Bedlam stared back at Rainbow Dash and Discord, feeling disappointed that they stopped right in the middle of their performance, and she swallowed her popcorn to tell them that. "Awww, what's wrong? Did you forget your lines? You were both doing so good! Though I think Rainbow's performance was a bit over-the-top and Discord's was a bit lacking in terms of conveying agitation, but other than that, what I've seen so far has been deserving of at least one thumbs up!" she states blissfully, giving a thumbs up to the confounded duo.
"I...Wha..." Rainbow could barely form a sentence until she was able to reawaken her inner "pony who shouts a lot". "This isn't a show! Stop acting like you're having a fun time!"
"Acting?"
Like usual, Rainbow's anger was getting the better of her, and she really wanted to stop Bedlam and get her real friend back by any means necessary. Suddenly, a devious, underhoofed idea popped into the fumed pegasus' mind, and she quickly turned to Discord.
"Why are you letting her get away with this??" she questioned in her Rainbow Dash brand of loud and angry conversing. "Messing with everyone is your thing! Are you gonna just let her sit there and laugh at you??"
"Oh, please; like anybody would ever try to challenge the one and only master of chaos," he affirmed through his hubris. In mere moments following this statement, the entire throne room echoed with the bellows of hysterical laughter engendered by the less-than-intimidated draconicorn.
"You?? The master of chaos?? That's a laugh! Which is exactly what I'll continue doing!" Bedlam proclaimed as her boisterous cackling resumed, the draconicorn toppling onto her back from her excessive amount of insane laughter.
Discord felt more surprised by this behavior than he had initially, which Rainbow took to her advantage. She cleared her throat to get Discord's attention, and proceeded to mime "see what I mean?" expressions to the draconequus, causing him to start feeling concerned about this threat to his self-appointed title.
"Awww, what's the matter? Not so fond of the improved, modern draconequus for the new millennium?" Bedlam stared intently at Discord. "Do I frighten you? Make you feel—uncomfortable...?" she said with the most conceited of smirks.
Threatened was not so much what Discord was feeling now—galled was more of an appropriate term, as this foul being had quite gotten on Discord's nerves with each disparaging word produced from her yammering trap. Who did this Bedlam think she was, stepping in on his territory like this? Not only was she harrying everyone else, but she even had the temerity to treat Discord like he was nothing?? This was not something Discord could let stand...
Naturally, the draconequus was not the only one bothered by Bedlam's antics—Rainbow Dash was visibly perturbed, thought for reasons dissimilar to Discord's. Even though the pegasus' previous display showed her to care about Discord's interests, it was naught but a fabrication to incite the draconequus' desire for satisfaction against the nefarious Bedlam for her incessant misdeeds. Not only was it the deliberate targeting of Twilight's friends with her vexatious japing that caused Rainbow Dash so much irritability, but also just the fact that it was Twilight's own body Bedlam was manipulating for her own twisted pleasures made Rainbow's blood boil. "All these things she'd done...she cannot be allowed to get away with them..." Rainbow thought to herself.
Rainbow's eye glanced over to Discord, who was glaring straight at Bedlam with as much ferocity as Rainbow herself was. However, he was doing all this in silence, which was not what Rainbow wanted at all. Discord wasn't going to win any fights with intense staring alone. If anything was gonna happen, it looked like Rainbow was going to have to be the one to instigate it.
"You'd better watch it, or else Discord will show you what he can really do!" the impatient pegasus blurted out, drawing attention to herself from both Discord and Bedlam.
"Oh, please! That old thing??" Bedlam replied as she started up with her mocking laughter once more. She even fell to the ground again and began pounding the floor with her fist while in her state of hysterics. Needless to say, Discord did not take this reaction with good grace.
"I resent being referred to as a 'thing'," the draconequus stated sternly, finally talking back to his adversary.
"Well then, I'm glad I said it."
Several seconds of silence passed before words were exchanged. "...I somehow get the feeling you don't take me seriously."
"Wherever could you have gotten that idea?' Bedlam replied in the most blatantly sarcastic tone she could muster.
Discord's clenched fist quivered with indignation. How dare this abhorrent beast talk in such a manner to the one and only true master of chaos in all the world! She was infuriating! Maddening! Downright...rude! Already Bedlam had gotten underneath his skin, but now she was so far beneath the surface she was like a newly hatched parasitic larva, crawling around Discord's insides and irritating every part she touches; and try as he might, Discord could not alleviate the torment brought upon by Bedlam—she would just continue to feed on the draconequus' power until it was time for her to emerge from his hollowed-out shell, ready to take on the world as the new master of all that is chaotic!
"...no...that won't happen..."
It didn't take much thought for Discord choose what needed to be done—this villainess needed to be stopped, as if she wasn't, then everyone may see her as the greatest at causing chaos instead of him! And that was something Discord could not allow to happen! He refused to take it anymore, and instead decided to turn the tables on Bedlam. Simply speaking: she had gotten on his nerves, and it was time for Discord to get on hers.
"That's it!" Rainbow exclaimed as she hovered into the air, clenching her hooves in righteous fury. "I'm putting an end to this right—" the pegasus' discourse was halted mid-sentence by a lion paw thrust in front of her face. Rainbow looked in astonishment over to Discord, who had a vindictive glower fitted upon his own countenance. "If you don't mind, Rainbow Dash; I think I'll take it from here."
Rainbow watched as Discord began walking over to Bedlam, not breaking his eye contact with hers for even a moment.
Bedlam stopped her chortling when she saw Discord marching towards her. However, this act did not disquiet the sedate draconicorn, who responded to Discord's advancing with more of her derogating dialogue, "Oh, has Discord finally decided to come out and play?"
Discord stopped walking. "Play time is over for you, Bedlam. It's time to put the order of chaos back in its place."
"That seems rather contradictory," Luna murmured to Celestia.
"Frankly," Bedlam replied, clenching her fists as she grinned a particularly wicked grin. "I'd say play time is finally going to begin!"