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. Starting with Feeling Pinkie Keen, Derpy's eyes are derped at least once in each episode, as a nod to the fans.

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. 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, all 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 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 episode has Derpy cross-eyes again in most of her appearances. She is seen flying in the background when Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy first arrive in the cloud-city Cloudsdale, again as she waits to compete in the Best Young Flyer competition, and finally she's seen spectating in the audience during Rainbow Dash's performance, however her eyes are not derped while she is spectating.

Fan characterization
The wall-eyed pony was christened Derp Pony or Derpy Hooves by fans. Although the slang interjection "derp" is associated with dimwittedness, 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. Before episode fifteen, all her appearances in the show but one 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, always delivering the mail on time, though her methods may be rather strange. 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.