 In the first episode , a background Pegasus pony is shown in one scene with a cross @-@ eyed stare , the result of an overlooked animator 's joke . The 4chan boards quickly dubbed the character " Derpy Hooves " ( based on the internet slang word " derp " ) and created a more detailed personality for her despite having minimal on @-@ screen time . Faust responded to the fans , and the production team has kept the " Derpy " character with the cross @-@ eyed look starting with " Feeling Pinkie Keen " , where the team incorporated her into a slapstick sight gag . The character has since become a mascot of the fandom . According to supervising director Jayson Thiessen , the teams considered the character " like a little Easter Egg for people to catch " . 
