Octavia Melody sat on the bench and stared at the clock. It was not the time that she focused on, but the steady ticking. not having much else to do, she tried to keep her mind distracted. As such, she used the the clock's rhythm as a beat as she worked to create a melody. Perhaps she could have a new song for her next performance.

Caught up in her thoughts, she did no hear the sound of hooves approaching. It was the sound of tapping on the cell door that interrupted her thoughts and drew her attention.

"You have a visitor," the guard said.

Octavia tensed, eyes going wide. There was only one pony she had been able to call to bail her out. Now she was feeling conflicted. One part of her was happy that her friend was here and grateful she would soon be released. Another was dreading what she knew was coming.

From the hall came a white unicorn mare with electric blue mane and tail. The unicorn wore a pair of tinted glasses and looked at the jail cell. A wide grin spread across across her face as she moved closer.

Octavia felt a chill of nervous fear squirm in her belly at what she knew was coming.

"Hello Vinyl," she said, hoping to take control of the conversation.

"Octavia Melody," Vinyl said in a shocked tone, "Arrested and in jail. I don't believe it."

"Yes." The grey earth pony rolled her eyes. "I always suspected that it would be I who had to bail you out of jail as opposed to the other way around, seeing as you have been arrested before."

"Where did we go wrong?" the unicorn groaned, placing a hoof against her forehead. "I thought you were raised better than this young lady."

"Are you finished?"

"It just breaks our heart to see you like this. You are supposed to be so proper and lady-like, and here you are, arrested. What was it? Drugs? Prostitution?"

"Assault," the guard stated.

"WHAT?!" Vinyl's eyes went so wide in shock that they could be seen around her glasses.

"That's correct," the guard continued. "She kicked a stallion in the face."

"He smacked me on the flank!" Octavia shouted, her face turning bright red. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and tried to calm down.

"Broke his jaw," the guard added.

"Tavi," Vinyl turned toward her friend again, "you hit another pony? What's next? Stealing? Prostitution? Drug use?"

"If you want to talk about drugs," Octavia hissed just above a whisper, "I'm sure the guards would be more than happy to hear about-"

"Hey!" the white unicorn interrupted. "You know I'm just teasing you. I still can't believe you hit another pony. Whatever happened to 'Vinyl, dear,'" she did her best to impersonate her friend, "'it is not proper to resort to physical violence and doing so will accomplish nothing. It is far better to rely on your words and wits to handle a situation?'"

"It is still true," Octavia replied. "Admittedly I was already in a bad mood and may have overreacted. However, my reaction was not unprovoked. As I stated earlier, he dared to smack my flank and I had never met him before." She shifted looking at her friend. "Now, will you please pay my bail so I can get out of here and we can go home?"

"I don't know..." Vinyl rubbed her chin, looking at her friend from the corner of her eyes. "I mean it is quite a lot of money. What's in it for me?"

Octavia let out a sigh. Closing her eyes, she placed a hoof against her forehead and rubbed at it. She knew her friend better than that. Vinyl was still teasing and would never actually leave a friend in jail over money. She would not even request to be paid back, although Octavia would make certain to do so. Still, maybe it would be nice to do something in order to express some gratitude.

"Very well. Come closer." She rolled her eyes as her friend hesitated about approaching the bars. "I'm not going to harm you Vinyl."

"I know, I know," Vinyl said with a grin. She moved closer to the cell that held Octavia. The unicorn shifted as a leg was put around her and the gray earth pony leaned close.

"When we get home," Octavia whispered, "we can turn down the lights, put on some music and I'll make you a nice romantic dinner." She pulled Vinyl closer, her voice dropping more. "After that, we can go to the bedroom." A grin spread across the gray mare's muzzle. "I'll put on that shirt you like, the one with your picture on it, and maybe a couple of glow sticks in... strategic... positions. We can turn the lights off and I'll do a little dance for you before joining you in bed to show how... appreciative... I really am." She let out a snort through her nose, blowing the warm air against the inside of her friend's ear, then let go and began to pull away.

Vinyl Scratch stayed where she was for a moment. A wide grin spread across her mouth and there was a slight pink color to her cheeks and ears. The white mare's body was practically shaking with excitement.

"Deal!" she nearly shouted. "You wait here and I'll go pay." With that she turned and ran down the hall.

A chuckle escaped Octavia as she watched her friend head off. It was the excitement and passion that was one of the reasons the normally reserved and calm earth pony loved the unicorn. At times it could be a little irritating since the unicorn would be like a hyperactive filly. But when given the right incentives, and Vinyl would do anything and everything in her power -- sometimes even the seemingly impossible -- to accomplish what she set her mind to. Love and appealing to her base appetites worked as an incentive. It was not one Octavia used often since she did not want to force her friend to be something other than herself, but she knew about it if she ever had to.

The jailed mare returned to her seat and stared at the clock again. She continued to work on her melody again until Vinyl Scratch returned with a guard. This time the cell door was opened to release Octavia.

"You're free to go," the guard said.

"Thank you," Octavia replied as she started to leave. "And thank you, Vinyl, for coming to bail me out." She kissed the unicorn on the cheek. "I promise I'll pay you back every bit."

"Don't worry about it," Vinyl replied. "You know I would never leave you hanging." The two of them started walking down the hall. "Hey... About what you said about ... you know, showing me how appreciative you are? You don't really need to do that."

"I know." Octavia leaned to press her shoulder to her friends. "I want to. It will be a fun way to thank you for helping. Besides, depending on the trial, it may be a few months before we can be together again."

"Did he really smack you on the flank?"

"Yes."

"This may not even go to trial," Vinyl stated. "Technically he assaulted you first which means it was self-defense. Or, we could have a lawyer tell him that if he drops the charges against you, we won't be filing a lawsuit for sexual harrassment."

"You seem to know quite a bit about matters like this." Octavia tilted her head to look at her friend curiously.

"Believe it or not, I have experienced a few fans who were uncomfortably enthusiastic." The two headed through the door and out into the streets. "I still can't believe that you managed to break his jaw."

"I am still an earth pony." The gray mare shifted her head to toss her mane. "I may not have need of it often, but I am still quite strong. More so since I have built up the muscles in my back legs from carrying my cello and standing upright. Now, let us head home and I can prepare to ...." She grinned. "Thank you."

"Yeah!"