>Sitting on your porch one night you notice that your lanky neighbor has finally mustered the courage to leave her abode.
>By her ramshackle appearance, you have a sneaky suspicion that she's wearing the same hoodie as her last supply run.
>Her every step is soft and purposeful as she makes her way down the road, like she's worried she'll step on a nonexistent twig.
>Seeing that she's coming towards you, you're guessing she's trying to go to the convenience store down the way.
>Just as she's about to pass you without a word, you clear your throat.
"Evening."
>Immediately she freezes in place, still looking forward and her eyes wide.
>Now that she's standing still, you notice how much she's shaking.
>You rub the back of your neck, feeling bad for making her panic so much.
"...Sorry miss, I didn't mean to scare you. Just... wanted to say hi."
>It takes a moment, but she shuffles around to look at you, her head lowered and her uncovered eye looking up at you.
>"i-itsokay..."
>She mumbles that out quick and quiet like.
>You don't think you've heard her talk before now, so you're a little surprised.
>Her voice wasn't raspy per-say, but it definitely sounded like she doesn't speak often.
>She looks down, clearly mulling something over.
>With a deep breath, she shuts her eyes and lifts her head. "h-huh-hullo t-there!"
>It's still nowhere near loud enough, but it's clear she's trying real hard.
"Hello to you too, miss uh..."
>She keeps her eyes closed as she squeaks out a 'Floor!'
"Hah well... Nice to meet you, Floor. Properly, I mean."
>She straightens up her stance a little and opens her eyes.
>"y-you too..."
>She flinches at a rather loud growling noise.
"Hungry, huh?"
>She nods a bit, her face flush.
>You give the awkward little mare a warm smile and nod back.
"I'll get outta your mane then, you go do your thing."
>She almost forms a small smile of her own before-
>"Nightly night ponely lonely ville~!"
>As a familiar peppy mare's voice rings out in the night, you watch Floor's eyes widen and her ears swivel in the direction of the noise.
>As the chatter gets closer, her breathing quickens.
>She looks downright terrified.
"Floor? Are- are you alrigh-"
>Floor barrels up your porch steps, but as she's just about to shimmy past you, she trips and tackles you flat on your back.
>You now lay with a cowering Floor on your chest.
>Despite her small stature, she still has that earth pony strength, huh?
>While her appearance may suggest otherwise, her mane's slight dampness and the lingering scent of cheap deodorant and apple shampoo tells you that she's cleaner than you thought.
>After making sure a certain bouncy pink pony has passed, you give Floor a gentle pat on the back.
"I think... the coast is clear."
>"nuh-uh..."

"I'm sure she's gone now, Floor."
>"she- she's not!" Floor shrinks a little at her mildly louder outburst, but recovers quickly and puts her shaky hooves on your cheeks. "h-hide me..."
>She presses her face into your chest, resulting in her mane flowing over you as you stare at her alert ears, still listening out for party pony noises.
>"please..." She whimpers.
>Floor's heart is beating like a drum that someone threw down a flight of stairs and from the sound of it, she's trying really hard not to cry.
>Jeez, what did Pinkie do to her? She's traumatized...
>You hesitantly lift a hand and set it atop her head.
>Her mane is still a little wet, but it's nearly dry now.
>You pet her head in a reassuring manner, but as you do, you hear... something.
>It sounds like music.
>And it's coming this way.
>You lift your head as best you can and squint up the road.
>What is... oh.
>You stare blankly at the musical number being led by Pinkie at the top of the hill.
>A gaggle of enthusiastic foals in pajamas bound around and sing along with Pinkie while various other ponies join in from their houses as they pass.
>They're still too far to be completely certain, but you deduce that the song is about... bedtime?
>It's a pretty noisy song for a bedtime anthem... It's certainly no lullaby.
>"idon'twannasingagainpleasedon'tmakemeplease..."
>You glance down at a frantically mumbling Floor and give her a sympathetic look.
>You think it's pretty obvious that this isn't the first time she's been caught up in Pinkie's impromptu songs in the middle of the night...
>You can only imagine the hell a timid shut-in like her went through. Ponk means well but you don't think she know what 'peer-pressure' is.
>Or personal space, for that matter...
>No wonder Floor is scared senseless. Pinkie is hikikomori kryptonite.
>Maybe... you should invite her inside until this all blows over.
>They're getting close.
>Real close.
>You give Floor a little shake and she listlessly lifts her head.
>Her mane is in her face and all you can see is her snoot and wobbly lower lip.
"I have a feeling you might not want a part in..."
>You wave a hand at Pinkie's Perturbing Pajama Party Parade.
"...All that."
>Floor nods slowly.
"Do you want to hunker down here for a bit until this-"
>She interrupts by nodding a few times in quick succession.
>"mmhm!"
>Floor awkwardly flounders around until she's finally able to roll off you and then slinks over to your front door, her tail between her legs.
>You stretch a little and get up with a sigh.
>Christ that's getting loud.
>You walk over and grip your door's handle.
"Alright, make yourself at home."
>You open up the door with little fanfare... As the fanfare blares a mere block away.
>Floor brushes her mane out of her face and gives one last worried glance to all the singing ponies.
>She looks up and searches your face for a while.
>She lowers her head in a small bow and smiles.
>"t-th-thankyouforhavingme..."
>With that, she darts inside.

>You walk on inside and close the door behind you, muffling the sound of enthusiastic singing that was now just a house away.
>Man, Pinkie is really giving it her all, huh? The shutters are uh- are shuddering a bit.
>You wonder if you can file a noise complaint...
>You stifle a yawn and turn to face your dim living room.
>You weren't expecting guests, so it wasn't particularly tidy, but at least it was clean.
>It takes a moment for you to notice Floor in the moonlit room, but when you do you can't help but smile.
>She's lying under your coffee table in a amusingly casual manner, as if she was always meant to be there.
>The look on her face is a mixture of nervousness and relief as she stares at the carpet.
>While you're sure she's happy to be away from all the anxiety inducing hubbub, you think she might not be used to being somewhere besides her own... room?
>You're not entirely sure what her living situation is like, but she's seems a little overwhelmed by the openness of your living room.
>The noise outside tells you that they are still very much nearby, so you doubt she's moving anytime soon...
>You... have an idea.
"I'll be right back, alright?"
>Floor glances up from the carpet and gives you a little nod.
>You guess now that she isn't in immediate danger, she's reverted to being somewhat nonverbal.
>Hopefully she feels a bit more comfortable once you set your plan into motion.
>You walk past her with pep in your step and head into the kitchen.
>You hum a light tune as you grab your warm teakettle from the stove and set it on a nearby counter.
>Maybe a spot of tea will calm her nerves? You hope she likes camomile...
>As you take out a pair of cups, you pause briefly as a small noise coming from the other room rings out, which is then followed by an embarrassed murmur.
>Hmm... If she's hungry enough to hear, you think you could whip something up for her to eat as well.
>All ponies are little, but she seems especially worse for wear and could sure use some tender love and care...
>With a crack of the knuckles, you begin.
>As the smell of food starts to permeate the air, it doesn't take long for you to notice a curious Floor craning her neck to check things out from her post under the table.
>You finish up in a timely manner and set everything on a tray.
>You gingerly walk over to the coffee table and set the tray down.
>Your job complete, you dust off the front of your shirt with a content sigh.
>"whuh- what... are you uhm... doing?"
>You look down and see Floor gazing up at you with her big ol' emerald eyes.
"I made you... dinner? I guess?"
>It's the middle of the night, so there really wasn't a 'right' way to put it.
>She blinks a little and then wiggles out into the open.
>She gets up and shakes herself off in a manner not unlike a cat and then turns to the coffee table.
>Almost immediately her eyes widen.
>"p-puh-pancakes?!"
>She leans in and sniffs a bit as if she thinks it might be an illusion.
"And tea."
>"w-woah..."

>You watch Floor circle the coffee table like a little shark, still staring wide-eyed at the stack of pancakes.
>It doesn't take long for her to get tired of her circling and soon enough, she flops over in front of your feet.
>You'd be a little concerned if it wasn't for the visible smile on her face.
"You know... they're gonna get cold if you don't eat them soon."
>Floor wiggles a bit until she's upright and then looks up at you.
>"t-tha-thuh-" She takes a deep breath in an attempt to curb her stuttering, which seems more out of excitement than anxiety this time around. "thank you uhm... Uh..."
>She looks down and fumbles with her hooves. "I uhm- I don't know your name..."
>You blink.
"Oh! How'd I forget that... The uh- the name's Anon."
>Floor mumbles 'Anon' under her breath and then takes yet another deep breath.
>She lifts up her head swiftly, resulting in her mane once more covering her eyes in their entirety. "T-Thank you Anon!"
>Despite the clear spike in volume, you'd probably classify her 'yelling' as 'an average pony's inside voice', though with how quickly she shrinks away from you and covers her face you're pretty sure she thinks she just screamed at the top of her lungs.
>"Ididn'tmeantoi'msorry..."
>Case in point.
>You kneel down and give her nose a light boop, resulting in her wiggling it a bit and brushing aside some of her mane to look at you.
"So... You alright?"
>She nods, her face a little flush.
>"I uhm... I panicked again..."
"You know, your 'loudness' level could use a bit of increasing."
>Her eyes light up like something just clicked in her nervous mind.
>"level...?" Floor looks at the uh- the floor and narrows her eyes. "level up my... voice? I... I could try that... maybe..."
>Her floor staring intensifies and you can almost see the gears turning in her horsey head.
>Huh.
>Does- Does Equestria have video games?
>Why hasn't anypony told *you*?
>Maybe it's just that 'Ogres and Oubliettes' thing? You really should check that out one of these days, if only to see what horse DnD is like.
>You'll ask later, but for now...
"Psst, It's getting cold..."
>Floor lets out a little 'oh!' and then awkwardly gets up. "I f-forgot! I'll uhm- I'll work on leveling up later..."
>She's sounding a little clearer already.
>Floor trots over to the coffee table and sits herself in front of the pancakes.
"I swear I had syrup somewhere, but I couldn't find it, so... I hope you're okay with a dusting of sugar. I'm a little more familiar with doing them this way anyhow."
>It was a pretty humble stack, but a smile of sliced banana made if feel a little less plain.
>"I'm not picky! I like it a lot, t-thanks uhm- thanks again, Anon..."
>You gesture loosely towards the kitchen.
"No problem Floor. I'm... gonna go clean up. You dig in, alright?"
>She nods and then locks her eyes on the short stack.
>You briefly ponder how she's going to eat without a utensil, but then Floor lowers herself and takes a big ol' bite.
>Ah yes... Ponies.