Uncle groaned to himself as he struggled to keep the three fillies in line. While them starting to talk had made being understood by them easier - Scootaloo, for example, could no longer claim she hadn't understood a directive with big cute eyes - they also became bored more easily with their normal activities, and were much more vocal and demanding about their boredom and desire for entertainment.

"Aiyah!" Uncle cried out desperately as yet another cry of "Bohhd!" from three high-pitched voices echoed through the shop. "Can't you three keep yourselves entertained for ten minutes? Uncle has research to do!"

All three fillies stared up at him desperately. Sweetie Belle added a soft whimpering squeak. "Unca..." she whimpered. "Bohd..."

Uncle stared down at the three for a time, then finally sighed. "Uncle does not have time just now for stories. Uncle has to mind the shop. Customers coming in." The three continued to stare at him. Groaning, he stood up. "Maybe something on TV will entertain you...Uncle not like using TV, but Uncle is desperate..."

Leading them into the other room, he grabbed the TV remote and started flipping through channels, trying to find something that would entertain the fillies for a half hour while not being 'mindless drivel'. "Hmm...no," he grumbled as he flicked off an image of several teenagers in colored uniforms beating up faceless mooks. "No martial arts shows until they actually learn martial arts. Don't want them imitating until they know what they're doing." He glanced briefly at the next show, and changed again. "Talking sponge? Eeyuck! Too brain rotting, not for my wards!" He carefully examined the next show. "...talking ducks on an adventure? ...interesting, but not right now." He made a mental note to keep track of that show, and then changed the channel once again.

He paused as he watched the rather short intro for the show he'd changed the channel to. "Hmm...teaching science in entertaining ways?" he mused. "Uncle approves. Watch TV that builds brains, not rots them." With that said, Uncle set the remote down out of reach, and left the fillies fascinated with the Television. He stopped before leaving the room as he noticed Apple Bloom and Scootaloo standing up. "Do not dismantle television! Is still under warranty!"

Giggling, Scootaloo sat back down on her cloud as Apple Bloom laid down with a soft smile. The three then locked their eyes on the screen, listening as the man in the white coat on the screen proceeded to explain the science behind volcanoes. All three listened in wide eyed fascination. Each oohed and aahed as they saw the volcano on the screen erupt, and watched intently as the man in white demonstrated the model version.

As the show came to a commercial, the trio raced to the kitchen and the laboratory. Gathering materials from the scraps Uncle had gathered for them to play with, they soon had a paper mache volcano constructed, quick dried with magic, and filled with vinegar and food coloring. Apple Bloom then carefully added the baking soda. The three then watched in wide eyed fascination as the fake lava flowed out over the top.

As they stared, Scootaloo's ears went down. "Too small..." she complained.

Apple Bloom nodded in agreement. It had been far more impressive looking on the TV, despite how small the screen was.

Sweetie Belle glanced up at the books around them...and grinned. "Sweetie has idea!" she squealed happily, pulling out a map book, a book of Lei Lines, and a book of magic.

As the three books were laid open, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom grinned widely.

Uncle smiled as he looked up at the clock. "Hmm...TV works quite well. Fillies have been quiet and peaceful." A frown slowly stole its way over his face as he realized it had been far more than a half hour. "...too quiet..." He suddenly shivered as he felt a strong surge of magic. "Uncle has the wil-"

He flinched as a massive explosion to the northwest shook the city.

"Aiyah!" Uncle screamed out as he raced for his bicycle. "What have they done this time?"

Somewhere between Las Vegas and San Francisco, Shendu grumbled from inside the moving truck that was transporting him. While he understood being low key, it was beneath his dignity as a Demon Sorcerer to be packed up like this. "If only something could ease the monotony of-"

He froze as the surge of powerful Good Chi and Earth Magic shook the very fabric of magic in the world, and a flood of spirit magic and Earth Fire rose into the world.

Had Shendu any blood in his stone form, his face would surely have paled. "On second thought, a long, boring trip to the focal point of all this magic suddenly seems quite appealing..." he whimpered.

Not far Northwest of San Fransisco, the two sides - north and south - of the San Andreas Fault intersected with the San Gregoro Fault, making it a natural breeding ground for tectonic action. It also happened to be a place where several of the Ley Lines running through the West Coast of the continent intersected, making it a hotbed of spiritual activity as well. Thankfully, spiritual activity tended to be overshadowed there by tectonic, so few noticed the former.

As Uncle arrived, however, he saw his three wards sitting atop a massive new volcano, oohing and ahhing as they stared into the caldera, braced by a young woman who seemed to be made of living stone. Grumbling to himself, Uncle stomped right up to the spiritual being. "Pachamama!" he snapped out angrily.

The woman turned to Uncle, flinching back slightly. "...yours?" she asked, gesturing to the fillies.

"For now," Uncle replied as the three fillies looked up at him worriedly. "And they are in very big trouble!" All three hung their heads. "Will Pachamama put things back the way they were?"

The young seeming woman crossed her arms, frowning.

"Does Uncle need to get Uncle's blowfish?" Uncle threatened.

The woman Uncle had identified as Pachamama sighed. "Fine," she grumbled, sinking into the earth. The volcano slowly subsided, sinking back into the ground as the lava was reabsorbed by the Earth, even the streets repairing themselves.

Uncle then picked the three fillies up and deposited them in his bicycle's basket. "You three are grounded," he scolded firmly. "No more unsupervised outings! And no more TV!"

"Awww!" all three fillies pouted.

A few weeks later, Uncle decided that the three had learned their lesson, and allowed them to watch TV again. This time, he'd pre-selected a good 'edutainment' show for them, one recommended by another shopkeeper. After all, where could he go wrong with having them watch a show about kids attending school? He fully intended to enroll them when they were old enough. A whole half day he'd have to himself!

However, he didn't stick around after turning the show on. If he had, he might have reconsidered. The three fillies became absolutely enthralled from the moment the frizzy red head proclaimed, "Seatbelts, everyone!"

As the show ended, Apple Bloom grinned widely. "Bloom has idea!" she squealed happily.