The earth shakes, and the ground split open miles from Beacon's home.

The day had been slow, and Beacon was shut up in his apartment. The dark unicorn was bent low over his desk, quill gripped in his bright green magic. A few missing letters there, some typos here, a few large circles around passages that needed to be reworded; the work of a proofreader was dull work. But it paid his bills, at least for now, until he could save up enough horse shoes to take off somewhere more exciting. 

Canterlot wasn’t too boring, at least not compared to Ponyville. Ponyville had been Smoke Beacon’s birth place, a place so unimaginably boring he had hightailed it out of there for the “big city” almost as soon as he got his cutie mark.

Some high life he was living, alone in his room circling “C”s that had been swapped with “S”s. 

And, then, the earth shook. Beneath Beacon’s hooves the floor trembled, rattling his walls and sending books tumbling off shelves. The unicorn stumbled, ink and papers rattling and fluttering off his desk, his current copies only saved from the ink splatter by a quick flick of his tail.

The tremor went on for several long minutes, long enough for Beacon to canter from his third floor apartment and down to the street of Canterlot proper.

The crowd was wild, screaming and running and ponies fleeing in all directions. Even as the shaking stopped, the commotion continued, fillies and colts crying for their mothers and grown ponies fleeing for shelter under tables.

The world was silent for a long moment before Smoke began to move again, galloping up the hill towards the castle. He sprinted until his legs burned, determined to find the highest point in the city to survey the damage. One of the higher struts of the canterlot library was his best bet, he decided, knowing full well he wouldn't be allowed to trot into the castle to look down from their walls. As he ran through the library and up the stairs, he could hear guards calling after him.
“Wait-”

“Sir, there might be aftershocks-”

But he paid them no mind. He knew from up here he could see the whole city, even see to Ponyville when the weather was clear. He had family in Ponyville. He needed to know.

When Smokey burst through the door he was beginning to see spots. He wasn’t the most athletic of unicorns, and he had just run from one side of the city clear to the other. He leaned heavily against the railing, eyes closed and breath coming in harsh pants as he fought for his second wind.

He found it immediately when he opened his eyes. 

From her perch high atop the spiraling tower, he could see all of Canterlot, and down to Ponyville and the Everfree Forest. From this spot he could see it, clear as day; dark and jagged like a wound, the earth had split from the Unicorn Mountains down to the forest. Ponyville now stood on the edge of a canyon into the unknown.

Smoke Beacon was off at a sprint once more, even as his chest and legs protested. But he did not dare slow, there was no knowing if time was of essence. 

All he knew for certain was he needed to pack his bags and head home to Ponyville.