Background Six
| Background Six | |
|---|---|
 The Background Six. Clockwise from top left: Octavia Melody, Bon Bon, Lyra Heartstrings, Dr. Whooves, Derpy Hooves, and Vinyl Scratch. | |
| Series | My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic |
| First appearance | "Friendship Is Magic" (2010) |
| Location | Ponyville |
| Key people |
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| My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic |
|---|
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The Background Six[a] are six background characters from the animated television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: Derpy Hooves, Dr. Whooves, Lyra Heartstrings, Bon Bon, Vinyl Scratch, and Octavia Melody. Unlike the official Mane Six, this grouping is not officially canon to the series but represents background characters who gained significant popularity within the brony fandom.
The Background Six began as unnamed background ponies in crowd scenes and were given names, personalities, and relationships by the fan community before they received official recognition from the show's creators. Several of the Background Six were originally created as simple background elements by the animation team at DHX Media but evolved into beloved figures with dedicated followings, fan art, and fan fiction. The popularity of the Background Six has influenced the show's later development, with some characters receiving expanded roles, official names, and merchandise.
Creation and development
[edit]The show features an extensive cast of over 200 minor characters, also designated as "background ponies",[1] that are used to fill out crowd scenes and serve as visual gags in episodes.[2] Several background ponies have been well received by the show's brony fanbase, who have assigned names and personalities to them.[2] As a response to fan interest, the series' creative team has given six of the most popular characters expanded roles in later episodes and media,[1] including being featured as the "main characters" in the show's one-hundredth episode "Slice of Life", which presents the characters' daily lives as the episode's central focus.[3]
"Slice of Life" was organized entirely around the activities of the Background Six, and the Mane Six were relegated to background ponies. The episode starred Derpy Hooves paired with Dr. Whooves, Octavia Melody paired with Vinyl Scratch (whose fan name DJ Pon-3 was adopted by producers) sharing a house together, and Lyra Heartstrings paired with Bon Bon, with references to the latter's alternative name of Sweetie Drops.[4]
According to show writer M.A. Larson, the show's staff did not think of the background ponies as individual ponies at the time of writing. At a fan convention, Larson told bronies: "They're not characters, they're designs—to you guys, they're characters, but to us, Lyra is just a green pony.... Background Pony #2, that's who she is to me."[5]
The Background Six
[edit]Derpy Hooves
[edit]Derpy Hooves (officially called Muffins) is a gray pegasus with crossed eyes who works as Ponyville's mail carrier. She originated as an unnamed background character whose distinctive cross-eyed appearance was initially an animation error in the series premiere that fans on 4chan's /co/ board noticed and embraced. The pegasus was collectively named "Derpy Hooves" by the fan community and became a beloved figure who developed her personality and backstory through fan works. Derpy gained official recognition when she received her first speaking role in "The Last Roundup", where Rainbow Dash addressed her by name. However, this decision proved controversial as critics claimed her portrayal perpetuated ableist stereotypes due to her name, voice, and mannerisms—a controversy colloquially called "DerpyGate" by the brony fandom. In response to the backlash, Hasbro modified the episode by changing her voice, straightening her eyes, and removing her name from the dialogue.[6]
Dr. Whooves
[edit]Dr. Whooves is an earth pony who was named by fans for his purported resemblance to David Tennant's portrayal of the Tenth Doctor in the British television series Doctor Who.[7][8][9] He appears in later episodes as an eccentric scientist and he exhibits similarities to his namesake in episodes such as "Slice of Life". In My Little Pony fan fiction and derivative works, Derpy is often portrayed as Dr. Whooves' companion.[10]
Lyra Heartstrings and Bon Bon
[edit]The unicorn Lyra and earth pony Bon Bon appear together as "best friends" in several scenes. In "Slice of Life", it is revealed that the latter's real identity is Sweetie Drops, a disavowed secret agent living in Ponyville under the assumed identity "Bon Bon". Sometime after the bugbear was defeated by Twilight and her friends, Agent Furlong approached Sweetie Drops and informed her that S.M.I.L.E.[b] remained in operation and needed her help once again. He decided to recruit her best friend, Lyra Heartstrings, after learning that she was aware of Sweetie Drops' true identity. The two agents were dispatched to Appleloosa, Applewood, and the Crystal Empire in search of changeling infiltrators, with Lyra and Sweetie discovering a changeling named Delilah in Appleloosa. Despite some infighting between the veteran and her rookie partner, they were able to expose the villains and summon the Mane Six to help defeat them. Afterward, the pair was established as a permanent team, remaining in Ponyville. Lyra and Bon Bon are the main focus of the chapter book Lyra and Bon Bon and the Mares from S.M.I.L.E., in which Bon Bon rejoins the S.M.I.L.E. spy agency alongside Lyra. In Beyond Equestria: Pinkie Pie Steps Up, the pair are tasked by their agency to retrieve the Pondora Box and are aided by Songbird Serenade and Pinkie Pie. They are voiced by various actresses, with Ball voicing Lyra after Season 2, and Libman voicing Sweetie Drops in "Slice of Life". Having been popularly paired by fans as a lesbian couple, they were officially canonized as such in season nine, proposing to each other in the background of one scene in "The Big Mac Question" and shown to be married in "The Last Problem".
Vinyl Scratch
[edit]A unicorn disc jockey rarely seen without headphones and sunglasses, first seen in "Suited for Success".[11] Following the broadcast of the episode, a poll on the fan website Equestria Daily established the character's names as "DJ PON-3" and "Vinyl Scratch",[12] with both names being alternately used in official products, such as the "Equestria Girls" music video parodying Katy Perry's song "California Gurls".[13] Mary Carreon of OC Weekly wrote that "[Vinyl Scratch] looks suspiciously like Skrillex."[14]
Octavia Melody
[edit]An earth pony who plays the cello, originally seen in "The Best Night Ever".[11] She is featured in a scene in "Slice of Life", where she rehearses an "electric cello dubstep" number with fellow musician DJ Pon-3 for Cranky and Matilda's wedding. In the episode, it is revealed that Octavia and Vinyl are coresidents.
See also
[edit]- List of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic characters
- Mane Six
- My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fandom
- My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fan fiction
- Participatory culture
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Begin (2015), p. 75
- ^ a b Strike, Joe (July 5, 2011). "Of Ponies and Bronies". Animation World Network. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
- ^ Begin (2015), p. 92–93
- ^ Kirkland, Ewan (2020). "Contextualizing the bronies: Cult, quality, subculture and the contradictions of contemporary fandom" (PDF). The Journal of Popular Television. 8 (1): 87–104. doi:10.1386/jptv_00012_1.
- ^ Connelly (2017), p. 142
- ^ Connelly (2017), p. 125-144
- ^ Veale, Kevin (2013). "Capital, dialogue, and community engagement—My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic understood as an alternate reality game". Transformative Works and Cultures. 14. doi:10.3983/twc.2013.0510.
- ^ Costa, Sara Cristina; Teixeira, Pedro Mota; Pinto, Ana Lúcia (July 2018). "Gosma: a project with a transmedia approach". 6th International Conference on Illustration and Animation. Barcelos, Portugal: Instituto Politécnico do Cávado e do Ave. ISBN 978-989-99861-6-9.
- ^ Bancroft, Christine (April 10, 2013). "Into The Hive Mind: The Fandom That Traveled Through Time And Space". Neon Tommy. Archived from the original on May 31, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
- ^ Meyers, Rachel Elizabeth (2014). In Search of an Author: From Participatory Culture to Participatory Authorship (Thesis). Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University.
- ^ a b Snider (2013), p. 33
- ^ Connelly (2017), p. 156
- ^ von Hoffman, Constantine (May 31, 2011). "My Little Pony: the Hip, New Trend Among the Geekerati". CBS News. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
- ^ Carreon, Mary (2011-11-21). "Our Top 5 Favorite Cartoon DJs, Including Skrillex In My Little Pony Form". OC Weekly. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
Bibliography
[edit]- Begin, Mary Jane (2015). My Little Pony: The Art of Equestria. New York: Abrams. ISBN 978-1-4197-1577-8.
- Snider, Brandon T. (2013). The Elements of Harmony: My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: The Official Guidebook. New York: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-316-24754-2.
- Connelly, Sherilyn (2017-04-01). Ponyville Confidential: The History and Culture of My Little Pony, 1981-2016. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-6209-1.
