From the headcanon inspired by ‘‘Shedding Anxiety’’ (hilarious short story, good world-building). I don’t know whether to make this semi-serious (Applebloom getting in touch with her roots), or silly (Octavia’s yearly prancing sneaks up on her, causing her to embarrass herself by randomly rolling around in a field, or prancing like a deer)
Applebloom woke up one fine spring morning, birds singing, sun shining. She could smell the apple trees standing outside her window, the fresh soil after last night’s rain, the clean scent of the breeze. She felt strange, however, like her body had a mild electric current running through it, but she ignored it, thinking it was just nerves since she had a presentation she had to present to the class today. After breakfast, she met up with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, and they went on their way to school. Applebloom didn’t notice that every step she took on the dirt road leading out of Sweet Apple Acres left behind a little patch of sparse, newly-grown grass.
Taking her seat, Applebloom couldn’t help but fidget in her seat. She felt a strange urge to jump out the nearest window and go for a run, and run until she couldn’t take another step. Strangely enough, she wasn’t the only pony in class who had trouble sitting still. Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, even Ms. Cheerilee was lightly prancing from one hoof to the others. Perhaps Cheerilee noticed the restlessness from part of her class, dismissing class early, but Applebloom’s “nerves” didn’t fade. Saying a quick “I’ll talk to you later!” to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, Applebloom sped home, reveling in the rush of wind in her mane, the feel of her hooves pounding the earth.
“Whoa Applebloom, where’s the fire?” joked Applejack as Applebloom entered the farmhouse, dusty and sweaty, breathing heavily. Applejack had a pretty good idea of what had gotten into her. She too felt the first stirrings within her the other day. Being older, she had more control, but she remembered the annual call of nature. It came every year, right around this time. It only affected earth ponies, and it was always around this time of year.