Celestia and Silver exited their room and walked towards the Pharaoh's chambers. "Don't worry, Silver. We'll figure our way through this. I know you're a resourceful stallion, and I'm not leaving you alone to fight this. We're in it together, alright?"

Silver smiled gently. Celestia's words warmed him deeply. It was genuinely nice to hear her unreserved encouragement and support. "Glad to hear it. I think I can handle this. Nothing some, you know, practice won't fix, right?"

Silver felt a sudden sharp pull as the space around him pulsed darkly, like when he teleported. He arrived in a dark place, so dark even his adapted eyes couldn't pierce it. "Hello?" His voice was enough, apparently, as he felt steel pierce into his shoulder and be tugged down cruelly, allowing warm blood to pour out in a vicious gush. Whoever stabbed him wasn't messing around, and he recoiled only to be stabbed through a leg, more blood flowing free. He played a spell across his horn, and his shield of fire sprang up around him as his erection sprung out beneath him. He felt terrified and aroused all at once even as blood poured from him at an alarming rate.

The attacker didn't press in again, and in the light of the flames, he could see a twin-tailed female cat smiling at him. "Hmm, odd. I thought your magic would be gone entirely by now. No matter, you bleed the same as any other horse, 'Prince'."

Silver shrank away, only to find the room they were in was quite small indeed, and he couldn't spot the door leading out. "Oh don't run away just yet... You have to finish bleeding to death. Celestia will be so sad when she realizes you accidentally caused your own death."

Silver kept the flames up, feeling certain the fem-cat would stab him again if she could, and feeling increasingly horny at the same time. If she lifted her tail for him, he might have an entirely different idea of where to go, and this all warred with the throbbing pain and sickening beat of his own pulse pumping his blood into his fur. He was dying. That was going to be it. "Why?"

"Because I was paid," replied the cat. "Pity too, you're nice enough as ponies go, and so happy to see me."

The flames were dying down around him. Was he losing consciousness? No, he felt aware. He threw his consciousness inwards a moment and saw the reach of the bangle was spreading rapidly, riding the energy he needed to upkeep the flame circle to spread out like fire through his system. He aborted the spell and did a quick horn blast, hoping to catch his assaulter off guard.

She swatted aside the blast with a sparkle around her tails. "Stupid horse, as if you're the only one that can do magic. Ponies don't own the concept. Now die for me." She advanced with her dagger at the ready. "I'll make it nice and quick for you. No reason for such an ignorant creature to suffer needlessly."

Silver's heart raced, which only made it worse. He tried to think of an out. His magic was flipped inside out, so internal worked great, and external was out of whack, but he didn't know how to do either with his altered magic and just tried to amp his magic in general, marshalling that familiar heat that roared to life.

The cat lunged forward, driving the dagger into his back behind his head, into his withers, but her hand didn't hold the painful weapon, instead it moved to his neck, and he was pulled into an abrupt kiss, locking lips with her and bleeding all over her in the throes of some kind of passionate fury. Silver was never so frightened and confused, feeling his life slipping away by inches even as this she-cat tried to start making love to him.

"Damnable stallion," she breathed out as she worked under him, just leaving the dagger lodged in his withers. "I must have you. Let your last act be one of lust, just as you lived."

Silver wasn't sure if she was moving fast, or his perceptions becoming muddled due to blood loss, but it seemed almost instantly he was buried in the strange assaulter, and little else mattered. He was ruled by the urge to rut her, and he ploughed her fields with a feral intensity. He climaxed, but not in any singular event. So long as he was in her, he was lost, spraying down her insides and rocking even as he began to sink, still dying, still bleeding.

One of the walls to his left suddenly exploded in a spray of stones and there stood Celestia, eyes alit with a terrible fury. She beheld him in his terrible state and trembled. Gold wrapped around the cat beneath him and she was yanked away from Silver, allowing him to collapse to the ground in a puddle of blood and less polite fluids. He brushed his withers against the wall and weakly gasped out in agony as the dagger was nudged.

Celestia never looked so angry... and yet Silver could only focus his thoughts on how lovely she looked. Celestia slammed the nekomata into the ground in her magic so violently that blood was sent in an arc from suddenly-broken bones and flesh, splattering across the formerly pristine princess. Celestia tossed her head and crushed the catgirl against a wall, then into the opposite wall, sending a painting tumbling to the ground. Silver felt his consciousness fading as he watched her break every rule he knew her to have regarding violence, but some small part of him was happy, knowing Celestia cared enough to do this.

Celestia threw the heap of flesh that barely qualified to be called a cat aside and moved for the still form of Silver. She plucked the dagger from him carefully, then exploded in warmth and light. The healing force of the sun was not an aspect she tapped into often, or easily. "I will not lose you this way. You did everything right. Don't go yet." She could do little more than stop the bleeding, but she could feel the faint presence of her stallion there. It would have to be enough.

Amenti moved closer with careful steps, avoiding the body Celestia had created. "I don't recognize her, but you didn't leave much to do so with."

Celestia wheeled on Amenti with a fresh will to battle. Amenti quickly held up her paws. "Peace. I came towards the sounds, as did my guards." She gestured back to where several felines watched nervously. "We are still friends, I hope, even if I have made some... errors."

Celestia approached Amenti with wings wide, looking furious. A brave guard advanced, moving between Celestia and Amenti. He thanked the heavens when Celestia didn't actually challenge his position and stopped. "It is by your paws that Silver was almost killed, remember that! He was rendered helpless by your direct actions and almost paid the final price, all because he trusted you. Because he respected you! You had all the love he could give you, and you reached for more, and almost took him away from me."

Amenti ground her teeth together with an impotent rage, even if she wasn't sure exactly who she was most angry at. "It wasn't supposed to do that... I wanted to show him how much I liked him."

Celestia stomped a hoof on the ground, shattering the tile there. "He is my husband, not yours! Mine. Friends and allies do not covet one another's spouses. Did your father not instruct you in this?"

Amenti recoiled as if physically stung as her father was brought into this. She couldn't think of a witty retort and growled softly. "I am sorry. I made an error. Please, let's focus on who needs us most right now. Guards, bring Silver, carefully and gently, to be cared for."

The guards moved swiftly, four moving in concert to carefully lift the critically injured Silver and carry him towards medical attention.

Amenti sagged against a wall. "I'm so sorry..."

Celestia glanced around, seeing they were alone again. She let out a slow sigh. "You have much to learn about being a queen of your people. I pray you learn it before you suffer more tragedy." She moved past Amenti without looking back.

Author's Notes:

Another bonus chapter? Yes please. You can blame Alzrius for this. He made me angry enough to write it, typos and all.