Spike and Aristotle walked to the entrance to the Bro Cave, which was actually the underground complex below Ponyville they hung around in. Spike was listening to Aristotle tell him about the expedition he had recently gone on with the Cutie Mark Crusaders to explore uncharted lands that had ended with them defeating King Sombra shortly after the whole "Crystal Empire" thing. It was an interesting story, but it is a story separate from this one.
"So we made it back through the Macintosh Hills and reported to Canterlot just as you were returning from the Crystal Empire. That's about it."
Spike asked,"How'd you get there before us? You had farther to go."
"Magic, Spike. What else would it be?" Aristotle answered."Anyway, we need to get into the Bro Cave and open the Duck and Dragon."
"How did you get a license for it anyway? I thought Ponyville didn't allow gambling."
"The casino isn't technically in Ponyville. You should know that, Spike. Now then, we have to put on our fancy clothes. Good thing we have an automatic laundry system, am I right?"
So the two descended on an elevator deep underground, and tuxedos were donned. Sombra chose that time to appear in corporeal form again. He began ranting about the inanity of trying to evade the law on ridiculous technicalities, but he was reminded that Spike and Aristotle had enough blackmail material gathered to do a lot of things, and Princess Celestia was a regular at the Duck and Dragon, so they could operate a casino a twenty feet below Ponyville if they wanted. They had royal approval, which effectively meant carte blanche. Sombra went back into Aristotle's head, and the two partners in crime walked into the casino section of the Bro Cave.
The Cutie Mark Crusaders were already there setting things up. Surprisingly, they had things well under control and only a little messy.
"Hey, girls. How are things coming? We open in ten minutes, and the tournament's a new thing. We need to make sure that's ready." Aristotle asked. Apple Bloom was the only one free to reply. "Hi, Ar'stotle. We've been gettin' that ready for a while, and it's goin' pretty good. Tables for the normal stuff're ready. Tournament sign's good to go. The staff is fine. We should be ready in five minutes or so."
"Good to hear. Thanks, Apple Bloom. Spike and I need to rehearse our announcer routine. We'll be back when it's go time."
Fifteen minutes later, Spike and Aristotle stood on a large stage which held poker tables and wrestling mats. A decently sized crowd was milling in front of the stage. Spike began to speak.
"Fillies and Gentlecolts! May we have your attention please? Thank you, and welcome to the First Annual Duck and Dragon Poker Wrestling Tournament!"
All of this was said in a silly announcer voice Spike had worked on for a week. He continued.
"Now then, some of you are probably wondering what Poker Wrestling is. Aristotle?"
The man in question picked up the ball and began. "Contests enter in pairs. One will play in a poker tournament, and the other competes in a wrestling tournament. The teams who win each tournament are given prizes. A team can win both, one, or neither. Isn't there something else special about this year's tournament, Spike?"
"Yes there is. The referees for the tournament are none other than the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony themselves! Could you introduce them?"
"I'd be happy to,Spike. First: The Element of Generosity. Rarity!" Rarity looked decidedly uncomfortable, but it was subtle enough that no one noticed. "Second: The Element of Laughter: Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie Pie was wearing a silly luchador mask. "Third: The Element of Honesty. Applejack!" Applejack was a bit sad. She had wanted to compete, but couldn't. "Fourth: The Element of Loyalty. Rainbow Dash!" Rainbow Dash was trying to play up the crowd with some success. "Fifth: The Element of Kindness. Fluttershy!" Fluttershy was very nervous and whimpered softly. She had also taken some anti-anxiety medication at Aristotle's request, but it wasn't helping much. "And lastly: The Element of Magic. Twilight Sparkle!" Twilight was feeling both awkward and excited at the same time. She wanted to look good for Princes Celestia.
Spike began speaking. "Referees, can you remind everyone of the rules?"
Twilight answered, "No biting, no gouging, no scratching, no punching, no kicking, no flight, no communication between players unless strictly allowed by the rules of the individual sports, no magic except for telekinetically holding cards, staying down for a count of ten is a loss, one round per match, and standard poker rules. That's all I can think of." Spike and Aristotle shouted together, "Then let's get ready to RUMBLE!" The tournament began.
Princess Cadence ambled on over to a betting booth and asked the bookkeeper,"What are the odds on Iron Will?" The bookie said,"20 to one for a win, 22 to one for a disqualification, and 5 to one for scaring a referee."
"That's very detailed," Cadence remarked.
"We offer very thorough betting, Your Highness. It's part of our service policy," was the response the bookie gave her.
"All right," Cadence said."I'll put 50 bits on Iron Will scaring a referee, and I'll put another hundred on...Twilight Sparkle having a breakdown."
"Thank you for your business, ma'am."
That tournament ended with The Great and Powerful Trixie winning the poker half of the tournament and 5,000 bits in prize money, and the wrestling half was won by Gilda the Griffin (not to be confused with Gilda the Griffon), who was Trixie's partner and claimer of 5,000 bits. The Duck and Dragon made a profit of 300,000 bits, mostly from royalty betting on unlikely events that did not occur, including a giant squid attack, Twilight Sparkle turning the wrestling mat into strawberry jelly (she turned it into grape jelly), and Applejack becoming an Alicorn during the tournament somehow (2,500 to one odds). King Sombra was delighted at the depletion of the national coffers, and the rest of the staff was happy that the tournament had gone as well as it had and Princess Celestia's plots to make Applejack into an Alicorn and profit from the long odds of that event happening had failed again. The staff meeting after the casino had closed resulted in making the tournament a sure thing the next year in a unanimous vote.King Sombra's assent was surprising, since he normally voted no to anything for the sake of bothering everyone else. The First Annual Duck and Dragon Poker Wrestling Tournament was a resounding success.