Yet more Fiendship is Magic: European Villain history edition.

So. Not only were those Day of the Dead covers drop-dead gorgeous: the other covers, the ones depicting the actual villains, are all based on Italian renaissance paintings of real-life villains. This is relevant to my interests.

King Sombra is Rodrigo fucking Borgia. Why does this fill me with delight?

As a matter of fact all the famous Borgias are represented, with Tirek as Cesare and Chrysalis as Lucrezia.

...If Tirek is Cesare Borgia, does that mean Scorpan is Giovanni?

Tirek was defeated by friendship after betraying the one closest to him. Cesare Borgia was betrayed by the new pope, who had been elected only because he promised Cesare his eternal friendship.

...Is there a pony Machiavelli writing about all these people?

Comments

[FanOfMostEverything]

Of course there is. Who would be a better Machiavelli than the princess?

[Daedalus Aegle]

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I think if someone wrote The Prince in Equestria, Celestia would have it banned as dangerous and seditious literature Somebody else would write it down, but their work would be locked away and only accessed by those with special permission from the Princess, and as a result they would be all but forgotten by history...

...

*Turns to look at Star Swirl*

...Right.