My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic/Analysis/Background Ponies

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
"Yes, even characters with 3 seconds of air time get stories in this fandom!"
—Sethisto on a 10-part Pokey Pierce fanfic, which sums up background ponies quite nicely.

Part of the fun of the brony community is the extensive Fanon that's been crafted around such minor characters as the background ponies. While the main character page is for how the characters are in the show, this page is for analyzing how the fans portray them.


General Fanon Trivia

Note: If you're looking for the toy analysis, it's been moved here so that it can cover more than just the background ponies.

Character Specific Fanon Trivia

Derpy Hooves/Ditzy Doo

Fan Nickname Origins

"Derpy Hooves"

Derpyhooves.com, a fan news site, has a great article on the origin and evolution of Derpy Hooves. Long story short, back when the pilot episode first aired and the fandom got started on /co/, one poster named "Dr. Foreigner" pointed out the crosseyed pegasus and remarked "And so the legend of Derpy Hooves is born". And born it was.

"Ditzy Doo"

In "Winter Wrap Up", Rainbowshine/Rainbow Day tells Rainbow Dash that a pony named Ditzy Doo went "north to get the southern birds". Ditzy was never on-screen during this moment. While there's speculation on who the real Ditzy Doo is, Lauren Faust stated that they might use Derpy's design if they ever need to show Ditzy, and since then a lot of fans have adopted this as her "real" name. One animator says she was called "Ditzy", "Stoneface", and "Bubbles" in-studio before the brony phenomenon kicked off, though more recently the official storyboard sketches and "The Last Roundup" call her "Derpy".

The name "Ditzy Doo" appears to have been dropped entirely; in the first draft of "Last Roundup", the pony whom Rainbow Dash was scolding was explicitly named "Ditzy". In a later draft of both the script and the animation storyboards, "Ditzy" was replaced entirely by Derpy as a Fandom Nod. However, the inclusion of this nod, coupled with some other decisions did lead to the incident, mostly known as "Derpgate" by the fandom. The term can unfortunately be seen and used as a slur against the disabled, and not wanting to offend anyone, lead to the scene edited so that she isn't referred to by any name. Therefore, it is possible that she is actually named Ditzy Doo or something else entirely, if she ever has a speaking role once again.

Personality

Many interpretations of Derpy's personality have appeared, primarily based on the idea that her 'derped' eyes mean something. The only constants are a devotion to her family (see below), enjoying work as a delivery mare, and... MUFFINS.

The Ditz

A popular school of thought is that her eyes reflect a mental disorder, ranging from malapropisms ("Doorknob! I.. I don't want it twenty-score! Everypony gives me books when I wear it. I don't like their herring, and why are you hare?" from "The Doctor and the Doo") to actual impairment. Most of these only impair what she is able to say or do; her basic feelings towards others usually don't change. The show hadn't actually addressed it directly until "The Last Roundup"(when it's shown she broke the Town Hall, and proceeds to cause more damage), unless you count her "costume" (and actions) in "Luna Eclipsed", where she was dressed in paper bags and (accidentally) pulled the plug from the apple bobbing tub.

Derpy's day job

She's almost always depicted as either a mailpony or delivery pony, based on her scene in "Feeling Pinkie Keen" where she's shown sheepishly smiling to an apparent supervisor (directly above a pile of smashed debris and smashed Twilight). In all cases she's shown as devoted. Her competence ranges from "unable to fly in a straight line" to "capable of the impossible".

Muffins

Finally, muffins. Before The Last Roundup, her sole possible line of dialogue came in Applebuck Season, where she was one of the ponies who were looking forward to free muffin samples and somepony, possibly her, could be heard saying "Muffins" dreamily. Most stories and comics involving Derpy will mention muffins at some point, and it will creep into her dialogue. Even cameos will, if feasible (or if not) have her going for a muffin (or, in one story, giving them out). In canon, this has been referenced by Putting Your Hoof Down, where Derpy is shown wearing a saddlebag with a muffin-shaped clip, and may also have been referenced by the Season 2 opening sequence and Hearth's Warming Eve, where Derpy is shown riding in the Friendship Express Train's Ice Cream Train Car (which in the show looks more a cupcake or a muffin).

Ultimate Underdog?

Now, aside all the fanon that has been tacked onto this pony (Mailmare, Mother, Muffins etc.) that the fandom has mostly agreed on, what else really makes her so astoundingly popular? She isn't the smartest, fastest, toughest or the prettiest pony, and that's exactly it. She isn't any of these things and she's not perfect, but she tries her best anyway. While we have an official cast that does awesome things every episode, here's one that doesn't appear to be all that awesome, and in some strange way, that's just as awesome as well.

Fanon Tropes

  • Achievements in Ignorance: Derpy is seen doing Pinkie Pie-tier feats of impossibility until somepony tells her the impossibility of her action.
  • Big Eater: Derpy's stomach seems bottomless when it comes to eating muffins.
    • "I emptied your fridge."
  • Cool Pet: While rare, fanart exists where she has a pet. This pet is a chameleon. This is most likely due to both sharing wonky eyes.
  • Determinator: When it comes to muffins and delivering mail, there's nothing in Equestria that could stop her.
    • Another view of her character is that she is able to succeed despite any sort of difficulties she may have.
  • Eyepatch of Power: Some artists often put an eyepatch on Derpy when she is depicted in a serious situation. Often the dangerous kind.
  • The Fool
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: Some fans depict her as actually very intelligent but is often hidden away because of her behavior and appearance.
    • Seemingly-Profound Fool: Other times some characters mistake her as being a genius without realizing that she's just a lucky fool.
  • Peek-a-Bangs: Some artists get creative and hide her other eye with her bangs to make her look beautiful without changing the fact that she's cross-eyed.
  • The Rainmare: Other depictions of her hidden intelligence comes in this form.
  • Unstoppable Mailmare: Derpy is often seen in fan work delivering varying sizes and number mails and packages (including a large wooden crate) from several hazardous environments and locations sometimes at absurdly long distances.

Berry Punch

Berry Punch's Alcoholism

Origins

This fan interpretation started in one of season 1's episodes entitled "Call of the Cutie". There was a party held at Sugarcube Corner for Diamond Tiara and other fillies called Cute-ceañera: a coming of age celebration for young fillies who just earned their cutie marks.[1] In one scene, Apple Bloom attempted to escape the party by using a table with a punch bowl and a bunch of cups on top of it as cover. One of the adult guests noticed the punch bowl so she had no choice but to stop moving or be discovered. The pony looked around to see if anyone is looking and then proceeds to drink directly from the punch bowl instead of using one of the cups (how an earth pony could hold and use a cup or even use the ladle to scoop a punch into the cup is unknown at this point).

Weirdness Magnet?

Strange and outrageous things seems to happen to her out of nowhere. Discord makes a bunch of fake houses collapse as she sneezes, and Big Mac drags her whole house out of it foundations with her inside. No wonder she drinks.

Fan Interpretation and Depictions

Due to her seemingly indecent behavior (for our standards at least) in the scene, her grape themed character design and the fact that most alcoholic beverages are made from grapes has earned the pony her "Berry Punch" name and has caused the fans to speculate the she may also be an alcoholic. This notion was further solidified when it was revealed in a chatroom conversation with Sibsy, one of the show's storyboard artists, that she personally chose Berry Punch for the scene because she seem like a drinker.

I LOVE berry punch
omg
in that one ep w/ her by the punch bowl
she was supposed to burp
but it never got thru
hahah
I always want to make her drunk
stupid standards! lol
I put her there on purpose
I don't usually care which bg pony I use
but in that case it was thought out.
yea that was the reason I picked her out of the designs
hee hee
as soon as I saw the grapes, I was like..she's the drinker!
I'm glad it caught on

even though it kinda got cut out haha
—Sibsy on Berry Punch, Equestria Daily's IRC

Since then fanworks of her have always depicted her as an alcoholic character and with the combination of another fanon has resulted in her being portrayed by fanwork as the over protective alcoholic mother of the background filly Ruby Pinch.

Effects of Alcohol on Real Horses

Horses in real life have a high tolerance for alcoholics compared to humans due to their herbivorous digestive system. Depending on its size, a horse could chug down several bottles before it finally gets into a drunken state. Cases of horses being fed with alcoholic drinks such as a glass or a bottle of wine have shown that they have a liking to it and will gladly drink it when presented. For more information regarding this topic go here.

Fanon Tropes

Doctor Whoof/Whooves

I'm a Pony now. Ponies are cool

Origin

It's not clear how now fans jumped to the conclusion that this rather generic looking pony is The Doctor but he first appeared with his cutie mark in "Winter Wrap Up".[2] Fans noticed he had spiky hair, a brown coat and his hourglass cutie mark meant whatever he does is time related. Who else has spiky hair, wears a brown coat and is time related? David Tennant. For whatever reason it just clicked with fans and crossover fanworks featuring him starting sprouting up everywhere.

Fan Nickname

Fans can't decide on Doctor Whoof or Whooves, but the pun remains the same. We mostly use Whooves on This Wiki because the WeLoveFine shirts use it, and according to director Jayson Thiessen, the show's staff have also started to call him Doctor Whooves (though it isn't clear if he specifially meant Whooves, or just the Whoof/Whooves names in general). It's "The Doctor" anyways.

In a storyboard released by Sibsy but later taken down that showed his scene in "Call of the Cutie", his lines were simply credited as "Pony." This is probably the same for any background pony with a speaking part.

Which Doctor?

For those unfamiliar with Doctor Who mythos, The Doctor has the ability to "regenerate" whenever he comes close to dying, with a new body and personality, though he's never been anything other than a British man, much less a pony. And he's still not ginger. Technically speaking, the Doctor would have a new personality in his new form, but fans usually just give Whoof the Tenth Doctor's (David Tennant) personality, though some give him Eleven's (Matt Smith) or Four's (Tom Baker) traits, and some even go for a Composite Character route. It's also common to give him a necktie,[3] bowtie, fez, Four's scarf, or some other classic piece of Doctor clothing in fanart.

The 2nd Doctor Whooves

Since the end of season 1, the brown pony with the hourglass cutie mark hasn't been seen or appeared prominently[4] for a long time since his last known appearance. Later in season 2, a new background pony with an hourglass cutie mark has appeared [dead link]. The pony appeared in the episode "Sweet and Elite", a black and gray Earth pony stallion who wears a formal getup [dead link]. Fans have taken notice of him thought that he bears an uncanny resemblance [dead link] to the 11th Doctor Matt Smith. Others say he resembles [dead link] the 2nd Doctor Patrick Troughton (ponifying his name into "Patrick Trotton").

In Doctor Who, the Doctor regenerates into a new person whenever he is near death or suffers a mortal wound. He gains a new body and a new personality yet still retain the memories of his past incarnations. Due to these, fans had speculated that the brown Doctor Whooves hasn't been appearing since because he has regenerated into the black and grey pony, though it was Jossed by the reappearance of the original Doctor Whooves in "Hearth's Warming Eve", "Family Appreciation Day", and later episodes.

In "The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000", he appears with a tie like that worn by David Tennant, as well as operating an hourglass. This has been confirmed to be a nod to the fans from the creators.

Not The Doctor

A Different Kind of Doctor

Every now and then, fans will come up with some alternate fanon for that brown earth pony with an hourglass cutie mark. He may actually be called "Whoof" or some variation, and one fanfic named him "Sepia Tock", which is slowly growing steam. He may be a clock maker or a historian or some other kind of doctor, just not THE Doctor. Other times, he might be an Expy of the Doctor in personality but no actual references to Doctor Who are made (no TARDIS, no sonic screwdriver, no time travel, etc), leaving it vague enough to be interpenetrated either way. Or even merely a Time Lord.

Fanon Tropes

  • Adorkable: Being an Equestrian Earth pony is kind of a new experience for him and it's quite amusing to behold.
  • Baleful Polymorph: If the fanon that Doctor Whooves is the Doctor in pony form is to be believed.
  • Composite Character: Fan depictions of his personality portrays him with a mixture of the 10th and 11th Doctor's personalities with a bit of the older incarnations sprinkled here and there.
  • Expy: Fans think that the brown pony is a references to Doctor Who due to his mane style, brown color scheme and hourglass cutie mark though the crew have stated that it was merely coincidental.
  • Fish Out of Temporal Water: He's still getting used to living in Equestria and being an Earth pony which makes a great element for comedic situations or drama.
  • Gadgeteer Genius: Being the Doctor and all, he is still this even when he's transformed into a creature without any opposable thumbs and fingers.
    • Not!Doctor can also be like this at times when he's depicted as a watch maker.
  • Genre Savvy: His knowledge of aliens, the universe and time is far beyond that of anyone (non-ponies included) in Equestria but when it comes to basic Equestrian knowledge, being a pony, and pony culture in general, not so much.
    • Not!Doctor Whooves also has this but is only limited to time related stuff and unlike the other Doctor, is quite familiar with ponyhood like every other denizen of Equestria.
  • The Nth Doctor: Fan works depict him as the Doctor regenerated as an Equestrian Earth pony. What regeneration is he varies from fan to fan.
  • The Smart Guy: Regardless if he's depicted as the Doctor ponified or not.
  • Time Travel: Due to his hourglass cutie mark, fans have speculated that his talent has something to do with time. Discussions eventually lead to him being a time traveler and ultimately being the Doctor as a pony.

Lyra Heartstrings

Lyra Trivia

Name Origins

Lyra got her Fan Nickname from her cutie mark which is a golden lyre.

Some time later, a collection of blind bag toys was discovered. One of the toys was a Lyra look-a-like. It was a recolor (like any other non-essential characters before her) of Twilight Sparkle's pony mold named "Heartstrings". It caused a lot of controversy within the fandom concerning the new name. Some fans refused to accept the toy name and insisted on continuing on calling her Lyra. Others had an opposite opinion and think that fans should follow the closest canon name they currently have. Others said that they should consider her toy name as her last name making her full name as "Lyra Heartstrings". A few considered Heartstrings as a separate character entirely due to the fact that she looks way too different especially the profile card that came along with the toy (her coat is a much darker shade of green in the card).

Later a new batch of blind bag toys was discovered. Another Lyra look-a-like was included this time bearing the name of "Lyra Heartstrings". The card had a more accurate coat color than the previous though the toy was still a Twilight Sparkle recolor. Some were skeptical of this batch's legitimacy, but later still, a previously-announced brushable toy of the pony was revealed to bear the name "Lyra Heartstrings" (marking the first official use of the full name) and to have artwork that's much less of a Twilight Sparkle recolor (only sharing the eye shape), instead being more of a Colgate/Seafoam recolor (despite Minuette and Sea Swirl themselves not having any toy artwork of their own). Due to these toys, the "Lyra Heartstrings" name has become a generally accepted canon name and by extension the "Lyra" Fan Nickname has become Ascended Fanon to some fans though others are still waiting for a in-show confirmation.

The Musician

Due to her cutie mark, fans have assumed that her talent is playing the lyre,[5] though sometimes she's shown to know how to play other similar instruments such as the harp. Depictions of her competing or participating in a concert performance with other musically inclined ponies is also common especially towards Octavia. She's also sometimes shown to be Ponyville's local music teacher.

To be Human

More of a Running Gag, but the "Lyra wants to be human" deal comes from her Funny Background Event in "Dragonshy", where she's seen in the background sitting (or slouching to be precise) on a bench like a human being in contrast to another pony beside her who is sitting like a normal pony would. Later in "Fall Weather Friends" she's seen holding a drinking cup with her hoof when she could've easily just used her unicorn magic to hold it instead.

These series of seemingly random yet somehow related events have led fans to joke about her obsession with hands, an "ancient race of humanoids", having a secret desire to be one (usually by mimicking various common human behaviors like standing, walking and running on two legs) to wishing to visit their world. Due to the fact that humans don't exist in the show, other ponies around her find her hobby strange, weird and bizarre. Treating us as if we're some sort of mythological creature/a legend/a fairy tale in fan works or even non-existent at all as if Lyra got this from out of the blue. This plot element is usually used for comedic reasons but the use of this for serious situations is not unheard of.

Fanon Tropes

  • Anthropomorphic Shift: Lyra is more human-like in behavior in fan work compared to the source material. Other ponies find it bizarre.
  • Dark Secret: Sometimes fans depict her fascination for hands and humanity as something of a closet hobby. Usually played for laughs.
  • Genki Girl: She is sometimes portrayed with this personality, especially if it involves her interest in hands and/or humans. This trait originated from her jumping excitedly in place in the background with a big grin on her face in several early episodes.
  • Magic Music: Like Vinyl, she's sometimes shown incorporating her unicorn magic into her music.
  • Old Friend: Some fans like portray her as having gone to the same school as Twilight Sparkle and knowing her a little bit before moving to Ponyville, mostly based on Lyra giving a friendly wave to her in the pilot.
  • Power Fist: One of the popular depictions on how Lyra plans to or attain hands is via grafting mechanical ones to both of her front hooves.
  • Running Gag: Lyra's fascination for human hands and/or humanity in general.
    • Other ponies becoming bewildered due to the fact that humans don't exist in the show's universe and only Lyra appears to know what a human is. How Lyra knew of humanity or why she is fascinated with them are usually left unexplained.
  • Squick: Lyra's hand obsession is sometimes depicted as creepy in fan work.
    • It's even creepier when you actually see Lyra with human hands.

Vinyl "DJ Pon-3" Scratch

Vinyl Trivia

Red Eyes

One of the most prominent pieces of Vinyl Fanon is her eye color. Since her first One-Scene Wonder is only a few seconds long and the whole time she's wearing shades, we didn't really know what her eyes actually look like under those purple tinted shades until her second One-Scene Wonder, which confirmed that they're the same color as they are Dummied Out in The Hub's Web Games DJ Pinkie Pie. Red is the most common and is even in the picture on the main page. One fan drew her with red eyes and it just spread. It's possible to find the occasional odd piece, especially in older fanart, where she has blue eyes instead[6] or even purple.

Personality

Most fans depict her with a "rock star" personality: energetic, a bit eccentric, and likes to party all night and have fun especially at nightclubs along with other archetypal traits and personality of a DJ and/or a party goer. She's also portrayed as a "cool" character: Very outgoing, confident, likes to look cool and impress other ponies most often using her talent as a DJ and loves the attention of her fans. She has also been portrayed to like other genres of music besides her love for Electronic Music such as various forms of rock music like Punk Rock and Heavy Metal. Besides her iconic turntable, she has been portrayed playing an electric guitar and an electronic piano. When not in a club being a DJ, she is often depicted to bring along an mp3 player like an iPod with her which she listens to using large headphones[7] more often than earbuds.

Flaws that is often portrayed is her brashness, her mild untidiness especially after parties, being a night owl,[8] and most prominently her loudness which often annoys her neighbors or apartment mates (depending on the setting) during sleep hours [dead link] especially Octavia who prefers a more calm and quiet type of music in contrast to Vinyl's taste in music. She's the type of character that would act first and ask questions later, the type that follows her heart more often than her head. Another one is her hidden loneliness with all the fans she has, she has few to call real friends.

Fanon Tropes

  • Cyberpunk / Steampunk: Fans seem to love putting her in sci-fi settings.
  • Disco Tech: Other than her usual turntable, she is sometimes portrayed in fan work operating large complex musical machinery.
  • Magic Music: Given that she is a unicorn pony, depictions of her using her unicorn magic to enhance her concerts and performances are not uncommon.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: One of the most popular fanon is that Vinyl Scratch has red eyes. Various reasons were speculated as to why she hides it with her Cool Shades.
  • The Rock Star

Octavia

Octavia Trivia

So Classy

Octavia is commonly depicted as an elegant, sophisticated mare. Her personality ranges from being The Stoic, a Deadpan Snarker to—in extreme cases—an outright Tsundere, though that doesn't mean that she's a total Jerkass or a Perpetual Frowner. She loves to listen to Classical Music, usually the calm and soothing type. When she talks, she is often depicted to speak in a formal and polite manner, but not to the extent of talking in Early Modern English like Princess Luna.[9]

Pinkie's Sister?

After "The Best Night Ever" aired, fans were quick to note that Octavia looked similar to Inkie, one of Pinkie's sisters seen her flashback in "Cutie Mark Chronicles". Octavia's initial reaction to Pinkie appearing on stage was also noticeably different - her band mates were surprised, but Octavia just rolled her eyes, as if this has happened to her before. Despite the colors not matching exactly (even the eye colors are different shades of pink), the idea of Pinkie having an Elegant Classical Musician for a sister was too much to pass up.

When playing with this fanon, she usually gets the full name Inkabella Octavia Pie, and there's some handwaving on why Pinkie didn't directly say hi to her at the Gala, usually Pinkie not wanting to embarrass her band mates too much or they didn't recognize each other right away having not seen each other for some time. The popular Ask Octavia Tumblr blog plays with this by having her as Pinkie's cousin, allowing for Pinkie & Octavia Sibling Yin-Yang with a much lower possibility of being Jossed should we ever see an adult Inkie in the show.

Lauren Faust herself addressed the issue in an FAQ, saying the color similarities is a coincidence and that she would say Octavia & Pinkie are not sisters... but it's possible the current show runners may have "other ideas".

Fanon Tropes

  • Antiquated Linguistics: Fan comic and fanfiction authors usually write her dialogues like this to match her classy demeanor.
  • Broken Bird: Sad and/or grimdark fanfiction authors often to use this to explain the origins of Octavia's stoic personality.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Often mixed with The Stoic personality.
  • Elegant Classical Musician: Very obviously so, especially when compared to Vinyl Scratch. Naturally, this led to many fics pairing the two of them.
  • Face of the Band: Being the most popular pony within her band, many fans think of her as this.
  • The Stoic: She is usually depicted with this personality.
    • Not So Stoic: Though she does show some emotion from time to time. Usually when heavy emotions and feelings are involved.
  • Only Sane Mare: Fans seem to love pairing her up with eccentric and/or hyperactive characters.
  • Straight Mare: This is almost always her role in fan works.
  • Sugar and Ice Personality / Kuudere: Another interpretation of her is this. Even though she may seem cold and distant most of the time, she does care for her friends and bandmates.
  • Tsundere: This is the extreme end of Octavia's fanon characterization. Starts off as being uncaring and aloof then she starts getting more and more snarky the more a character gets closer to her and finally warms up and becomes more friendly and comfortable to interact with.

Carrot Top

Name Origins

Carrot Cake

This was her Fan Nickname before the show revealed Mrs. Cake's complete name is also Carrot Cake. Evidence and traces of its existence can be seen in earlier fan works like the famous comic story that spawned the "I emptied your fridge" gag.

Carrot Top

Due to the new canon name, fans have decided to come up with a new Fan Nickname for her to avoid confusion and have agreed on calling her "Carrot Top" from now on. Why they chose this name and how it is related (if at all) to the person of the same name is uncertain. An interesting note is one of the animators says he coincidentally also named her "Carrot Top". Fans and animators think alike it seems.

Golden Harvest

This name originated from a blind bag pony toy that bears an uncanny resemblance to the background pony. Despite the general unpopularity of using the toy names among fans, some fans do still use this name to identify the carrot pony. Other times, some fans use this name for humor such as using it as an embarrassing real name for Carrot Top which she tries to hide from others or connecting it to the kung fu film company of the same name.

Carrot Trivia

Carrot Top's House

Fans say that the carrot themed house behind the Sweet Apple Acre's barn is hers. Other times, her residences is portrayed as a lone cottage with a carrot garden of varying size in the backyard.

Personality

Carrot Top is often portrayed as your average pony. Living a relatively simple, happy and peaceful life, doing the single thing that she does best to get through life; growing carrots.

Weirdness Magnet

Occasionally some out-of-the-ordinary events happen to her like Derpy routinely emptying her fridge and/or eating the muffins that she bakes, hordes of rabbits (Angel Bunny usually among them) invading her carrot garden, and ponies suddenly becoming attracted to her due to her uncut mane.

Carrots and Carrot Accessories

Carrot Top is also portrayed to have proficiency on making baked goods, especially if it's carrot based and/or muffins. This was probably based on Applejack's talent on making apple based food in addition to her main talent of growing apples.

Fanon Tropes

  • Arch Enemy: Being a carrot farmer does have its disadvantages. Rabbits are a constant threat to her garden especially a certain bunny who lives with Fluttershy.
  • Boring Yet Practical: Her supposed talent for carrots. Be it growing them or making various food dishes out of them. It's not the most spectacular talent in the world and her carrot garden isn't as large and booming business as Sweet Apple Acres but it's enough to get her through life.
  • The Everpony: Her characterization often relies on other more eccentric characters and their wacky antics and unusual situations and occurrence. When left alone or put in a normal situation, she is always depicted as just your average mare.
  • The Generic Mare: This usually her role when grouped together with other ponies.
  • Girl Next Door: When she is depicted with a neighbor. Often it's either Fluttershy or the Apple family.
  • The Hermit: Carrot Top's house is often depicted as a cottage or a hollowed tree covered in vegetation that's located on the outskirts of Ponyville similar to that of Fluttershy's but with small patches of tilted land where she plants her carrots.
    • Alternatively some fans point out a certain structure with a carrot ornament on top that's surrounded by farm land that we often see in Sweet Apple Acre's scenic shot is Carrot Top's house though this might just be the Apple's own carrot farm.
  • I Just Want to Be Special: Some fans like to make this as her goal in life or at least she tries to. One such depictions is the fan song "Beyond Her Garden" and its many remixes.
  • Muggle: Fans often depict her as your average everypony. She may not be the smartest, strongest, fastest, or riches ponies around but she does try her best, even though it's still isn't enough.
  • Muggle Best Friend: This is her to any pony she is paired with.
  • Name's the Same: Her toy name "Golden Harvest" shares its name to a film company of the same name. Golden Harvest happens to have produced many Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan movies. Depictions of her in a martial artist's getup and/or the company's logo [dead link] became a brief trend when the toy was released.
    • Dark Secret: The name is treated as Carrot Top's dark secret to the rest of the world in fan work. Why she hides it is usually left unexplained and played for laughs [dead link].
    • She also shares her fandom name of "Carrot Top" with the American comedian known as Carrot Top. Which may explain why she is named differently by Hasbro.
  • The Rival: Fans often depict her as seeing herself as the rival of the Apples when it comes to the single crop focused business even though her garden pales in comparison to their farm.
  • Unlikely Heroine / Weirdness Magnet: Carrot Top is sometimes put in weird and unusual situations in fan stories. For instance her first encounter with Derpy Hooves in the famous "Carrot Cake Storybook" where she had an entire mini adventure just to deliver an injured Derpy's package and in "The Mane Attraction" comic series where she decided to not have a hair cut which proves to have unforeseen consequences as every pony around her fell madly in love with her new mane-do.

Caramel

Name Origins

The name "Caramel" came from the episode "Winter Wrap Up" when his regular pony model's name was mentioned for the first time. Since then anypony who resembles him are also called as "Caramel", "Caramel Something", or anything that's related to the word caramel. So far there's Toffee, Creme Brulee and Doctor Stable.

Caramel's Sexuality

Fans have often depicted Caramel's sexuality as either a Invisible to Gaydar or a Transsexualism due to the fact he shares both color scheme and cutie mark with two other ponies. The first that appeared was on season one's opening sequence: A Big Macintosh Palette Swap. This stallion body type is much more masculine than the regular stallion body type. Then in the episode "Winter Wrap Up" we see a regular stallion bearing the same scheme as his. In this appearance we see him in a sorry state with Big Macintosh because he lost the grass seeds they were suppose to plant. Finally in "Over a Barrel", we see another pony bearing the same design in the background but this time this one is a mare.

Many different fanon theories were speculated.[10] One of which is that Caramel, once a proud manly stallion living in a society dominated by females, began to question his sexuality. His friendship with Big Macintosh[11] and his failures during "Winter Wrap Up" have only pushed his fleeting masculinity to the other side of the sexuality spectrum. Having been fed up with this charade, Caramel has decided to relinquish his masculinity and embrace the other side, resulting in the gay Caramel or the female Caramel that we see on "Over a Barrel".

Caramel being depicted as a straight heterosexual stallion is not unheard. There seems to be shipping trend between him and Twilight Sparkle (next to her is Applejack). Why is this so is still under research and the rest of the details will be put in the relationship section when enough data and information has been gathered. This interpretation of Caramel was further strengthened when we see Caramel nose rubbing[12] with a mare in "Hearts and Hooves Day".

A Family of Clones

Others think that these different versions of Caramel that we've been seeing through out the show are actually members of a family of ponies with a severe case of Generation Xerox. How they are related to each other (siblings,cousins,etc.) varies from fan to fan.

There have been a lot of Caramels that have popped up throughout the series:

  • Big Macintosh Caramel: Also known as "Creme Brulee" or just "Creme". First appeared in Season 1's opening sequence. A Palette Swap of Big Macintosh with Big Mac's eye color. Sometimes seen as Caramel when he was a manly pony.
  • Regular Caramel: First appeared in "Winter Wrap Up". Has a regular stallion body type. Name is officially canon to this pony and/or True Caramel. The most recognized Caramel among all Caramels. Interactions between him and his relatives seem to usually involve competition with a love interest.
  • True Caramel: First appeared in "Winter Wrap Up". Regular Caramel with a caramel apple cutie mark. Name is officially canon to this pony and/or Regular Caramel.
  • Pegasus Caramel: First appeared in "Sonic Rainboom". Regular Caramel as a Pegasus pony.
  • Female Caramel: Also known as "Toffee". First appeared in "Over a Barrel". A mare with Caramel's color scheme and cutie mark plus a top hat. Started the whole Tranny!Caramel thing. Seen as either a gender bent Caramel or his twin sister. Stories involving her and Caramel often involve her maliciously pretending to be his brother as if he changed his gender to screw with his friends espcially Big Macintosh or is accidentally mistaken for one another[13] usually leading into a Love Triangle between the twins and the love interest.
  • Little Caramel: First appeared in "Over a Barrel". A version of Regular Caramel seen by some as being smaller than usual, and thus interpreted as being a colt (as the standard design for colts wasn't established until Season 2).
  • Coconut Caramel: First appeared in "The Best Night Ever". Regular Caramel with purple eyes, a yellow tail, and what appears to be a tree-on-island cutie mark. Seems to be a fusion of Caramel and Coconut (another common background stallion).
  • Doctor Caramel: Also known as "Doctor Stable". First appeared in "Read It and Weep". Regular Caramel as a unicorn pony with a heart monitor cutie mark and wearing a Doctor's getup.
  • Palette Swap Caramels: There are also other background ponies that appeared with Regular Caramel's model but with different color schemes and/or a different pony race.
  • Chance-a-lot: Named as such in the fourth wave of Blind Bags. Has only appeared as a crystal pony, so his mane color is unknown. Like the other Blind Bag stallions, he's a Big Macintosh Palette Swap. Generally considered to be the toy line incarnation of Regular Caramel (due to the matching eye color) or more rarely Big Macintosh Caramel (due to the matching body type).

Fanon Tropes

Other Background Ponies

Trivia

Bon Bon the Voice Actress

This interpretation of Bon Bon originated from the fact that in all of her speaking roles, she usually bears a different voice actress and/or accent. While this is true of most speaking background ponies, she's the one who's best remembered for it, possibly because she doesn't have much common fanon outside of her relationship with Lyra. The fandom's close contact with the show's voice actors via the Internet (usually Twitter) and special guest appearances in some conventions (especially brony conventions such as Bronycon) may have also played a role in influencing this perspective towards the background pony.

A Little Too Much Flexibility, Blossomforth

In one scene in her debut episode "Hurricane Fluttershy" Rainbow Dash was inspecting the pegasus ponies as they warm up for an upcoming event. We then see ponies doing stretching exercises who are performing better than the previous. The ponies seen and mentioned by Rainbow Dash from first to last were Flitter, Cloudchaser, and finally, Blossomforth. Blossomforth was doing too well as we see her struggling in a contorted position. She doesn't seem too happy about it. Rainbow Dash then tells her that her flexibility is "a little too much".

Due to this scene she was then on often depicted in fanwork as a contortionist (or a pony who is as flexible as one) and who may or may not be participating in yoga classes off-screen. This concept is sometimes used as Fetish Fuel in some fan work.

Fanon Tropes

  • Awesome McCoolname:
    • Whoever coined and popularized "Sir Colton Vines III" for Daisy's male companion Goldengrape deserves a brohoof.
    • One of Roid Rage's other Fan Nicknames, Horse Power.
  • Department of Redundancy Department: One of Roid Rage's other Fan Nicknames, Mr. Big McLargehuge.
  • Just for Pun: Roid Rage's "Horse Power" Fan Nickname, being a pun off...well...horsepower.
  • Meaningful Name: Fans have always associated a pegasus ponies' wings with "something" (a.k.a. the "wingboner"). Roid Rage/Mr. Big McLargehuge/Horse Power has outrageously tiny wings compared to his bulky size and other pegasus ponies'. Since there's this popular myth about steroids making the user's certain something shrink, it only further solidified the fans' theory that he does use steroids or their world's equivalent of steroids.
  • Third Person Pony: Before "A Canterlot Wedding" gave Twinkleshine more non-third-person speaking lines, some fans theorised that she was Moondancer herself. Naturally there's a fancomic of her meeting Trixie.

Relationship Fanon Trivia

Derpy's Family and Friends

As one motivational picture puts it, "The Animators gave her a lazy eye, the fans gave her a family." Fans have built up a solid fanon surrounding Derpy being a loving mother and dedicated friend.

Carrot Top

There is a popular fanon within the community revolving around Carrot Top and Derpy Hooves being Heterosexual Life Partner and roommates. Their friendship was popularized by a series of story sketches by Elosande[14] which has also spawned the "I emptied your fridge" meme back in January 2011. Carrot Top is usually portrayed as the straight mare to Derpy's goofiness. As noted on the main page, they were spotted standing next to each other in some crowd scenes in Season 1. The "Luna Eclipsed" scene where Derpy accidentally drains an apple bobbing tub while Carrot looks on annoyingly at her action seems to be a Fandom Nod by the animators to this friendship.

Dinky

Many fans have taking a liking to Derpy being the mother of a background filly named Dinky. The whole thing came from speculation around the time "Call of the Cutie" aired. At the time, it wasn't known that Sweetie Belle was Rarity's sister, and fans speculated that all the adult ponies at Diamond Tiara's party were either the parents or older siblings of the fillies there, with the obvious exception of Pinkie & Twilight. Derpy was at the party and Dinky was noted to having similar hair. A fanfic involving the two later popularized the idea, resulting in a ton of adorable fanworks. Up until "Sisterhooves Social", they had never been seen on screen at the same time, and even then they're not standing near each other.

Dinky's father

Who Dinky's father is is up in the air and most fans have their own interpretation. The most popular male pony to be shipped with Derpy was another background pony known as Doctor Whooves. Due to the pairing's popularity and the fact that both their last names sound the same when pronounced[15] has spawned the notion that he may be in fact be Dinky's father albeit an adoptive one, seeing as Doctor Whooves is an earth pony. However, with the episode "Baby Cakes" showcasing that ponies can have children outside their race (albeit rarely), him fathering a unicorn daughter is not impossible.

As for Dinky's biological father, most fans seem to agree it had to be a unicorn, some pairing Derpy up with Ponet[16] (who, like Dinky, is a purple unicorn with a blonde mane), Pokey Pierce (probably the most well known male background unicorn), or some unknown unicorn father that's just no longer present. Most fanfics have Derpy as a single mother living on her own or with Carrot Top, for whatever reason.

Sparkler (Amethyst Star)

Dinky is shown to have an older sister in "Sisterhooves Social": A lesser known background pony known as Sparkler, who first appeared alongside Lyra in the pilot episode but has never had much fanon tied to her. Inconsistencies in the episode aside,[17] this new piece of information has spawned numerous debates concerning Dinky's fanon status as Derpy Hooves's daughter. Numerous theories have been purposed from Derpy being much Older Than She Looks,[18] to Sparkler being Dinky's half-sister, to Sparkler posing as Dinky's sister in a similar fashion to Sweetie Belle and Applejack, to Dinky being Derpy's biological daughter and Sparkler being adopted, to the entire Derpy and Dinky fanon being Jossed among other things. Already, this new fanon is beginning to spawn its own series [dead link] of [dead link] fanworks deriving [dead link] from this. Whatever Sparkler's connection to the two may be, it certainly looks like there's a new addition to Derpy's family. In "The Mysterious Mare Do Well" she is seen having a picnic with Tootsie Flute who may be her daughter.

  • Alternatively, perhaps that filly Sparkler was having a picnic with is a cousin of hers and Dinky's that doesn't live in Ponyville (maybe a branch lives in Canterlot or Manehattan), and the picnic was to welcome her to Ponyville (to justify Derpy & Dinky not being there, Derpy was probably doing her day job and perhaps Dinky was studying with friends, and Sparkler happened to have her day off assuming she has a job).
    • On a relative note, both Dinky and Tootsie Flute were seen together in the "Winter Wrap Up" song.
  • Also the possibility that she may also be a local Ponyville foal-sitter (in spite of her Canterlot appearance).

Doctor Whooves

As mentioned, the Doctor (when he is a pony version of The Doctor) often finds himself accompanied by Derpy in fan projects (some stories have used Twilight Sparkle as a companion instead, of course). This would follow the Doctor's pattern of finding unique (yet not conventionally powerful) female companions for his travels, as well as leaving the mane six intact for their own adventures. This can alternate with, combine with, cause, end with, or otherwise timey-wimey with whether he is the father of Dinky and/or Sparkler/Amethyst Star, by nature, adoption, or just hanging around all the time and taking care of them.

Fanon Tropes

  • Absurdly Youthful Mother: If the fanon that Sparkler is the biological daughter of Derpy is to be believed then she is this. One popular reason as to why involves Doctor Whooves.
  • Adult Child: She acts more childish than the mane cast in fan work and she spends most of her time with her daughter/s when she's not hanging out with Carrot Top (usually for the muffins in her fridge) or on the job.
  • Amazingly Embarrassing Parent: Surprisingly subverted. Given Derpy's ditzy personality, fans have rarely or never made any depictions of her embarrassing her daughter/s.
  • Disappeared Dad: Derpy is often depicted as a single mother in fan work. What happened to the father is usually left unanswered.
  • Good Parents: Derpy is almost always depicted as a loving and caring mother to her daughter/s. Always cheering them up when they're sad.
    • One popular fanon suggests that Derpy derped her eyes so that she could watch both of her both daughters at the same time.
    • The only times that she isn't like this is when she was Discorded at the time when the "discorded ponies" meme was a popular trend. In fact, when her Discorded self is not Played for Laughs, this is normally her personality trait that is most often inverted.
  • Happily Adopted: Another popular fanon is that Derpy's daughters are actually adopted. Before the episode "Baby Cakes" revealed that any pony race can give birth to any of the three pony races, this was one of the primary reasons why some fans think that this relationship is biologically impossible.
    • There's also a popular variation where Dinky is Derpy's biological daughter and Sparkler is adopted, the reason for adoption varies from fan to fan.
  • Heterosexual Life Partner: Derpy Hooves and Carrot Top. Derpy usually visits her for the food or mail delivery. Shipping between these two is extremely rare.
    • Other times, Derpy is shown to be living with Carrot as room mates along with her daughter/s. Often Carrot Top's house. The opposite seems as of yet rare or non-existent.
  • Mama Bear: Derpy Hooves is often depicted as being this towards her children.
  • Platonic Life Partners: When Derpy Hooves is portrayed as Doctor Whoove's assistant and/or friend which usually leads to a deeper relationship or remaining in a platonic relationship.
  • Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: Doctor Whooves and Derpy Hooves. Although both of them are quite energetic but for different reasons. The Doctor is quite enthusiastic in his intellectual endeavours (making him the savvy one) while Derpy's fanon characterization emphasizes on her bubbly personality.
  • Straight Man and Wise Guy: Carrot Top and Derpy usually do this routine whenever they're interacting with each other.
    • Dinky being the straight filly for Derpy's ditzy antics is also common.
    • Oddly enough, Derpy seems to act as the straight mare for Doctor Whoove's strange unpony-like ways.
  • When You Coming Home, Dad?: One popular reason why the father is always missing.
  • Who's Your Daddy?: Fans have never truly decided who the father of her daughters is. The most popular choice seems to be Doctor Whooves. Ponet is another somewhat popular choice, mostly because he's a unicorn with similar colors to Dinky, though since "Baby Cakes" shown that unicorn parent isn't required for a unicorn child, this has died down a little in favor of the Doctor.

Doctor Who Ponies

Since the discovery of Doctor Whooves, fans began to associate other ponies with the Doctor Who series. Ponies with hourglass cutie marks, for example, have been suspected by fans as timelords. Here are a list of those ponies and their relation to the Doctor Who series and what the fans think they are similar to.

The Doctor Ponies

Aside from the brown pony, fans have also noticed ponies that bear resemblance to the Doctor's past incarnations. Those that are seen as this have similar qualities that point out that they are somehow also the Doctor. Particularly possessing an hour glass cutie mark, being a stallion, and having some resemblance to the Doctor they are being associated with.

Tenth Doctor

The brown Earth pony with an hourglass cutie mark. Possibly the most well known Doctor look-a-like within the fandom. Is said to resemble the Tenth Doctor David Tennant. Similarities include both hair style and color and being both brown in color scheme/theme as the Tenth have a fondness of wearing brown clothes.

Eleventh Doctor

A grey Earth pony with black hair and an hourglass cutie mark. Wears a tophat, collars and a bowtie. Is said to resemble the Eleventh Doctor Matt Smith. Similarities to 11 include hair style, fondness for bowties, and wearing formal wear that resembles (if barely) the one that he wore in some Doctor Who episodes featuring him.

Second Doctor

Others see the pony suspected as the Eleventh Doctor as the Second Doctor Patrick Troughton or as fans call this pony with him in mind; Patrick Trotton. Similarities include hair color... and that's about it.

Fifth Doctor

A blue Earth pony with blond hair. Wears white collars and a red bowtie. Is said to resemble the fifth Doctor Peter Davison. Similarities include hair color and, barely, clothing due to the white and red color scheme (the pony wears a white collar and a red bowtie. The fifth wears a white collared shirt that's red underneath).

Third Doctor

The background unicorn pony Pokey Pierce but with an hourglass cutie mark and a standard horn instead of a sharp one. Wears a red jacket with a white puffy cloth tucked in the chest.[19] Is said to resemble the third Doctor Jon Pertwee. Similarities include hair style (both have wavy hair) and color (Almost. Both have white hair but Pokey has light blue streaks) and wearing clothing closely similar to what the third Doctor had worn.

Other Characters

Aside from the Doctor himself, other Doctor Who characters have also been associated with ponies that seem to have a connection, resemblance, and/or similarities.

The Master

Others see the pony suspected as the Fifth Doctor as the Master[20] or, to be precise, his Harold Saxon regeneration. Similarities include hair color (towards the Master's resurrected form which was blond.[21]) and (barely) hair style.

Romana

A blue unicorn pony with blue hair with white streaks and an hourglass cutie mark. Fans mostly know her for her other Fan Nickname; Colgate. Is said to be Romana, a female timelord (or "time lady"). Fans have associated this background pony to Romana solely because of the fact that she was the only female with an hourglass cutie mark at the time of her fan nicknaming.

Rose Tyler

Rose or Roseluck has been sometimes associated with a Doctor Who companion of the same name solely because of their connection to the word rose.

Doctor Whoof Companions

Given the popularity of Doctor Whoof/Whooves, most fan works have him paired up with a companion as the Doctor is almost never without one. Shipping may or may not also occur.

Derpy Hooves

The most popular companion of choice for the Doctor, most likely due to Derpy's own popularity and the ensuing hilarity that would come from combining Derpy's ditziness with the Doctor antics.

Twilight Sparkle

Not a background pony, but Twilight is usually the first choice for Doctor Whoof companions when it comes to the Mane Six, probably because she is the main character and is the most intellectual.

Colgate/Romana

As mentioned in the Doctor Who Ponies folder, Colgate is sometimes seen as an Expy of classic Doctor Who companion Romana, though sometimes Colgate is shown as just a normal unicorn who gets caught up in the Doctor's adventures.

Rose/Roseluck

As mentioned in the Doctor Who Ponies folder, Rose is sometimes seen as an Expy of... Rose. Not as popular as you'd think, but there's still some fanworks featuring Roseluck with the Doctor.

Other

Tropes for companion ponies

The Twin Ponies List

Fans seem to have the tendency of interpreting ponies that look similar to each and are often seen together as twins. Here are the list of those supposed twin ponies and their similarities and differences compared to each other.

The List

Flitter and Cloudchaser

Similarities

  • They have similar eye color.
  • Their eye design is basically the same oval shape.
  • They basically have the same coat colors with the other one being slightly lighter or darker in shade.
  • They have the same body type suggesting they're about the same age.
  • They are of the same race. Both are pegasus ponies.
  • They are both female/mares.

Differences

  • They have different hair styles.
  • Their hair colors are different.
  • Cloudchaser has eye liners or just a more noticeable natural eye outline.
  • Flitter is wearing a pink bow.
  • F They have contrasting personalities (based on appearance).

Lotus and Aloe

Similarities

  • They have the same hairdo.
  • They have similar eye color.
  • They both have a Rarity-like eye design.
  • They have the same color scheme.
  • They have the same body type suggesting they're about the same age.
  • They are of the same race. Both are Earth ponies.
  • They are both female/mares.
  • They have the same cutie mark.
  • They wear the same accessories.
  • F Their personality is similar.

Differences

  • Their hair colors are swapped.
  • Their coat colors are swapped.

Fanon Tropes

  • Always Identical Twins: Flitter and Cloudchaser.
    • Lotus and Aloe are a straighter example. They look exactly like each other except for the fact that they have swapped color schemes.
  • Half-Identical Twins: Flitter and Cloudchaser are similar enough to be interpreted as twins but are still different enough to be seen as a rare case of female fraternal twins.
  • Hair Contrast Duo: Lotus and Aloe. Not just their hair but their coats are also included.
  • Twincest: This sort of shipping wasn't just innevitable with both sets of twins, but also pretty damn popular around the fandom.
  • Sibling Yin-Yang: Lotus and Aloe's color schemes are the same except that they've been swapped.
    • Flitter and Cloudchaser seem to be like this personality-wise.

The Music Ponies

Apparently, all the "music ponies" in Equestria know each other if Fanon is to be believed. This list includes all musician ponies and background ponies with music related cutie marks. Take note that not every music ponies are listed here at the moment due to lack of notability or that we haven't added them as of yet.

Vinyl Scratch and Octavia

Due to the stark contrast in their preference of music genres and personalities, it's very common to see Vinyl Scratch and Octavia as rivals, best friends or even lovers (often in a form of a love-hate relationship). Vinyl Scratch usually gets on Octavia's nerves due Scratch's brash behavior. Octavia is usually depicted as the Blue Oni to Vinyl's Red Oni. The duo is often placed into a Straight Mare and Wise Pony scenario, acting as each other's Foils. There's a recurring Running Gag in fan work where Octavia remarks something about Vinyl (often criticism) and she'll take Octavia's remark as if it were a compliment usually "Oh, Octavia. You say the nicest things." or something similar. Vinyl will often attempt to lighten-up the serious and uptight Octavia with varying results. When presented with each other's favorite music genre, reactions ranges from utter annoyance and dislike to the point of covering their ears in agony to making fun of/mocking each other's musical preferences though depictions of them giving each other's preferences a chance is not unheard of.

Lyra and Octavia

Lyra is sometimes shown to be friends/rivals to Octavia for the opposite reason, they have similar taste in music and thus competitors.

Blues and others

Blues was sometimes shown to be friends with Lyra and Vinyl before "Best Night Ever" aired and gave us Octavia.

Fanon Tropes

  • Aw, Look -- They Really Do Love Each Other: Usually happens at the end of a shipping story with Octavia in it.
  • Defrosting Ice Queen: Whenever Octavia is involved in a relationship with other characters.
  • Heterosexual Life Partners: Octavia and Scratch are usually depicted as this though portrayals of them in a deeper relationship are also common.
  • Like an Old Married Couple: This is the middle ground depiction to Scratch and Octavia's relationship between Vitriolic Best Buds and Slap Slap Kiss or is used as a subversion / Bait and Switch scenario for what seems to be another shipping fan fiction.
  • One True Pairing: The Octavia and Vinyl Scratch shipping is almost as popular as the Lyra and Bon Bon shipping.
  • Opposites Attract: The driving force behind the Octavia / Scratch shipping.
  • The Rival: In fan works, Lyra and Octavia are usually seen competing with each other. Showing off their musician skills in an attempt to outdo one another.
    • Vinyl Scratch is sometimes seen competing with Octavia as well but most of the time they just argue about why the other's genres suck and why their own genre is better.
  • Slap Slap Kiss: This is usually the case when Tsundere!Octavia and Vinyl Scratch are depicted as a couple.
  • Straight Man and Wise Guy: The pony that usually fill the role of the straight mare is Octavia while Lyra and Vinyl Scratch are usually the wise ponies. Blues doesn't seem to have a prominent role as of yet.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: Scratch and Octavia are often depicted with this kind of relationship when they're depicted as best friends.

Lyra and Bon Bon

Another popular fanon pairing (even more than shipping the main characters) is two background ponies. Lyra is mentioned above. Bon Bon is a cream-coated earth pony with a blue and pink mane. Of the two, Bon Bon has had the most speaking parts (Bon Bon's parts include looking for Fluttershy in "Green Isn't Your Colour", fending off Apple Bloom's advances in "Call of the Cutie", gushing over the enchanted Smartypants doll in "Lesson Zero", complaining about her rotten cider in "The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000", and wanting to hear a joke in "Putting Your Hoof Down", whereas Lyra had no lines at all until A Canterlot Wedding - PArt 1). The idea started when these two ponies were shown together in the background of some scenes (as background ponies tend to do), with fans liking the idea of them being in a relationship. The main reason the two ended up together in the show was more 'aesthetic reasons'. Fan reaction helped persuade the artist behind the San Diego Comic-Con poster to put them together. Looking at each other. Most fanworks, whether text or art, have them as at least good friends, with Bon Bon occasionally reacting to Lyra's human-like habits (see Lyra above). As a nod to the fans, the crew put the two of them in the background of an episode where they appear together by a well, only to have Derpy pop out of the well and ruin their moment. Later, another episode showed Bon Bon wearing a saddlebag with a clip shaped like Lyra's cutie mark.

Fanon Tropes

  • Heterosexual Life Partners: Although they're almost always depicted as lesbians in fan work, them being just close friends are not unheard of.
  • One True Pairing: Of all the shipping pairings in this fandom, there seems to be some unwritten law of fanart/fanfiction that these two are not to be shipped with anypony but each other.
    • How extensive is this? The first reaction to any other pairing is cries of "Lyra is cheating on Bon Bon!" and vice versa.
  • Running Gag: Lyra's eccentric behavior is usually met with a Face Palm from Bon Bon in fan work.
  • Satellite Character: Outside of their relationship, Lyra still has her interests in humanity, but Bon Bon generally only has her varying voice (which in the show isn't even specific to her).
  • Straight Man and Wise Guy: Their usual role when in a comedy story in fan work.
  • Tomboy and Girly Girl: Bon Bon is usually depicted as the girly girl and Lyra as the tomboy.

Caramel and Big Macintosh

Caramel first appeared in the season 1 episode “Winter Wrap Up” alongside Big Macintosh, looking rather guilty. Big Macintosh wanted to talk with Applejack but before he could explain anythingm AJ already responded with “Oh, good gravy. Caramel lost the grass seeds again, didn't he?”

The fact that Caramel was one of a few background ponies with an official name immediately created the interest of the fans. Soon the first people started to ship him with Big Macintosh and eventually “CaraMac” became a popular – if not the most popular – male pairing in the Fandom.

Fanon Tropes

Berry Punch and Ruby Pinch

Fans have always depicted them as mother and daughter. This is due to a scene in the episode "Bride Gossip" where we see Berry Punch pulling Ruby Pinch into her house to protect her from Zecora. Both Berry Punch and Ruby Pinch also appeared in Diamond Tiara's cute-ceañera party in the episode "Call of the Cutie". Cute-ceañera happens to be a celebration for ponies who just got their cutie marks. Ruby Pinch was a blank flank when she appeared in "Bridle Gossip" but she now bears a three gems cutie mark in this episode. Fans have interpreted this that Ruby Pinch was also celebrating her newly acquired cutie mark and that this is also the reason why Berry Punch was there further hinting that the two are related somehow. The show hasn't hinted exactly how these two are related to each other however. For all we know she might be her aunt, older sister, legal guardian, foster parent, nanny, babysitter or even a random stranger who happens to see a vulnerable filly in front of her house. We may never know for sure but what is certain is that their mother-daughter relationship has become a part of the brony community's collective fanon.

Fanon Tropes

  • My Beloved Smother: Berry Punch's other Fan Nickname, Over Protective Parent Pony (more commonly referred to as OPPP), is a reference to their scene in "Bridle Gossip" though the trope itself is rarely if not at all invoked in their fan depictions.

Screwball and Discord

Discord and Screwball as father and daughter is a popular fanon relationship between these two characters. How this came to be[22][23] is still under research. It seems to come from the fact that Screwball only appeared during Ponyville's "chaos-ification", her out of the ordinary swirly eyes, her screwy behavior, her suspiciously accurate cutie mark,[24] and her physics defying means of locomotion.[25]

Fanon Tropes

Other Relationships

Thunderlane and Blossomforth

Shipping between these two new characters[26] has already started popping up. Probably due to their interaction with each other in a scene in "Hurricane Fluttershy".

The Screwy Mares[27]

A fanon relationship involving Derpy Hooves, Screwball and Screw Loose as best friends.

Fanon Tropes

  1. ↑ which is a pony version of a real occasion called "Quinceañera"
  2. ↑ he previously appeared as early the end of "Mare In The Moon", but his cutie mark wasn't visible
  3. ↑ And one does appear on him in The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000.
  4. ↑ Base models (no extra parts like wings or cutie marks) of both Doctor Whooves and Derpy Hooves can be seen beside each other as part of a crowd scene in The Mysterious Mare Do Well. This was probably intentional to lessen production time or they're just animation errors
  5. ↑ A lyre is a small and portable harp like instrument
  6. ↑ based on the color of her magic aura in her first One-Scene Wonder
  7. ↑ which is a generic accessory for a DJ character
  8. ↑ A person who is more active at night than during the day
  9. ↑ AND HER ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE
  10. ↑ See "A Family of Clones" and this section's "Fanon Tropes" folder for the others
  11. ↑ Fans have the tendency of interpreting ponies that are beside each other in a scene as either friends, couples, or relatives.
  12. ↑ Which seems to be the equivalent of humans kissing.
  13. ↑ how can this even happen given the ponies distinct designs left unexplained
  14. ↑ Elosande is also known for drawing Derpy and Carrot Top comic sketches which have also solidified the "I emptied your fridge" Running Gag meme and the notion that they live in the same house.
  15. ↑ That is, if you actually call him "Whooves"
  16. ↑ the painter pony from "Call of the Cutie"
  17. ↑ Sparkler and the other big sisters are shown in the stands watching themselves race
  18. ↑ A common back up to this theory comes from the episode "Cutie Mark Chronicles" where we see her among the crowd in a flashback where the mane cast were still fillies. Another explanation involves the Derpy Hooves/Doctor Whooves shipping fanon where it claims that Derpy doesn't age due to an incident caused by the pony Doctor.
  19. ↑ Not sure what this part of clothing is called
  20. ↑ The Shadow Archetype to the Doctor.
  21. ↑ This form was formerly a brunet
  22. ↑ like how Discord can have a daughter of a different species though this is Discord we're about here so it kinda makes this question moot.
  23. ↑ or how the fandom came up with this conclusion in the first place.
  24. ↑ which consist of a baseball and two screws which begs the question on how a pony could get such a cutie mark and how being screwy is a talent
  25. ↑ though this might be just Discord's altered version of Physics™ in the works
  26. ↑ though technically Blossomforth already appeared in Merchandise before
  27. ↑ There is no universally accepted name for their group as of yet. This name serves only as a placeholder.
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/My_Little_Pony:_Friendship_Is_Magic/Analysis/Background_Ponies?oldid=1886831"