longest scene in the show is on episode eight, where she is seen assisting in the removal of loose branches from trees, in preparation for a storm. Her only spoken line thus far, "muffins," came in episode four. The specific line is uncredited.

In Winter Wrap Up, one of the ponies refers to a dimwitted pegasus pony called "Ditzy Doo", whose appearence is never established on-screen. While the reference was written and animated prior to the fan reaction to Derpy, should Ditzy make an appearance Faust may assign Derpy's design to her.

Name
The wall-eyed pony was christened "Derpy Hooves" (also sometimes called Kentucky Derpy, Derpy-Derpy-bo-Berpy-bannana-fanna-fo-Ferpy-Fie-fie-mo-Merpy-Derpy, Derp Hooves, Derp Pony, or anything anyone cares to put down here) by fans after the interjection "derp", which is often attributed to someone who looks silly or stupid. Despite this, many fans do not consider Derpy stupid, but merely odd or spacey. As a fan-lore character, the exact nature of Derpy's personality is only loosely defined, and might change from person to person. Although her eyes are normal when she appears in the show except for a single appearance in episode one, she is almost always portrayed in fan art as wall-eyed.

Occupation
Derpy is the mail carrier for Ponyville, and highly reliable and good at her job. She is rather odd, though the exact nature of that oddity varies. Regardless, she is consistently liked by all other Ponyville residents. She always delivers the mail on time, though her methods may be rather strange.

Personality
Derpy's personal attributes have been dreamed up by fans, with various conflicting depictions. The main point of contention is how cognizant she actually is, whether she is a fully capable pony who simply has a lazy eye, almost completely out of touch with reality, or possessing some special capabilities that make reality conform to her perception. One fan summarized some of Derpy's personalities in the following four categories:


 * The diligent mail pony: She is a sweet and hard-working mare who everyone likes and depends on. She delivers the mail for Ponyville and is the very ideal of the reliable postal worker. Neither rain, nor Dragons nor Griffons will stop her from getting your mail to you. Her vision is impaired, but that's all that's unusual about her. Respected by all of Ponyville. This version was named by fans as "Bright Eyes."


 * The day-dreamer: She is quite often out of it, lost in her own little world. Sometimes her statements confuse or bewilder other ponies, but they are never completely absurd, and a few ponies, among them Pinkie, seem to understand her very well. Despite her aloof state of mind, she delivers the mail with utmost speed and efficiency. Other ponies see her as scatterbrained but dependable.


 * The space cadet: Her words and actions are totally nonsensical, and she seems to be completely insane. However, sometimes her statements make sense in retrospect or have an kind of odd logic behind them. At the same time, she may do things like sit in a tree for hours shouting out the names of car manufacturers at passerby. Her antics never harm anyone, though. Everything she says and does makes sense to her; she thinks it's everyone else who needs help figuring things out. Still delivers the mail flawlessly, to the surprise of many, though some ponies say this proves her hidden brilliance.


 * The drooling idiot: Incapable of saying anything but "derp" and similar nonsense words. Mentally challenged. Practically every concept more complex than “fire bad, tree pretty” is light years beyond her. She is genuinely happy, though, and capable of affection and kindness. Delivers the mail by accident. Walks into walls, often repeatedly, like a wind-up toy. Other ponies just try to make sure she's taken care of.

Sightings
Episode 1: 16:44-17:34 (googly-eyed in 17:32), 19:02-20:15

Episode 2: 20:29

Episode 3: 03:50-04:10 (changing places twice!), 8:14, 17:26, 18:27

Episode 4: 4:49 (without wings), 15:01 ("muffins!")

Episode 5: 1:48

Episode 6: 2:35, 18:22-18:45, 20:43,

Episode 7: 1:53, 20:25

Episode 8: 0:11 (best scene so far!)

Episode 9: none.

Episode 10: 2:43