Trixie stepped forward, out of the darkness of the forest, locking eyes with Rover as she strode towards them purposefully.
"I am the Great and Powerful Trixie, and I believe I can help you get all the gems you need from those selfish Ponyville ponies!" she said, hoping that the simpleminded canines would be suitably impressed.
Rover, slightly calmer by now, stepped towards Trixie with a confused look on his face.
"Who?" he asked, quizzically.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie!" Trixie repeated, "I am the greatest unicorn magician in all of Equestria, and possibly the greatest who has ever lived!"
All three Diamond Dogs simply stared at Trixie, blank looks adoring their faces. They looked towards each other, shrugging as they did so. Trixie facehoofed, and attempted to win them over once again.
"I don't even know where to start with you." she began, cockily. "I mean, do you even know who you're talking to? Do you have ANY idea - any idea of who I am?"
More blank stares met this.
"Basically, kind of a big deal." continued Trixie, attempting to rally the increasingly catatonic-looking dogs before her. "I'm a force of nature, the ponies of Ponyville will be powerless to stop me from getting their gems for you!" she finished, grandly.
"Oh, really?" Rover said suspiciously "And what makes Trixie pony think Diamond Dogs want or need her help? And what does Trixie pony get out of helping Diamond Dogs?"
"The Great and Powerful Trixie has an ongoing feud with the denizens of Ponyville." Trixie began to explain. "They enacted a great injustice upon her many months ago, and now she has returned for revenge! That is what Trixie wants from this. As for why you should let me help you..."
----------
Trixie began to regale the now-entranced Diamond Dogs with outlandish, exaggerated and just plain fabricated tales of her exploits. She told them her now-legendary yarn of how she defeated an Ursa Major, and her epic (but equally fictional) battle against Celestia, in which she fought the sun Goddess to a standstill using nothing but a good luck charm and a twig.
"... and legend has it that it took a team of surgeons three whole days to remove that twig from where Trixie shoved it!" she finished, proudly.
After a long, slightly awkward silence as the Diamond Dogs mentally digested her self-pontification, Spot was the first to speak up.
"So, Trixie pony will go and fight all of Ponyville so we can take the gems?" he asked, hopefully.
"Oh, no." she said quickly, slightly taken aback by the question. "The Great and Powerful Trixie does not just use brute force. I am far too refined to resort to methods so lacking in finesse."
"But Trixie pony told us she beat up Ursa Major and shoved a twig-" interjected Spot.
"Stop talking." Trixie flatly interrupted, with a cold stare into Spot's eyes.
"So, how we get gems?" enquired Fido, not wishing to push the point any further.
"Leech!" called Trixie. "Bring the plans over here and show them to our new friends!"
Leech emerged from the forest's dark shroud, causing Rover, Spot and Fido to flinch slightly. They'd never seen a changeling before, and found Leech's insectoid appearance unsettling. Sticking through a hole in one of Leech's front legs was a large scroll. Trixie's horn glowed, and the rolled parchment slid out of Leech's leg and unfurled in the air in front of the awestruck Diamond Dogs. Trixie glanced at the scroll and immediately turned to Leech.
"Leech, you sieve-shinned screw up! I told you to draw diagrams of my ingenious plan, not doodle all over the scroll!" she spat crossly.
"Thozze are the planzz!" protested Leech. "Zzsee, the zzstepzz are numbered!"
Trixie examined the scroll again. It was covered with simplistic drawings, some of which she didn't even know what they were supposed to be. Yet, as Leech had said, they were numbered and had arrows between them, indicating some sort of sequence. She took a few moments to decipher what they were possibly supposed to resemble, before attempting to explain them to the assembled Diamond Dogs.
"Ahem... this is step one." began Trixie with some trepidation, pointing to the doodle numbered "1".
It showed a badly-drawn blue pony with what appeared to be a purple dunce cap on its head and a tablecloth on its back, three bipedal stick-creatures with pointed ears and collars and an over sized housefly surrounding a large grey blob with a long nose.
"As you can see, the first step is that the five of us sneak into Ponyville and capture one of the elephants-" Trixie stopped herself, suddenly realizing what the grey blob was.
"Leech! I said ELEMENTS of Harmony! Elements!" she shouted through gritted teeth.
Leech smiled sheepishly and shrugged. With a derisive snort, Trixie resumed her explanation.
"As I was saying, we go into town and capture one of the Elements of Harmony" she continued.
Her hoof moved along a slightly crooked arrow to the second drawing, which contained two long-nosed grey blobs, one of which had a big smile and green eyes.
"My changeling assistant here will then take that pony's place..." she explained.
Her eyes focused on the third drawing, which showed the green-eyed blob holding lots of gems, with badly-drawn ponies of various colors all around it. They had sad and angry looks on their faces.
"He will then brazenly loot the entire Festival - the residents of Ponyville won't expect such a daring raid by one of their own, especially not from one of their precious Elements of Harmony." Trixie chuckled darkly.
The next picture showed the same over sized fly from before, dropping what Trixie assumed to be sacks of gems to the three smiling, collar-wearing stick figures below. In truth, the sacks looked more like muffins. Nevertheless, she pressed on.
"You three, after helping to subdue the Element of Harmony we capture, will wait outside the town, where Leech will bring the stolen gems to you. You will then take them far from the town, back to my wagon, and wait for me there."
The Diamond Dogs' ears perked up at this step, Fido even wagging his tail for a short time before an elbow in the ribs from Rover interrupted his joy.
"Pay attention!" Rover hissed.
The final drawing on the scroll showed the purple-dunce-cap-wearing pony with a broad smile on its face, standing atop the grey long-nosed blob from before. Various ponies stood around her, all wearing happy expressions. Trixie explained the meaning behind it:
"After you three and Leech are safely out of town, I will take the real Element of Harmony, who will be a wanted criminal by this stage, and hand them in to the Ponyville authorities." she finished proudly.
"What good that do?" asked Fido.
"Seems like a waste of time to me, why Trixie not just come back to wagon so we can share loot sooner!" yapped Spot.
Trixie quickly thought of an explanation, having not expected the Diamond Dogs to have been this curious or mistrusting of her.
"Well, if the ponies of Ponyville think the thief has been caught, they won't go searching for her, so there's no chance they might find us by mistake." she said, hoping the Diamond Dogs wouldn't catch onto the insincerity of her words.
In reality, Trixie couldn't have cared less about the fates of the dogs after the plan was complete. Fortunately for her, they didn't seem to realize this.
"This seems a good plan, Trixie pony." admitted Rover. "Let me discuss it with my associates."
The three dogs turned their backs on Trixie and Leech, forming a tight huddle.
"Hehehe... this will be too easy." whispered Rover "When we have gems, Diamond Dogs won't go to Trixie pony's wagon, we shall head back to our own home! Then we can keep ALL the gems!"
All three Diamond Dogs snickered quietly among themselves before turning back to face Trixie.
"You have a deal!" said Rover. "Just one question - why must pony we replace be an Element of Harmony?"
Trixie had her reasons for this, but decided not to disclose them to her new canine companions. They knew she had a grudge against Ponyville - they didn't need to know about her personal feud with Twilight Sparkle. That was Trixie's business, and Trixie's alone.
"Like I said before" she explained innocently, "by using an Element of Harmony, the raid will take Ponyville by surprise. Whilst nopony expects a Ponyville pony to go rogue, they REALLY won't expect one of Equestria's protectors to do so! By the time their simple minds process what has happened, we will already have their gems!"
Rover nodded, his curiosity seemingly sated by the lie.
----------
Trixie of course, had her own agenda behind every facet of this plan. She had already instructed Leech to remove the finest and most valuable gems from the haul he was going to steal, and stash them separately to the sacks of gems he was to give to the Diamond Dogs. These precious stones would be Trixie's source of income, replacing the living she could no longer make as a travelling performer. The Diamond Dogs had no interest in the monetary value of gems anyway, so Trixie figured valuable gems would be wasted on them.
The ruining of the gemstone festival would not be a mere by-product of a mass gem theft, but a calculated act on Trixie's part. Ponyville had ruined what should have been a joyous occasion for her, so she was now about to retaliate by doing the same to them.
The decision to use an Element of Harmony as Leech's disguise had nothing to do with taking Ponyville by surprise, although this was an advantageous side-effect. Trixie knew that the most precious thing in Twilight Sparkle's life was her friends. She reveled in the thought of the pain Twilight would suffer, seemingly watching one of her closest friends turn against her and the rest of Ponyville, becoming a criminal before her eyes. Ideally, Trixie would have Twilight herself replaced, thus causing the whole town to turn on her as it had Trixie, but Trixie knew that Twilight was far too powerful to take on directly. She would have to settle for the look on Twilight's face as the royal guards dragged one of her friends away to face trial. Trixie laughed cruelly to herself at the very thought.
Finally, and most importantly, the handing in of the real Element of Harmony to the authorities. This had nothing to do with the reasons Trixie gave, she couldn't care less if the Diamond Dogs were discovered by the ponies. By seemingly capturing and bringing a wanted thief to justice, the ponies of Ponyville would almost certainly see Trixie as a hero. They'd shower her with praise, and maybe even throw a parade in her honor. Perhaps the Gemstone Festival would be replaced with The Great and Powerful Trixie Festival next year! This was the most vital part of the plan, winning Trixie the admiration and attention she had craved so much since her last disastrous visit to Ponyville. Even if it meant a perfectly innocent pony having their life and reputation ruined.
----------
"Uuh... Trixie?" buzzed a small insectoid voice. Trixie, who had been lost in thought, suddenly snapped out of it and looked down at Leech.
"Izz nearly evening! We muzzt get going, we need to hide ourzzelvezz in Ponyville before fezztival beginzz!"
"Uh, of course." replied Trixie "Where are the Diamond Dogs?"
"They went on ahead." replied Leech "Leech wazz waiting for you, but you were zzstaring at the zzsky and laughing to yourzzelf."
Leech and Trixie galloped back through the forest until they caught up with the Diamond Dogs. During the rest of their trek back to Ponyville, the wicked fivesome discussed which of the Elements of Harmony they should try to replace based on the Diamond Dogs' earlier observations and Trixie's own knowledge. Twilight was a no-go, as she was far too powerful and would almost certainly defeat them. The Diamond Dogs refused to go anywhere near Rarity, based on their previous experiences. Rainbow Dash was considered too dangerous and difficult to subdue, given her combination of aggression, flight capabilities and strength. Pinkie Pie would most likely be surrounded by ponies at all times, given her position as party host. Plus, she seemed to have strange powers beyond the laws of nature themselves, which all of the villainous group found unsettling.
In the end, it was decided between the group that either Fluttershy or Applejack should be the pony that Leech committed crimes in the name of. As the Elements of Kindness and Honesty, they would be the last ponies that Ponyville would expect to betray everyone, allowing the villains to use the element of surprise to its fullest. Plus, although Applejack was stronger than Rainbow Dash, she couldn't fly and the Diamond Dogs were confident that between the three of them, they could overpower her. Fluttershy would most likely put up no resistance whatsoever - the only thing that the evildoers would need to beware of was something known as "The Stare". It was crucial that during a confrontation with Fluttershy that they did not make eye contact.
----------
Presently, Trixie and her band of desperadoes approached the top of a hill, overlooking the town. They could see that the party was already in full swing and had been for some time, which meant most of the populace was at Sugarcube Corner. A few ponies remained outside, making final preparations. They had to act quickly if they were to pull off the plan - soon the traders and exhibitions would open, and ponies would fill the streets. If this happened before everything was in place, they would have no chance of taking a pony's place without being seen.
Trixie peered hard at the brightly-lit town below. She could see her nemesis, Twilight Sparkle, leaving her library en route to Sugarcube Corner. Her dragon minion followed behind, seemingly chattering excitedly about a large blue gem he held in his claws. As they vanished from sight, a distant movement caught Trixie's attention. She glanced towards the outskirts of the town - she could just make out the form of a pink-and-yellow pegasus heading into town from the Everfree border. This could only be Fluttershy. As she drew nearer, Trixie noticed she was carrying something in a saddle-bag.... a book? That meant she was heading for the now-empty library! This was almost too perfect - their chance had come!
Taking care not to be seen, the miscreant quintet made their way down the hill, and hid behind the gigantic hollow tree that was the town's library. Trixie ordered Leech to stay outside and stand guard in case Twilight returned. Trixie would call him inside to take Fluttershy's form when she had been successfully captured. Trixie and the Diamond Dogs opened the library door (because apparently no-one in Ponyville bothered to lock anything), slipped inside. They stood, poised and waiting, with their backs to the wall at either side of the doorway, ready to jump the unfortunate Pegasus as soon as she entered the room.
Leech had hidden himself in the branches of the tree. This gave him a good all-around view of the town square, and thanks to the myriad of balconies and windows hidden in the tree's upper trunk he could quickly get inside when Trixie called him or if he needed to warn Trixie of something. As Trixie had predicted, Leech soon saw Fluttershy approaching the library, a thick tome in her saddle-bag.
As Fluttershy came within a few meters of the library door, however, Leech lost his footing slightly. He luckily managed to retain his balance, but he'd made a loud rustle among the tree's branches in doing so. This had scared the timid pegasus, and she had instinctively reared up, throwing the book out of her saddle-bag. It landed with a squelch in a small patch of mud on the ground nearby.
"Oh dear" sighed Fluttershy, picking up the now-muddy book. "It wouldn't be kind of me to give Twilight's book back like this! I'll take this back home and drop it off there before I go to the party. I'll clean it up tomorrow morning, I'm sure Twilight won't mind if it's a little bit late."
With this, she turned around and began to trot away.
Leech was mortified - he couldn't believe it! He'd managed to ruin everything again, without even trying! He wondered if he should go and tell Trixie what had happened. Then he remembered the disastrous show in Trottingham, and didn't want Trixie to be upset with him again. Instead, he decided it would be a better plan to just wait and hope that Fluttershy would come back. It wasn't an especially clever plan, but if nothing else it'd give him more time to think of an excuse.
----------
Elsewhere in town, Rainbow Dash was cantering down a side street. She'd never really understood all the hoo-hah about gems - they didn't fly, or explode, or shoot lasers or any cool stuff like that. Although she enjoyed the opportunity to spend time with her friends, she often got bored quickly at gemstone festivals and left early. As she emerged from the street into the main town square, she noticed the library lights were still on.
"Weird." she thought. "Twilight and Spike are at the party! Maybe she's left the library open with someone else looking after it? Or maybe she's forgotten to turn the lights off? Either way, I'd better check it out. Plus, I wonder if she's got the newest Daring Do book yet?"
She changed direction and trotted towards the library.
Leech, in the upper reaches of the tree, was curled up with his front legs over his face. He was rocking back and forth, thinking what Trixie would say when she realized Fluttershy wasn't coming and that they'd have to abandon the plan. He felt dreadful at the thought of disappointing his friend again, and even more dreadful about the possible punishments.
"Leech izz zzstupid! Why Leech not do anything right?" he wailed.
Suddenly, out of the corner of his vision he noticed the silhouette of a pegasus entering the library. Leech was overjoyed.
"Shy Pony came back!" he buzzed with quiet glee. "Now Trixie won't be mad at Leech!"
The muted sounds of a scuffle began to emerge from the library below, causing Leech to feel a peculiar mix of relief and pity for the poor pony that Trixie and the Dogs were doubtlessly pummeling at this very moment. Still, at least Trixie wouldn't be cross with him anymore!
Unbeknown to Leech, however, Trixie was cross with him - or rather she would have been if she wasn't so scared.
She and the Diamond Dogs had lunged at the pegasus who entered the library the second she had walked through the door, realizing slightly too late that it was not the pegasus they were looking for. Rainbow had managed to evade the four assailants with ease, using her fast reflexes and agile wings to their fullest. She had doubled back on her attackers and was now standing between them and the library's only exit. She was reared up on two legs, and snorting fiercely.
"I don't how you creeps got in here," she snarled, "but you're gonna be leaving on stretchers!"
The three nervous canines and the somewhat-less-confident-than-usual unicorn steeled themselves for a titanic struggle they hadn't been expecting.
This was not going to be as easy as they thought.