Basayen sits in the university cafe, unlike Aurora, at the moment, watching the fight proceed from afar, though his mind is on other things. Without money, he can do little. Without influence, he can do less. So the first order of business...establish a presence. How to do this, though? The zebra considers and discards solutions one by one. Eventually, he finds he has two options, really.
First, to work for, spy on, blackmail, bribe, intimidate, impress, and otherwise take positions of power over or with the nobility.
Second, to work for, spy on, blackmail, bribe, assassinate key figures of, intimidate, and otherwise take over the criminal element of the city.
He would, of course, prefer to do both, but to try to do too much at once ensures that nothing will be done at all. For now, one group would do, and he can take over the second after he has an appreciable power base.
For now, the nobility would be a more suitable target, if he can do so quietly...who to start with, though? Spying was needed. Tonight, he'd make runes around town, perception runes, relatively simple and quick to make, especially with his hoof. Disguise them as something or other, even as just the pattern in a net or the way the bricks are stained on a wall. Work 'look-at-me-not' spells into their casting...
The zebra smiles, sipping at a small cup of self-made tea using leaves from his homeland. It was time to see how ponies felt about introducing Quagisian politics.