"If you just believe whatever you're told," a voice interrupted, "then you wouldn't have gotten very far as a policemare anyway."
Nyx opened her eyes in surprise, but didn't see anypony else in the alley as she looked around. "What? Who's there?"
"Someone who knows the real reason you got turned away. You being here scares the wrong ponies."
Nyx glared down the alley. She couldn't see anyone. A Throw-your-voice spell, maybe? "Yeah, the clerk in there said as much."
"Not the citizens," the disembodied voice replied. "And not the cops. I'm talking about the ones who have their hooves in some dirty business, but they're never afraid of getting arrested because they make big donations to the Copper's Ball every year." When Nyx blinked in surprise, the voice added, "Don't look so shocked. The Orange family aren't the only ponies of wealth and influence in this city."
Nyx narrowed her eyes. Now she was getting angry. "Oh yeah? Well, I've got connections, too. If that's how they want to play it..."
"Then they'll just wait patiently for the right time to destroy your life, and the lives of everyone you care about," the voice replied. "The ponies I'm talking about know how to work the system. The more powerful ones practically built the system. If you call in favors from the Royal Sisters, they'll just keep their noses clean for a little while. You don't even know who they are, let alone have any evidence they've done anything wrong. But it'll disrupt their business just enough to annoy them, and the next thing you know, Scootaloo gets busted with some illegal substance on her."
Fear mixed in with the anger at the mention of Scootaloo's name, which the disembodied voice apparently saw. "That's right, I know about your friend. And that means they know about her, they just don't care enough to make a move unless you give them a reason."
"But why? Why target me like this? I haven't done anything to them, yet. What am I supposed to do?"
"As for 'why', you just answered your own question. You haven't bothered them yet, but you would, given the chance. You had Equestria in your hooves. But then you gave it back. They can't understand why anyone with that kind of power would ever just give it up, but the smarter ones know that it means you're trouble. Ponies with real integrity always bother them, but when it comes with the strength and connections to put that integrity into practice, that terrifies them."
After a pause, the voice continued, "As for what you should do, that's up to you. If you try to get any kind of job that might give them grief, you'll find yourself blackballed in ten seconds flat. Honestly, the smart thing to do would be to just get back on the train and head home."
Nyx grimaced. She had come all this way in order to become someone who protected ponies from harm. But fighting off monsters from the Everfree Forest was very different from this sort of corruption. It certainly would be easier to go back home and deal with threats that she could actually hit back against. But instead, she replied, "Then I must have taken my stupid-pills this morning, because I think this is exactly why I need to stay here."
She couldn't see the expression on the face of the voice's owner, of course, but they sounded pleased as they said, "I was rather hoping you'd say that. It won't be easy, though. These ponies got where they are in the first place by knowing how to get away with things. You'll be blackballed from any job that might let you give them trouble, and you can't openly make a move since... well, let's face it. You have some very distinct features." There was a pause before the voice added, "I need to go. But I'll be in touch."
Nyx nodded. "Duly noted... but who are you? And why did you tell me all this?"
She received no reply, however. Left alone in the alley, she looked at the torn-up remnants of her acceptance letter. She then set her jaw and headed back out onto the street. She couldn't say she really knew what was going to come of it, but she had an idea and several hours before Scootaloo was scheduled to get back to the apartment to put it into motion.
----------
Once she had returned to the apartment, Nyx took the dress and hat she had worn the previous day. With a sigh, she whispered, "Sorry, Rarity, but it's for a good cause," as she took some scissors and began cutting up the dress, along with some of the other clothes she had brought with her. Whoever the voice was, they were right about one thing. There weren't any other solid black alicorns with turquoise dragon eyes running around, so if she was going to do anything, it couldn't be as Nyx. No... she would become someone else.
It was a story her mother had told her when she was a filly. Not one from any book, but from Twilight's life. A legend that she and her friends had created as part of one of their zany adventures.
After a few hours of work, cutting and sewing the material into a new form, Nyx slipped herself into a dark full-body with holes for her wings. She then put on a pair of goggles and a scarf she had bought on the way home. Topping it off with the wide-brimmed hat Rarity had made, Nyx looked at herself in the mirror. In the reflection, she saw a tall pegasus, the hat keeping her horn hidden while the tinted goggles masked her unusual eyes, and the scarf covered up the rest of her face. With a hidden grin, she pulled the last piece into place, attaching a cape to her neck.
"Maybe Nyx can't do anything in this city," she said to her reflection before rearing up in a pose. "But Mare-Do-Well can!"
Of course, being a masked vigilante alone wouldn't pay the bills, so Nyx had also begun working on a third identity that she could use to get a job. She had brought her old hairband and enchanted glasses as mementos of her fillyhood, but by placing the lenses into new frames, she could hide her dragon-like eyes easily enough. By wearing a vest to keep her wings concealed and a little magic to change the color of her hair and mane, she looked like nothing more than an unusually large unicorn.
"Now then, I'll just have to see about getting another job. Preferably one that'll help me dig up some dirt. Maybe I can ask Mr. Orange to help me out with that..."
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