Before Twilight could use the spell, all ten of the group shed their illusions with fanged grins. The foal-sized changelings didn't have as many holes in their legs as the adults, Twilight observed. She wondered if the holes appeared with age.
The changelings surrounded her and Spike in a tight circle. She cast an expanding shield spell that startled them enough for her to dart through a gap in the circle. She leaped into the air, Spike just clambering onto her back in time. She banked dangerously to the side as Spike slipped, brushing past buildings with barely a hair's breadth of air separating her head from solid brick. Finally she righted herself and shot into the air, away from the maze of the town and the ensuing chaos as several more changelings revealed themselves. The mental exhaustion still left her with a hazy head, and she could barely keep ahead of her pursuers. Spike breathed fire at them, but they weren't very intimidated by the baby dragon.
With the last of her energy, Twilight turned her gaze to Canterlot and focused until her head throbbed.
Suddenly she was in Canterlot with Spike nearly falling off her back again. She felt sick about leaving the town in peril, but she needed help from the royal guards.
"Celestia! Luna!" she shouted, in a voice that came out a lot shriller than she had intended. She caught a glimpse of Celestia's mane in the castle window and buzzed through, nearly trimming her wings on the stone wall. Celestia stood up from where she sat at her desk and looked at her former student with wide eyes.
"That was quite a risky move, Twilight. You could have broken your wing, or knocked Spike off your back!"
"I need reinforcements in Ponyville, now! There are twenty five changelings flying around kidnapping townsponies!"
Celestia flinched, and it seemed like she was about to be angry. Twilight stepped back, ears pinned flat with fear.
Then the aurora-maned alicorn thought better of it. "I'll send a few guards your way, and I'll teleport you back. You look like you're low on magic." She gave the order to the guard standing watch outside the room. He ran off to relay the order.
"Chrysalis's hive is in the North Mountains beyond Equestria."
"That's near the Crystal Kingdom. I'll let Cadence know. She can send guards out to search, and I'll suggest she warn Yakyakistan as well. I can't lie to you, it doesn't look good from what I can tell. Chrysalis has made several small invasions over the years, since before you were born. I think she was testing our defenses. We underestimated her. She and her army won't be so easily defeated this time."
"But they can be defeated," Twilight said, remembering the wedding day.
"Yes. I have been making my own plans. Luna is maintaining the reinforced shield right now. It's time you went back and helped your friends." She looked out the window and concentrated, and in the next instant they were standing in the center of Ponyville. Celestia glanced around at the chaos and then at her pupil.
"I have confidence in you. Manehattan needs my help. I'll check back with you later."