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 the show's first episode while standing in the background, which was most likely 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". Ditzy is mentioned in the episode Winter Wrap Up as a rather dimwitted pegasus pony but she has not been introduced onscreen. Starting with Feeling Pinkie Keen, Derpy's eyes are derped for at least one of her appearances when she is featured in an episode.

History
Alert viewers noticed a googly-eyed pegasus 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 on the imageboard and in fanfiction.

Derpy and several other background ponies were named by the animation crew before /co/ identified and named them. Derpy was unofficially nicknamed Stoneface, Bubbles, Bubblehead, and Ditzy by the Philippine animation crew. One of the animators points out two more background ponies with a "derpy-sorta look" in episode five.

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 originally could not be seen at the party scene, but a revision 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. She has two spoken lines: "surprise" in episode one at the party scene, and "muffins" in episode four right as the ponies are preparing to eat. The specific lines are uncredited.

In Winter Wrap Up, one of the ponies refers to a dimwitted pegasus pony called "Ditzy Doo", whose appearance 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.

On-screen nods to the fans
Starting with Feeling Pinkie Keen, many of Derpy's appearances have her cross-eyed. After a shot where Twilight Sparkle gets hit on the head with a flower-pot, an anvil, a hay wagon, and a piano which drop from the sky, the camera pans up and Derpy is seen, along with her usual companion Raindrops, fluttering in front of the open back of a movers' truck. They are both sheepish for having dropped the items on Twilight, while another pony, presumably their foreman, looks at them angrily. Derpy was specifically incorporated into this scene with her trademark derpy eyes by the episode's director.

The following episodes have Derpy cross-eyes again in most of her appearances.

Fan characterization
Before episode fifteen, all but one of Derpy's appearances in the show had her eyes perfectly normal, but even before the incorporation of her derp-eyes into the show, she was almost always portrayed in fan art as wall-eyed. Fans have assigned her as the mail carrier of Ponyville, though this piece of fan-lore is now at odds with her on-screen activities. Although there are fan-written stories depicting her in various states of mental acuity, the show seems to confirm that she is a regular pony, being able to assist in preparations for the storm, hold a job as a mover, and enter flying competitions. Fans sometimes giver her a daughter, Dinky Doo.

Appearances
The times are approximated from various videos available online.