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Derpy Hooves
My Little Pony character
Derpy Hooves as she appears in "Rainbow Falls"
First appearance"Friendship Is Magic – Part 1" (2010)
Created byLauren Faust
Based onBackground pony from the My Little Pony toyline's fourth incarnation
Voiced by
Tabitha St. Germain
In-universe information
SpeciesPegasus
Occupation
  • Mail carrier
AffiliationPonyville Postal Service, Ponyville Weather Team
Family
  • Dinky (presumed daughter in fan works)
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
Spin-offs
Media
Films & specials

Music

Games

Other media

Fandom

Fan conventions

Derpy Hooves (officially called Muffins;[1] also known as Bubbles and Ditzy Doo[2][3][4][5]) is a fictional character who appears in the fourth incarnation of Hasbro's My Little Pony toyline and media franchise, beginning with My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010–2019). She is voiced by Tabitha St. Germain.[6]

Derpy Hooves is depicted as a clumsy but well-meaning anthropomorphic pegasus with crossed eyes. She works as Ponyville's mail carrier and occasionally assists the weather team. Unlike the main characters, Derpy began as a background character whose distinctive cross-eyed appearance was initially an animation error in the series premiere of Friendship Is Magic that fans on 4chan's comics and cartoons board, /co/, noticed and embraced. She was collectively named "Derpy Hooves" and become a favorite of fans, who developed her personality and backstory through fan works like fan fiction. She has been called the mascot of the brony fandom, and her appearance in easter eggs was understood to be a nod to the show's adult fandom.

The character gained official show recognition when she received her first speaking role in "The Last Roundup", where Rainbow Dash addresses her by name. However, this decision proved controversial as critics claimed that 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. This decision itself generated further controversy within the brony fandom.

Despite the controversy, Derpy continued to appear throughout the series and received official merchandise recognition. Her evolution from background character to fan favorite has been critically analyzed by academics as a symbol of the brony fandom's influence on the show itself, and is cited as an important example of a work's participatory culture affecting the work itself, as well as a symbol of social acceptance among male fans of the show who may feel marginalized by mainstream masculine culture.

Appearances

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Fourth My Little Pony incarnation (2010–2021)

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My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic

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Main articles: Friendship Is Magic season 1, Season 2, Season 3, Season 4, Season 5, Season 6, Season 7, Season 8, and Season 9

Derpy Hooves first appears in the series premiere as a background pegasus pony with her eyes accidentally rendered cross-eyed due to an animation error. Fans quickly noticed this distinctive trait and began calling the character "Derpy Hooves," a name that was eventually adopted by the show's creators.

In the first season, Derpy appears primarily as a background character in crowd scenes and brief cameos. Her association with muffins is established early in "Applebuck Season", where she is seen excitedly mouthing "Muffins!" During "Winter Wrap Up", she is mentioned by name as "Ditzy Doo"—described as a "featherbrained" pegasus who had flown in the wrong direction while trying to fetch migrating birds back to Ponyville. Her first intentionally animated crossed-eye appearance is in "Feeling Pinkie Keen", where she accidentally drops objects on Twilight Sparkle in a slapstick sequence.[7]

For the second season, Derpy gains scripted-character status rather than an arbitrary background pony, and becomes a Where's Waldo-type easter egg for fans. She receives her first speaking role in "The Last Roundup", where Rainbow Dash addresses her by name. The scene showes her characteristic clumsiness as she causes damage to Ponyville's town hall while bouncing on a storm cloud (originating her memorable catchphrase "I just don't know what went wrong!") This episode was later altered to remove Rainbow Dash saying her name and modified her voice following controversy over the character's portrayal.[8][7]

In later seasons, Derpy's appearances becomes more sporadic. She has her second major speaking role in the series' 100th episode, "Slice of Life", where she shares scenes with Dr. Whooves and accidentally messes up wedding invitations. The credits officially name her as "Muffins" in this episode.

My Little Pony: The Movie

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Main article: My Little Pony: The Movie (2017 film)

Derpy Hooves makes a minor but notable appearance during the Storm King's invasion of Canterlot. When Tempest Shadow attempts to turn Twilight Sparkle into an obsidian statue, Derpy accidentally gets caught in the crossfire and is turned to stone instead of Twilight, inadvertently saving the princess. After the defeat of the Storm King at the film's conclusion, Derpy is restored to normal along with the other petrified ponies when the princesses' magic is released from the Storm King's staff.

Equestria Girls alternate version

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Derpy's human world counterpart appears as a recurring student at Canterlot High School. Her most notable appearances include during the credits of the first film, My Little Pony Equestria Girls in which she dances with a muffin and a brief speaking role in the film My Little Pony: Equestria Girls – Legend of Everfree, in which she is named in the credits as Muffins.

History

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Origin and early fan development (2010–2011)

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Derpy's first appearance in the show's series premiere

Derpy Hooves originated as an unnamed gray pegasus in the series premiere of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic in 2010, where a background pegasus pony was accidentally rendered with crossed eyes (strabismus). This distinctive trait was first noticed by fans on 4chan's comics and cartoons board (also known as /co/) on October 25, 2010, when a user named Dr. Foreigner directed others to "Go to 17:18 into the first episode and look at the ponies in the background." In the same thread, Dr. Foreigner declared: "And so the legend of Derpy Hooves was born," cementing the character's fan-given name.[7][9] In a March 2011 post on the Ponychan imageboard, supervising director Jayson Thiessen explained that the eyes had been misaligned by "some cheeky animator," and Thiessen kept it in both because he found it funny and because Hasbro did not notice it.[7]

The original post on 4chan's /co/ by user Dr. Foreigner that coined the name "Derpy Hooves"

Following the episode, fans collectively developed the character's identity and backstory through participatory culture.[2][9] As the character grew in popularity and became an Internet celebrity and Internet meme, the brony fandom collectively fleshed out her personality and characteristics.[8] The character's association with muffins originated from her appearance in "Applebuck Season", where she and an aquamarine-colored pony both mouth the word "Muffin!" in excitement.[7] Her characterization as a mail carrier was established through early fan fiction. My Little Time Lord by Victorian R. Hellsly, published on FanFiction.net on January 30, 2011, was one of the earliest fan-made stories to pair her with another background character dubbed "Dr. Whooves" (a character the fandom collectively decided was a ponification of the Tenth Doctor[5]).[7]

The feedback loop between fans and producers came to fruition with "Feeling Pinkie Keen", broadcast on February 11, 2011, when the gray mare's misaligned eyes returned and she interacted with the plot for the first time, dropping increasingly heavy objects on Twilight's head in a slapstick sequence.[7][10] Thiessen confirmed that her crossed eyes in this episode were a direct result of the fan reaction to the original background gag. As part of a charity auction for Japanese earthquake and tsunami relief in March 2011, series creator Lauren Faust offered an original drawing of the character, noting it was "the first time I've ever drawn this character." The illustration sold for $2,151 on eBay.[7]

"The Last Roundup" controversy (2012) ("DerpyGate")

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In her first speaking role, a clumsy Derpy Hooves knocks into a pillar of the Ponyville town hall, to Rainbow Dash's dismay. Some critics described this portrayal of Derpy in "The Last Roundup" as ableist.

The character received her first speaking role in "The Last Roundup", which aired on January 21, 2012. Writer Amy Keating Rogers was asked to change the character's name from the originally planned "Ditzy" to "Derpy" as a "tip of the hat to the fans". At the time, Rogers was unaware of any meaning of the word "derpy" beyond "klutzy and clumsy." Voice actor Tabitha St. Germain, who was not informed the character was female, based the voice on a klutzy neighbor's son.[7]

The episode's broadcast generated immediate celebration among fans; an Equestria Daily post titled "DERPY DERPY DERPY DERPY DERPY DERPY"[11] received 1,428 comments by midnight. However, criticism soon emerged regarding the character's portrayal. Jenna Pitman posted a petition titled "Make Amends for Hurtful Ableist Stereotype in My Little Pony" on Change.org, and described the episode as allowing "a very hurtful, pro-bullying message to be aired" and compared the character's voice to "that slow, loopy and lispy drawl we have all heard others use as an insult." The petition collected 136 signatures. In response, several pro-Derpy petitions appeared, with Andrew Holt's "Hasbro Studios/The Hub: Do not change Derpy's name" ultimately garnering 44,395 signatures. Rogers received approximately 200 positive messages thanking her for the episode and 10 negative messages calling her an "ableist". Nevertheless, upon researching the word "derpy" further, Rogers discovered it could mean "retarded" in addition to "awkward," which distressed her as the mother of a disabled child and disability rights advocate.[7]

Hasbro and The Hub considered four options: do nothing, cut Rainbow Dash saying "Derpy" but keep the voice, cut the name and change the voice, or find a creative way to change the name in a future episode. The episode was removed from iTunes on January 30, 2012. On February 24, 2012, a modified version was released with the character's voice re-recorded in a higher pitch, her eyes straightened, and Rainbow Dash no longer addressing her by name. The Equestria Daily post about these changes received 2,254 comments.[7]

According to Sherilyn Connelly, the author of Ponyville Confidential,

"If only one out of every four people who identified as a Brony decided to take the three minutes out of their day to sign Holt's petition during the several weeks it was open, that would mean there were approximately 117,580 Bronies in early 2012. If only one out of ten girls under the age of 10 in the United States liked My Little Pony enough to convince their parents to shell out $5 at Walgreens for a doll, that would still be 1,982,600 little girls. In that respect, the original inclusion of Derpy in the episode can be viewed as "pandering to the minority," as Mystic put it, since the Bronies who were upset by no means constituted a majority of My Little Pony fans in 2012; at best they were, to use Shine's description of the opposition, a very loud minority."[7]

The controversy was a major source of backlash within the brony fandom. Community artist Yamino, who had expressed criticism of the character's portrayal, received death threats for her negative opinion of the character.[7]

Later official appearances and recognition (2012–present)

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Despite the controversy, Hasbro selected Derpy as the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con Special Edition Pony—making her the first Generation 4 character to receive this honor—and the My Little Pony Fair in 2012.[7][12] The toy was packaged without a name but featured muffin illustrations. In official merchandise and credits, the character has been consistently referred to as "Muffins" rather than "Derpy," including in Build-a-Bear products and other licensed items. [7]

The character continued to appear in background roles throughout subsequent season. Supervising director Jim Miller noted that the production team "avoided hiding that certain pony in any episodes before her return" to "Rainbow Falls" to maintain surprise. Her most significant later appearance came in "Slice of Life," the series' 100th episode. According to writer M.A. Larson, the episode originally planned to focus on Twilight Sparkle, but was reconceived to celebrate the background characters and the fan community.[7]

In 2013, Hot Topic released a Derpy Hooves mini messenger bag.[13]

In 2014, Hasbro announced a partnership with Shapeways, a 3D printing company, to launch SuperFanArt, a website that "enables fans inspired by Hasbro brands to showcase their artwork and sell their 3D printed designs." Chief marketing officer John Frascotti stated that "many fans of our brands have remarkable creative talents and SuperFanArt empowers these artists to create unique expressions of Hasbro brands," though he did not explicitly mention the brony community. In the same year, Funko began producing exclusive My Little Pony figures for retailers like Hot Topic; these announcements did explicitly address the brony demographic.[9]

Reception

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A cosplayer in Derpy Hooves costume

Within the brony fandom, Derpy Hooves has become one of the most beloved and celebrated background characters of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.[14] Fan works featuring Derpy expanded well beyond simple discussions, inspiring fan fiction and fan art. Retailers like Hot Topic sold Derpy-themed clothing and companies like Funko produced collectible figurines featuring the cross-eyed pegasus.[9]

In a February 2021 article, Lifehacker writer Meghan Walbert wrote that children were using "derpy" as slang meaning "silly," "goofy," or "stupid," and raised concerns about the term's potentially offensive connotations. Walbert reiterated The Daily Mail in that the word 'derp' was "an explicit word used to mock the disabled" and characterized it as "this generation's equivalent of 'retarded.'" Walbert wrote that while children may not intend to be ableist when using the term, parents should discuss why it could be offensive to people with disabilities.[15]

Cailyn Szelinski, writing in Screen Rant, ranked Derpy Hooves as the character with the fourth cutest name in Friendship Is Magic.[16]

Derpy Hooves reciting the FitnessGram PACER test introduction in a neutral emotion, generated using 15.dev[17]
Variation #1
Variation #2
Variation #3
Problems playing these files? See media help.

Derpy was among the first character voices implemented in 15.ai, a text-to-speech web application that allows users to generate speech of fictional characters.[18]

Analysis

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The brony fandom has been recognized for effectively bringing Derpy Hooves—a previously unnamed background character—to life through collective creativity and enthusiasm.[19][20][7][9] This phenomenon represents an example of participatory culture, where the boundary between content creators and consumers becomes blurred.[21][22] The creators of the show have since recognized Derpy as the fandom's mascot and included her in easter eggs throughout the show.[10][23] The showrunners' decision to create a tribute to the fandom in the form of an episode, which features Derpy as a main character, has been described as a "radical" decision.[24]

The incorporation of Derpy into the official show has been analyzed as a symbol of acceptance for bronies, with some scholars suggesting that the character's outsider status resonates with adult male fans who may feel marginalized by mainstream masculine culture.[25][26] Derpy's evolution and rise in prominence among the fandom demonstrates how the brony fandom influenced the show itself, creating a feedback loop where producers acknowledge and incorporate fan preferences to strengthen audience engagement.[27]

In his 2013 article The Ballad of Derpy Hooves, professor of media studies at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs Christopher Bell argued:

"Fans have certainly influenced the production of popular culture. However, in the annals of fan-creation history, there is little indication that fan producers have ever incorporated fan work into a canonical property the size and fiscal scope of My Little Pony... MLP:FIM stands alone in this new frontier of fan-producer interaction.[27][26]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Edwards, Patrick; Chadborn, Daniel P.; Plante, Courtney N.; Reysen, Stephen; Redden, Marsha Howze (September 11, 2019). Meet the Bronies: The Psychology of the Adult My Little Pony Fandom. United States: McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. p. 291. ISBN 9781476663715.
  2. ^ a b Johnson, Derek (2013-03-15). "Participation is Magic: Collaboration, Authorial Legitimacy, and the Audience Function". In Gray, Jonathan; Johnson, Derek (eds.). A Companion to Media Authorship. doi:10.1002/9781118505526.ch7.
  3. ^ Botelho, Sarah (2015-06-15). "Stranger than Diction: The origin of "derp"". View the Vibe. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ a b 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.
  6. ^ "Muffins / Derpy Hooves Voice". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2025-04-05.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Connelly (2017), p. 125-144
  8. ^ a b Orsini, Lauren Rae (2012-03-01). "Writer's apology restores peace to brony realm". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  9. ^ a b c d e Maier, Kodi (2019). "Kids at heart?: Exploring the material cultures of adult fans of all-ages animated shows". Journal of Popular Television. 7 (2): 235–254. doi:10.1386/jptv.7.2.235_1.
  10. ^ a b Strike, Joe (July 5, 2011). "Of Ponies and Bronies". Animation World Network. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
  11. ^ Velocity, Cereal (2012-01-21). "DERPY DERPY DERPY DERPY DERPY DERPY". Equestria Daily. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  12. ^ Matheson, Whitney (2012-05-30). "Exclusive: Preview the 2012 Special Edition My Little Pony". USA Today. Retrieved 2012-05-30.
  13. ^ Beaulieu, Patra (2013-04-05). "My Little Pony Muffins Mini Messenger Bag". GeekAlerts. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  14. ^ Axeling, Malin (2013). Friendship is Magic: My Little Pony och de män som tittar på den. Institutionen för pedagogik, didaktik och utbildningsstudier (Thesis). Uppsala, Sweden: Uppsala University. 2013vt00567.
  15. ^ Walbert, Meghan Moravcik (2021-02-08). "Teach Your Kids Not to Call People 'Derpy'". Lifehacker. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  16. ^ Szelinski, Cailyn (2023-05-26). "The 10 Cutest My Little Pony Names Of All Time". Screen Rant. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  17. ^ "Examples". 2025-05-15. Retrieved 2025-05-16.
  18. ^ Scotellaro, Shaun (2020b). "15.ai Adds Tons of New Pony Voices". Equestria Daily. Archived from the original on December 26, 2024. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
  19. ^ de Bruin, Tom (2024). Fan Fiction and Early Christian Writings: Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha and Canon. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9780567706669.
  20. ^ Morris, Jill Anne (2018). The Internet as a Game. Parlor Press, LLC. p. 197. ISBN 9781643170275.
  21. ^ Krause-Milliken, Nathalie (2021). The influence of fandoms on video game and animated series content (Thesis). Ryerson University.
  22. ^ Meyers, Rachel Elizabeth (2014). In Search of an Author: From Participatory Culture to Participatory Authorship (Thesis). Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University. pp. 35–36.
  23. ^ Turner, James (March 20, 2012). "Is TV paying too much attention to fans?". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved March 20, 2012.
  24. ^ Licari-Guillaume, Isabelle (2019). "Expect the Unexpected: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and the Creation of a Double Audience". Transatlantica. 2: 10. doi:10.4000/transatlantica.14963. ISSN 1765-2766. Retrieved 2025-04-12.
  25. ^ Hautakangas, M. (2015). "It's Ok to be joyful? My Little Pony and Brony masculinity". The Journal of Popular Television. 3 (1): 111–118. doi:10.1386/jptv.3.1.111_1.
  26. ^ a b Bell, Christopher (2013). "The Ballad of Derpy Hooves—Transgressive Fandom in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic". Humanities Directory. 1 (1): 6–22. doi:10.7563/HD_01_01_01.
  27. ^ a b Kirkland, Ewan (2017). ""Little girls and the things that they love": My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Audience, Identity, and the Privilege of Contemporary Fan Culture" (PDF). Camera Obscura. 32 (2). Duke University Press: 89–115. doi:10.1215/02705346-3924661.

Bibliography

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