Mam'selle Cirque Reference

Story/Bio

Welcome mares and stallions - no fillies or gentlecolts here. Tonight you'll see wonders and bizarre absurdities; you'll be challenged, you'll be shocked but above all you will be entertained. Welcome, to Cirque du Mam'selle. Home to the most beautiful, the most talented, and the most varied herd of ponies that for one night only, will be performing solely for your pleasure. Mam'selle herself beckons you, will you join us?

Mam'selle Cirque, the colourful, mysterious, elegant ringmaster of Cirque du Mam'selle, the circus that travels around Equestria catering to darker pleasures. There are the requisite acrobats, clowns and fire breathers so associated with circuses, but there are also burlesque performers, chimera tamers and other strange and wonderful talents. This is not a circus foals will be coming to, or indeed any respectable pony should be seen at. Rumour has it that Discord was a patron of the Cirque du Mam'selle, and may still drop in of a night.

Mam'selle herself is an enigma. The every day pony would swear she is a tall, voluptuous grey unicorn, but the performers in her Cirque know that Mam'selle is truly an earth pony. Whispers say that the horn is an heirloom of the Cirque, wielded exclusively by its ringmaster who is thereby enabled to perform magic like a unicorn, regardless of their birth species. Mam'selle occasionally performs and her shows could be described as an illusionist meets burlesque - she doesn't perform often though and only to select, exclusive audiences that never speak of what they see. 

Mam'selle and her Cirque are spoken of in hushed tones by the adults, but how the whispers travel. Who was seen sitting ringside last night, who was chosen to take part in the infamous Twins' Chair Solicitation, who was hypnotised into almost selling their special somepony to a performer. Strange magic gets woven in Mam'selle's Big Top, and everypony wants a ticket. Perhaps you'll be lucky enough to win one for tonight. Perhaps Mam'selle will take a shine to you and invite you into the ring...

Design Notes

Mam'selle is an earth pony originally, but she almost always appears as a statuesque grey unicorn in public. Her outfit consists of a red short jacket that covers only her forelegs and her upper back, which goes over a deep blue and gold corset with a golden chain detail. She is usually never without her black velvet top hat.

Her mane and tail is a deep purple-black, and her mane style covers the right side of her face, but she does have both eyes (though some whisper she's missing her right one and hides it with an eyepatch). Mam'selle adores full, long eyelashes and adorns herself with glittering gold makeup both on her eyelids and under her eye to emphasise the violet of her irises. Her cutie mark is a circus big top coloured like the tent the Cirque du Mam'selle operate out of.

Wow I really wanted a circus themed OC and the idea wouldn't let go of me until I'd finished her reference sheet! I'm really proud of her, and have loads of story ideas in my head that have Mam'selle interacting with my other OCs. Gypsy was probably part of the Cirque at some point for example, and Sunstar no doubt would have run into Mam'selle's doings occasionally.