The tap of small feet followed the larger clopping of hooves down the nursery quarter, the walls adorned with different kinds of fauna and shades of green. Johnny Gold’s long legs moved with determination as he had eyes on his destination. Behind him the small, blue dragon Gigan, jogged to catch up as she held a clipboard in her small hands.

“A-Ah...Mr. Shy, p-please slow down! You keep forgetting that you are bigger than me…”

The stallion let out a chuckle as he turned his head to look at the dragon. Her big eyes were wide as she caught up to his flanks. He slowed his steps and waited for her to catch up. “Sorry, lil’ darlin’. My mind’s mighty occupied...”

Gigan blushed behind her clipboard as she looked up at him. Now was not a time to geek out on him. She had a duty to do! Even though he was one of the most popular and adored singers in Equestria.. Her master, Poetic Justice wanted her to escort Johnny Gold to the nursery quarter so he could take a look at one of the rooms where some of the castle’s more important, rare plants had fallen ill - some even dying. The pony was the stallion for the job, since they couldn’t get a hold of the local botanist. Johnny did have a special affinity with plants and Gigan did hear rumors on how his voice could bring the dead earth back to life.

Which is nonsense, of course! Gigan thought. He’s not a necromancer, right? Plantomancer? Average ponies can’t do something so complicated and powerful. She examined the pony’s freckled face and he smiled at her.

“So, where is this room y'all wanted me to look at?” Johnny asked.

Gigan breezed past him and gestured towards the end of the hall with her tail. “It’s down there.” He followed her and a nagging thought passed through her head. Why didn’t Prince Poetic Justice bring Johnny here himself…? The prince insisted that this was a small mission to make Gigan break out of her shell, and to learn to be a bit more confident when dealing with ponies. The dragon was doubtful but didn’t press him. He had his reasons and she believed he knew what he was doing, but that didn’t keep her from being curious.

“As you know...some of our most precious fauna have fallen ill for some unknown reason. We don’t know why and our nursery ponies don’t know what to do. So...that is why you are here.” Letting out a breath, Gigan tried to not speak so quickly, letting the words lay on her tongue for a moment. Unlocking the golden magic lock on the door at the end of the hall, she pushed open the double doors.

The Room of Wonderful Flora was dimly lit with a purple glow with magical properties and a musty smell reached both their noses. Some parts of the room misted with cooling perspiration for those that needed it. The small dragon’s eyes widened as she took in the room. She’s never been here before! It was a wide, rectangular room and was adorned with many types of plants; from purple flowers with eyes (yikes!), to trees that reached the ceiling that bloomed star shaped fruit. But some plants were wilted and brown with the touch of death. It was quite apparent that around thirty percent of the fauna were dead. Gigan remembered when ponies tried moving the live ones to different rooms (which was complicated since a lot of these plants require special care and seemed to be more than fine inside their initial room) and they still died...so obviously moving them didn't matter.

Johnny spoke up and let out a snort, fluffing up the feathering that lined his neck and shoulders. “I’m guessin’ Poet was busy?” He paused when the tiny dragon turned to him. “I- Sorry. Haha. I don’t mean to bring up my vices around you.” The stallion sniffed the air. “You’re right though, it smells of death in here.” He sniffed again. “Hm...I can’t get a prognosis on this unless I get closer to the dead ones. I know ya mentioned that a lot of these plants are dangerous but may I attempt to soothe em’, at least?”

“S-Soothe them?”

“Ah- Yeah. Soothe em’. These plants are kind of anxious. They’re not much different from us in terms of needin’ a voice to tell em’ it’s okay…”

“Oh?”

“A lot of ponies love my voice - I mean, I think everypony loves my voice. Ain’t no denyin’ that other things besides ponies also love it. That includes plants. Not many ponies know me for my love of plants and that they love me. Sometimes.” He chuckled. “Some of em’ are very stubborn like a bull in an antique shop.”

“What do you mean?”

The earth pony brushed past her. “Stay close to me, Gigan.” He gestured her to follow him. The dragon couldn’t help but blush again as he murmured her name. “Plants...have a language that not many creatures understand anymore. A lot of em’ don’t even bother because they know they won’t be heard, y’know? With me though...they’ve always feel safe with me. But some of em’ have no desire to come back or become healthy and there is nothin’ I can do about it.” As he finished his sentence, he brushed his tail against a gnarled, dark tree that seemed to lurch towards his touch.

Gigan raised her brows in curiosity. Reading was something Gigan enjoyed and did often. Sometimes doing work for her prince was tedious and boring, so a book handy was the cure for that. and she once read up on the art of communicating with plants and how earth ponies of old were commonly known as Gaia Tenders due to their connection with all life, especially plants and earth. Yes...she was a bit dubious on certain modern ponies having the powers to understand plants - but...maybe Johnny was the real thing?

A plant squawked somewhere in the far corner of the room and another blinked at them with a single, purple eyeball in it’s bright pink bulb. Something growled lowly at them and Gigan shook as she pressed as close to Johnny as she could. “Easy…” He soothed as they made it to the middle of the room. There was a pathway fenced off from the plants to keep the more predatory ones from attacking any pony who went through. Johnny stopped to face towards a hanging pot that had sad, brittle vines clinging desperately to the burned pumpkin pottery.

Gigan lifted the quill she brought and began to write on the clipboard. Poetic Justice told her to jot down anything she found necessary and she felt something important was going to take place. There was a moment of silence as the stallion stared at the pot in front of him, eyes intense.

Johnny Gold at this moment seems to be waiting for...something. I do not know. If he is legit then he is connecting to this dying plant. What is this plant anyways? It has no name tag. Maybe since it is almost dead some ponies took it’s name away. That is kind of morbid.

“I know things are hard...but we need y'all to come back. Ponies need your herbs and roots, darlin’. Do you know how helpful you are? You are quite the beauty, too.” The stallion spoke in a low tone, voice thick. “I’m not exactly sure why y'all are sick and dyin’ but we will figure it out…But in the meantime, let me sing to you?” Looking away, Johnny peered at one of the windows at the end of the room and light started to peek through the glass. “Dawn is approachin’...give me the answer, sweetheart.”

The scritch of the dragon’s pen sounded again - Johnny just called a possibly pony-eating plant "darling".

Letting in a breath, Johnny closed his eyes and let out a single note that litled into a higher one. That first moment of his voice made Gigan stand still, quill stuck in midair. A shiver went down her spine and made her tail twitch at the end. A few seconds later he launched into a wordless, low song that seemed to reverberate through the marbled ground, voice sweet and heartbreaking in an unspeakable way. All the odd sounds and rustles seemed to cease as all life in the room seemed to turn their attention towards Johnny Gold. Something was roused within the soil and roots of the diseased plants and Gigan felt a shift in the atmosphere. Slowly, the hanging vines of the potted plant in front of him seemed to quake and thicken. Small orange buds emerged from the dry soil as Johnny’s voice surrounded it in an unseen caress. Those buds then exploded into beautiful flowers that released an aroma into the air. Gigan noted it smelled of vanilla and oranges and she couldn’t help but grin. Other plants around them seemed to perk up - more and more of them heeding the stallion’s call. A lot of the fauna were hideous; but with his song they felt as beautiful and lively as any lilac or rose.

Reaching towards his face, the potted plant’s tips widened into green, silky leaves. Gigan tensed as it gently caressed Johnny’s snout, but it retracted back slowly and the stallion was left with a small smile as his singing trailed off. Gigan realized she had tears in her eyes and quickly wiped them away. She was speechless as she studied Johnny, a newfound source of wonder and respect towards the pony.

He looked at her, eyes gentle yet tired. “I think the ones who wanted to come back answered my call...We can let the princesses know together.” Swishing his tail, Johnny hummed. “...these plants were really, really sad. Y’all need to let me come by some more. Something hit em’ hard but I don’t know what yet.”

“Yes...we can arrange that, I’m sure.”

The two started their way out of the room and into the hallway, Gigan sealing the doors with the magical lock. Two royal guards stood to the sides and nodded their heads at them as they made their journey back to the princesses. Before they reached the end, Gigan found a smidgen of courage and stepped in front of the big stallion, making sure he saw her before he stepped on her with his enormous hooves.

“I - … Mr. Shy...I am honored to have been graced by your presence and your...voice. Your magic.” Gigan paused. Before she was incredibly awkward but she had to tell him how much this moment would be remembered by her, even if she sounded like a fool. “I was dubious when I was explained on what you could do. This experience meant the world to me. I will keep this between us as long as you want me to.” She reached over and took one of his hooves in her hands. Johnny Gold grinned down at her, glowing with her praise but above else, happy that he could include her in his world.



---

This took a bit to write. People really liked Gigan so I wanted to draw her more. I think her and Johnny Gold in one picture was unexpected, yeah? She’s a huuuuuge fan of his music (and him).

I mentioned that Johnny Gold’s talent was tied to plants and bringing life to those plants that wanted to come back at the crack of dawn. Some plants don’t though and are ready to die forever...The connection between plants and ponies kind of fizzled out within the span of a couple of centuries, and the common trait of earth ponies talking to plants was no longer really a thing except in a few select, isolated groups. The Mane Six knows of Fluttershy and Applejack’s youngest son’s affinity to plants but it’s not knowledge a lot of ponies know of...Johnny is mostly known for his music and that is all. He keeps a lot to himself and doesn’t really see it necessary that other ponies know his true talent.

A little about this room that the two are in… It’s one of the oldest rooms in the castle and has been in use for a long time. It used to be a room for another pony but was turned into a nursery for rare plants as per their wishes. The walls are reinforced with magic and so are the windows. Only a few select ponies are permitted to go inside this room. Most of the inhabitants are from the Everfree Forest but Canterlot is attempting to broaden their collection as more borders of other nations open up. Most of these plants have a mind of their own and can feel a small amount of primitive emotions; IE anger, hunger, sadness (mostly hunger and raaaaage). They do require some stimulation which is why it is important to have more than one of the same species of plant. 50% of these plants will attempt to eat a pony if they can so some have magic locks and collars around their holdings to restrain them.

Gigan is a very shy girl but she is trying to fill out the role of being her master’s right hand dragon. Social situations are very hard but she likes Apple boy a lot. The two really like each other and Poet was gobsmacked how well Johnny warmed up to his assistant. But in the end he was glad Gigan had a friend...even if it was Johnny Gold. Johnny does like to tease Gigan that her “daddy” is temperamental and won’t see and make up with him, lol. Gigan is young but Poetic Justice trusted her enough to go alone with Johnny Gold, since he also trusted the stallion to keep everything under control and to protect his assistant (though he’d never admit it). Honestly, Poetic Justice probably didn’t want to face Johnny after their last encounter.

I couldn't name any of these plants even if I wanted to. I might do an exploration on plant life one day because I dig some of these designs. I’m not as clever and smart as some of y’all who know the names of everything related to animals and plants lol. Also!! Super sorry for about how long this was. I hope someone read it and enjoyed it. I kind of got carried away, aha. Johnny is more than being a huge flirt, stringed instrument wizard and country singer extraordinaire. I just love his character so much and it is fun exploring it.



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