Hey, if you can't beat them, join them. Then murder them under the guise of an accident, inherent their wealth, and go cruising the world with money an minions. Seems like a pretty solid plan, and it's not like "being a hero" comes with an hourly pay rate or medical benefits. ;)
Which is a lot easier to do if you are rich enough you need not worry about money ever again. (Unless and until you somehow manage to spend it all, so there are still some limits, but adventuring is easier to do without needing a 9-to-5 Mon-to-Fri job to pay the rent.)
And if you can get that way by removing a threat to the world, hey, bonus.
I dunno. I think if I was rich, I'd get too lazy to adventure. You'd have headlines that read "BBEG takes over city because Deeg busy enjoying swim in money vault." XD
If Equestria is anything like the UK, however, Blueblood's assets don't belong to him but to the state - or at least to Celestia. And if she has anything to say about it, Rarity wouldn't inherit anyway. Her only real chance is to *actually* loot the Treasury.
Remember, in this setting the Wonderbolts are an entire guild of kill crazy mercenaries, who like that lifestyle so much they organized so they could do it for a living.
That was from an episode where they literally were on a boat... however, in this context it could easily be reinterpreted as a Sea Org of the billion year contract reference.
Oh snap, sorry for the double post, but I realized something even crazier:
Rarity, if Blueblood really IS Elusive, could use this as a setup to discredit Blueblood in public, leave him without contact with the Thieves Guild, AND take over the Thieves Guild, ALA Liara and the Shadow Broker in Mass Effect 2!
You sir are an evil genius, however I doubt Elusive would let himself fall into a trap like that when he knows what Rarity is like after having her work under him.
Except Liara KILLED the old Shadow Broker before taking over the operation, and I don't think murdering Celestia's nephew would go over very well with said princess even if he IS running the Thieves' Guild. In fact, that sounds like an excellent way to commit suicide in this setting.
Then again, I am probably taking your example a little too literally in which case I apologize. Still, I agree that Rarity could easily take over the Thieves' Guild by using her position to discredit him in the eyes of the guild before taking over herself. HOW she'd prevent him from becoming a future threat is another thing entirely since, if he IS Elusive, he is no doubt a skilled Social Rogue in his own right. Once he became aware of the threat, which her deposing him would make ABUNDANTLY clear, he's not likely to just let it go. He'd find some way to take the Guild back unless she found a way to neutralize him permanently. The trick is doing so WITHOUT angering Celestia.
I've always been infatuated with making my villains interesting. Giving them actual motivations and the flaw of a twisted worldview. Just once I want to see my players try to redeem a big bad of mine instead of killing them. These more... complex relationships with a major villain aren't something I thought about before, but now, you've gotten me interested. A campaign I'm running right now has a perfect opportunity for one of those... who knows. Newbiespud: Making GM's better one day at a time.
And if you can get that way by removing a threat to the world, hey, bonus.
Rarity, if Blueblood really IS Elusive, could use this as a setup to discredit Blueblood in public, leave him without contact with the Thieves Guild, AND take over the Thieves Guild, ALA Liara and the Shadow Broker in Mass Effect 2!
Then again, I am probably taking your example a little too literally in which case I apologize. Still, I agree that Rarity could easily take over the Thieves' Guild by using her position to discredit him in the eyes of the guild before taking over herself. HOW she'd prevent him from becoming a future threat is another thing entirely since, if he IS Elusive, he is no doubt a skilled Social Rogue in his own right. Once he became aware of the threat, which her deposing him would make ABUNDANTLY clear, he's not likely to just let it go. He'd find some way to take the Guild back unless she found a way to neutralize him permanently. The trick is doing so WITHOUT angering Celestia.