Derpy (Friendship is Magic)

I suppose I can't keep calling you "Dragon," can I? You need a real name.
	This character either has no official name, or numerous "semi-official" names. See here for details

Make something GOOD this time!
	This article is a bit of a mess. Its heart is in the right place, but it could use some spring cleaning.

The name or term "Derpy" refers to more than one subject. For a list of other meanings, see Derpy (disambiguation).

Derpy
Friendship is Magic character
Biographical information
Species	Pony  • Pegasus
Gender	Female
Age	Adult
Occupation	Mailworker
Nationality	Equestrian
Residence	Ponyville
Relationships
Family	Derpy's family
Relatives	Dinky Doo?
Real world
Voice	Tabitha St. Germain
First "Friendship is Magic" Last 'The Last Problem"

Derpy Hooves, also known as Muffins is a citizen of Ponyville, Equestria and is close friends with Dr. Hooves, Maltida, Cranky Doodle Donkey and other townsfolk. Originally an innocent and quiet bystander to the adventures had in Ponyville, Derpy would eventually find herself involved in the chaos in one way or another. From getting captured by a Changeling to playing a major role in the Battle for Ponyville, Derpy has proven herself to be brave, tough and heroic in her own, derpy way.

Derpy can be best described as "lovable". In spite of her flaws, she always tries her best with a happy smile stretched across her face and a cheerful disposition. She's kind, sweet, friendly, hard-working and simple-minded.

"I just don't know what went wrong" — Derpy

History

Early life

A young Derpy appeared at the Summer Sun Celebration along with Twilight Sparkle, Lyra Heartstrings and others. Whether or not she had yet taken up residence in Ponyville, Derpy took part in a number of youth flying competitions in Cloudsdale. She took first place in at least one such competition, but her characteristic eye condition seems to have affected her performance over time, leading her to finish in lower and lower rankings over time. At some point, perhaps having since relocated to Ponyville, she took part in an Applewood Derby and won the “Most Creative Cart” ribbon, much to the vexation of Rarity. Later, Derpy was a patient at Ponyville Hospital, seeking treatment-apparently unsuccessful-for her eye condition.

Era of Harmony

Derpy looking to nom on some muffins

Derpy was one of the ponies who attended Twilight's party, and yelled "Surprise". She later attended the Summer Sun Celebration and witnessed Nightmare Moon's arrival. The following day, Derpy attended the celebration party with Lyra Heartstrings and presumably other ponies as well. Rainbow Dash and Rarity imagined Derpy being in the crowds their fantasies. Derpy later approached Twilight wanting a ticket from her. Derpy was among the crowd to formed to celebrate Applejack's heroism. Pinkie approached Derpy looking for Rainbow Dash. Derpy was among the crowd that formed to watch Trixie's performance. Later that night, she witnessed Twilight's heroism and got angry at Snips and Snails for their foolish behavior. Derpy was enjoying her day in the Ponyville Park before she witnessed the dragon's smoke from the horizon. Derpy was flying in the park before the storm hit Ponyville, presumably helping out the others in pre-storm perpetration. Derpy was enjoying herself, flying by the area decorated for Celestia's visit. During winter, Derpy attended Mayor Mare's "inspirational" speech regarding the Winter Wrap Up and later helped out her fellow pegasi in the events, eventually overpowering all the clouds that blotted out the sky over Ponyville and nearby mountains.

Typical Derpy...

Derpy attended Diamond Tiara's cute-ceañera though remained ignorant to the important events that unfolded there. Derpy watched Rainbow Dash and Applejack compete in their various athletic competitions, seeming to support Rainbow Dash in particular. She later watched the Running of the Leaves event. Derpy attended Rarity's fashion show and showed off her love for the art. Derpy accidentally dropped some boxes out of a flying truck she was trying to load, revealing her job to be a mailmare. Derpy participated in the Young Fliers competition as number "15" (which she wore backwards). After her part, Derpy watched from the crowd and very much enjoyed the light radiated from Rarity's wings. Derpy got dizzy from watching Scootaloo's impressive scooter tricks and later attended the Talent Show. Derpy was at Fluttershy's fashion show and became a huge fan of Fluttershy in the process. She after appeared upset, almost angry when Fluttershy kept failing at her next runway. Derpy appeared in an imagination sequence Derpy the Grand Galloping Gala and later appeared for real in the Grand Galloping Gala's "V.I.P." section along with Rainbow Dash.

Derpy on Nightmare Night

Derpy watched in horror as Discord brought chaos to Cloudsdale. After the mess, she later attended a celebration of the Mane Six. Derpy was one of the many pones affected by the Want It, Need It spell Twilight cast and chased Mayor Mare for Twilight's Smarty Pants doll, eventually locking hooves against the mayor. Once the spell was broken, all malice fro Derpy was removed and she once again reverted to her happy-go-lucky smile. On Nightmare Night, Derpy was dressed in a costume of several brown bags. She bopped for apples, and although it seemed like she got the right apples, she messed up, much to her sadness. She later appeared hanging out with a crowd of ponies who seemed quite fond of her. Derpy was in a crowd, watching the Sisterhooves Social. She cheered on Berryshine and Piña Colada as they won the competition. Derpy was impressed by Apple Bloom's lulahooping skills. For whatever reason, Derpy was in Fluttershy's chicken coop when Rainbow Dash was looking for a pet. Derpy was a particularly expressive member of a crowd that formed to praise Rainbow Dash for her heroic deeds. Derpy appeared in Rarity's song sequence about Canterlot. Popping out of a well, Derpy interrupted a moment between Lyra and Bon Bon as Spike trotted through Ponyville. In the next winter, Derpy was on a train to Canterlot and helped out in the production of the Founding of Equestria in he own, derpy way.

Derpy's breakout appearance

While helping out Rainbow Dash prepare a celebration for Applejack, Derpy accidentally destroys a portion of Ponyville Town Hall and nearly struck Rainbow Dash with a lightning bolt. She however, struck herself. Later, she accidentally caused a large wooden pillar to fall over on Rainbow Dash, causing her to fall through the stage. Dash told Derpy to just sit still, and in doing so, Derpy destroyed a part of the stage once again. Despite all of this, Derpy still had a happy outlook on the situation. Derpy was in the crowd of ponies that gathered to see Flim and Flam's performance and were presumably there before to get some apple cider. She appeared to be particularly moved by their ballad. Derpy briefly met up with Dr. Hooves on Hearts and Hooves Day and was later seen with Tornado Bolt. Pinkie had a snow-globe that contained a replica of Derpy. Derpy attended Iron Will's seminar. Along with other pegasi, Derpy got a letter from Rainbow Dash that her services were needed. Derpy appeared during practice and a bunny wore a mass of her. After attempting the tornado, Derpy is notably the only pony with the stamina left to fly and later celebrated among her fellow pegasi. Derpy attended the royal wedding and witnessed the final battle between Princess Cadance and Queen Chrysalis. Later, she celebrated as Cadance and Shining Armor were officially wed.

During the Second Changeling invasion of Equestria, Derpy was one of the many ponies caught in the battle at Ponyville. After she was defeated by a Changeling, Derpy was stuffed into a cocoon and left there. Although the Mane Six wanted to free her, they knew it would be more beneficial to impersonate the Changelings so they could free the entire town. Quickly thereafter, the Changeling transformed into her and then battled the Elements of Harmony. After the Changeling was defeated, Derpy Hooves was freed alongside the citizens of Ponyville and went about her life.

Derpy was most likely negatively affected by the Cloudgate. When the storm of misery was finally dispersed by the efforts of Rainbow Dash, Derpy rejoiced more happily than any other pony in Ponyville.

On the night of the War against Nightmare Rarity, Derpy was present during the Battle for Ponyville and held her own in the skirmish. At first, Derpy appeared to hold a grudge against Princess Luna, scowling at the princess before the battle started. Afterwards however, Derpy was shown to be supportive and caring to Luna, presumably due to witnessing Luna's loving and selfless nature uncompromised even by the might of Nightmare Rarity.

During the Summer Sun festival, Derpy was shown delivering mail as Big Mac commented on the weird state of Ponyville. Later, she attempted to enjoy the festival itself but was confronted by Dr. Hooves telling Derpy that his watch is him, though Derpy didn't know who he was.

Derpy visited the Crystal Empire and watched Pinkie's performance. Derpy was among the ponies that crowded around Twilight Sparkle. After Twilight defeated Trixie, Derpy watched Twilight's magical demonstration.

Princess Twilight

Derpy appeared to have a largely normal day on the day of the "Magical Mystery", but was likely caught in the chaos caused by Twilight's mishaps. Later, she attended Twilight's coronation, thus ushering in the Era of Friendship Derpy attended the Summer Sun Celebration. She later visited Manehatten.

Storm War

Derpy was one of the many ponies attending the Festival of Friendship and was sadly, one of the many ponies caught in the transpiring crossfire. While trying to fly to safety, Twilight was hit with one of Tempest Shadow's bombs while Tempest was aiming at Twilight, indirectly saving Twilight's freedom at the cost of her own. Derpy was eventually freed and celebrated the ceremony at night once Twilight and Tempest had killed the Storm King.

Personality

Derpy's typical up-beat, enthusiastic demeanor

While initially a quiet bystander to the crazy antics the Mane Six would face, Derpy's presence has become both more pronounced and more vocal as the years went by. In her first talking roles, Derpy spoke in a slower, deeper and more stereotypical "dumb" voice, but has since been revised to a more "normal" voice void of stereotypical stupid aspects. While Derpy isn't exactly the smartest pony in Equestria, she's shown to not exactly be stupid, just clumsy, slightly rash and uninquisitive to the details of things. Nonetheless, Derpy is shown to be a friendly, good-natured, kind-hearted, caring and is an incredibly skilled flier in her own right. While Derpy makes a lot of mistakes, she seems to keep her job as Mailmare and has established genuine friendships with others. Although she nearly ruined Cranky Doodle Donkey and Matilda's wedding with her antics, she was still considered among their list of "loved ones" and really did try to make their wedding special.

An extremely hard worker, Derpy always goes out of her way to try and to a good job, even if her attempts are usually futile. Derpy understands that others don't seem to have the highest opinion of her and seems to be at peace with it.

Although usually shown to be a warmhearted individual, Derpy is not without malice and anger. She appeared to be livid at Luna during the Nightmare Rarity arc, but after witnessing Luna's kind nature, she showed kindness towards her princess. Likewise, she showed annoyance that bordered on anger towards Fluttershy for messing up at a fashion show.

Interest and hobbies

One of Derpy's more consistent personality traits is her love for fashion. She attended Rarity's and Fluttershy's fashion shows and seemed to really get into them. She also appears to have some appreciation for the glamorous lifestyle, as she attended a handful of major events, most notably the Grand Galloping Gala. Derpy appears to get among with most citizens in Ponyville and has quite the social presence. Although her bad luck and clumsiness tends to get in the way, she's often treated well by others and is usually treated with respect by her friends.

Friendships

Rainbow Dash seems to have a love-hate relationship with Derpy. It's clear that Dash is often annoyed with Derpy's antics and can be quite rude with her, more so then other pegasus, but Derpy loves Dash. Derpy is always there for Dash, and always tries to be supportive, kind, friendly and nice to her. Derpy clearly has a deep amount of respect for Dash and seems to look up to her as a role model of sorts. Dash does at least seem to respect Derpy's abilities as a flier and has enlisted her help a number of times, such as in "Winter Wrap Up" and "Hurricane Fluttershy". Likewise, Twilight Sparkle seems to see Derpy as a skilled flier too, and asked her to be her backup during "Rainbow Falls". Derpy is great friends with Cranky and Matilda, even if the former doesn't show it. Regardless, he and Matilda consideed Derpy to be among their many "loved ones", and Derpy was shown to to care deeply for Cranky.

Appearance

Derpy is an average sized, slightly bulkier Pegasus with a ghost-gray coat and a banana-colored mane. Her most striking appearance traits is easily her walled eyes, which became her namesake. Derpy tends to bear happy-go-lucky and friendly expressions complete with a sweet, well-meaning smile.

Cutie mark

Her Cutie mark appears to be a series of blue bubbles, which seems to solidify her bubbly personality.

Personal life

Derpy lived with Doctor Hooves in his laboratory/house A hardworking mare, Derpy has bounced around several jobs, though was usually seen working at the Ponyville Post Office along with Crafty Crate, Orange Swirl, Parasol, and Sunshower Raindrops. It's been hinted that she has occasionally sent others to the hospital due to her antics. Despite this, she is extremely dedicated to her job, even working in dangerous weather to deliver mail and was seen working even at the office even in her middle age.

Her only known relatives was her mother, who seemingly believed in her. She may have been related to Derby.

She was a "Muffin enthusiast" and loves to eat various baked foods.

Abilities

Derpy wrestling Mayor Mare

Being a pegasi, Derpy has the natural ability of flight. Despite her clumsy, unlucky and oblivious nature, Derpy has proved herself time and time again to not only be a competent flier, but to be a downright skilled one. When she and all of her fellow pegasi failed to create the tornado, Derpy was the last pegasi still flying, indicating she may have higher then average stamina. She was also shown to be capable of holding her own in the face of danger, such as when she fought the Nightmare monsters from the Moon and helped Spike hold of the Tantabus. She was also shown to be quite strong and helped Rainbow Dash halt the descent of the Ice Cloud. During the Nightmare Rarity arc, Derpy fought side-by-side some of the most skilled and powerful pegasus of her time, such as Spitfire and Lightning Dust, as a relative equal. Derpy has also been shown to be a competent wrestler, as she managed to match Mayor Mare in a match.

Derpy seems to have an uncanny ability to make the wrong thing happen. Her unluckiness is truly astounding as simple actions such as sitting down tend to have drastic consequences for her. Through and through, Derpy has proven herself to be incredibly durable and resilient, taking large objects falling o her in stride, rarely ever getting truly hurt.

Alternate Timelines

Mirror universe

Main article: Derpy (Mirror universe)

In the Mirror Universe, Derpy was a member of that worlds equivalent to the Elements of Harmony, where she represented the Element of Wisdom. Derpy was revered as a hero in that world, given similar treatment to the Main Six in the Equestria Universe, with having her own Stein Glass mural in Sombra's Castle.

Behind the scenes

Debut history

• FIM cartoon: "Friendship is Magic - Part 1"
• IDW comic: "The Return of Queen Chrysalis"
• Egmont comic: Unknown
• Book: Unknown
• Film: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls
• CCG: Unknown

Concept and creation

Like many background characters in the earlier seasons, Derpy wasn't intended to be an actual, fleshed out character with any personality or relations with others. As such, Derpy appeared to be completely normal in various early shots with standard eyes and a seemingly normal personality. Apparently, Derpy's eyes were intended to be an inside joke that would be invisible to the viewers as they would've been covered up by another pony or object, but a scene revision removed the object and revealed her walled eyes for all to see. Ever since, Derpy has become a favorite not only among the fandom, but among the crew of the show.

Naming

• Derpy: Derpy was originally referred to as "Derpy" in "The Last Roundup" by Rainbow Dash. Ever since, this name has become the semi-official name for the character. In "Slice of Life", Derpy is consistently referred to as Derpy by the townsfolk, solidifying her name as Derpy.
• Muffins: In "Bestiary of Equestria", Derpy is referred to as "Muffins". "Muffins" is also used in the My Little Pony (Gameloft) and some merchandise. In Friendship is Magic #41, Zecora referred to her as "the one who likes muffins".

Controversy

Derpy's first major appearance was in the episode "The Last Roundup", where she attempted to help Rainbow Dash with preparing for a celebration, only to cause disaster after disaster while being cheerfully oblivious to the destruction she was bringing. This garnered controversy from the fans and critics alike.

In fanfiction

Derpy's portrayal in fanfiction is all over the place.

In earlier stories, Derpy was often portrayed as a mentally handicapped mare whose condition varied on the story, which was used to describe her ditzy behavior and slow speech pattern, while newer stories to portray her more-or-less the way she is in the show, as someone whose not stupid, but slow on the uptake and very ditzy. Like in the show, Derpy is almost always shown to be nothing less than an upstanding, kind-hearted, sweet, friendly and compassionate mare who loves everyone. In It Takes a Village, Derpy (named Muffins), was a minor character who was one of Spike's earliest and most resilient supporters when ponies wanted him to move out of Ponyville. In several other fanfics, Derpy, being a mailmare, often delivers important items such as letters or other forms of news to characters.

She's sometimes written to be a romantic interest for the characters Dr. Hooves or Spike and sometimes to be the relative of Dinky Do.

In fanfiction

Being a fan favorite, Derpy has made her appearance in several fanfics over the years. Derpy plays a bit role in countless fanfics, sometimes the mail she delivers serves as a plot device or comic relief. In fanfiction, Derpy is typically portrayed as a well-meaning, honest, helpful and sweet pegasus, much like she does in the show and comics proper. Although typically a bit player, Derpy has of course had her fair share of adventures.

Some fanfictions, especially early ones, tended to delve deeper into any possible conditions Derpy may suffer from. Sometimes, Derpy is written as the older sister to Dinky Doo given there similar eyes and manes. Derpy's common pairings tend to include Spike and Dr. Hooves. Some fanfictions write that Derpy is attracted to Spike due to his kind, gentle nature, while other fanfics involve Derpy and Dr. Hooves's adventures throughout time and space.

In "It Takes a Village", Derpy was among the first ponies in Ponyville outside of Spikes circle of friends that showed him kindness after his growth spurts and stood by his side through the ensuing chaos, albeit in her own innocent way.

References

Footnotes

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