//------------------------------// // Hunting Humans // Story: Channels // by Buttery Biscuit //------------------------------// “Millions of stories, thousands of recorded encounters, three best friends.” a deep raspy voice spoke over a dense forest of thick trees. “And in this episode of Hunting Humans!”  “Follow the Hunting Humans Posse as they make their way all over Equestria to track down these alleged creatures,” the voice spoke, as the screen began to introduce three friends portrayed in this show. Bankroll, the group leader and founder. A light green earth pony with dark almost black hair. Zooleaf, the biologist. A light pink dragon with a dirty blond belly.  Bolt, the expert animal wrangler. A black, red, and grey griffin. The crew chat amongst themselves for a few scarce moments before Bankroll turned to face the camera. “Hello, and welcome to Hunting Humans. I’m your host Bankroll, and today we are going to scout out a hot spot near Canterlot Castle.”  “And here is Joe of Joe's donut shop. Who claims to have photos of the humans we are looking for,” Bankroll said as he passed a purple checkered house. Continuing down the street, he reached a pale yellow stallion with a light brown mane. “Hello!” Joe yelled, waving his right hoof furiously at the crew. He stood in front of the white and pink building that was his namesake.  “Hello Joe, we got your message!” Bankroll waved back excitedly.  “You are not going to believe your eyes or ears! Follow me!” Joe said excitedly as he trotted around to the back of his building. There was the forest, Joe pointed his hoof right to. “Right there, I saw it right there! My surveillance cameras grabbed photos of it! Even though they aren't the best, it's solid proof that humans do exist .” Joe spoke before digging his muzzle into his apron pocket. Bankroll beamed and rushed over to Joe, pulling the photos right from the muzzle so hard Joe fell right to the ground. Not that Bankroll cared, as he laid the photos onto the ground, smiling. “Sorry about that, he gets excited about all this stuff,” Bolt apologized as he reached a claw out to Joe, grunting as he lifted Joe off the ground. “It’s alright, I’m ok,” Joe grunted back, leaning most of his weight onto the griffon as he got up. Joe then followed the griffon closely towards an over-excited Bankroll with his photographs still lying on the ground. “Wow, just wow...” Bankroll said as he gazed over the photos, shaking his head in disbelief. “I've seen proof, but...but before but nothing at all like this!” “What are we even looking at?” Zooleaf asked, her brows creasing as she stared at the pictures.  “Will you guide us through what you saw, Joe?” Zoofleaf asked.  “Alright, I saw a human, but the strange thing was it wasn't human for long. As you see in the photos, it turned into a normal pony.” As Joe spoke, the camera panned over every photo. The first image displayed a tall, thin, yellowish creature that appeared to be about five feet tall. It wore some sort/kind of multi-colored/colored cloth on its frame. It was black and silver on top and had a pinkish shade of purple below. Its head was covered with bacon patterned hair and had some resemblance to a pony's mane.  Astounded, the crew quickly turned their attention to the proceeding images. The second image revealed the creature again, though it was washed to a blur in bright white light. Disappointed in the poor resolution of the creature in the second picture, the crew moved to look at the third. It took mere milliseconds for everyone’s jaw to drop in shock and surprise. Bankroll blinked twice at the shocking revelation, staring into the image in clear disbelief.  The photograph depicted a pony they were familiar with, one that they knew and loved, Sunset Shimmer. Her eccentric manestyle and hide color were characteristic of her; it was simply unmistakable. The silence was deafening as the crew stared at the image in complete awe. “My daughter even got her footprints, but unfortunately, she’s at school right now,” Joe said, the first to break the science. He pulled two plaster casts out of his cooking apron, they were odd, oblong shapes that connected to a bigger, longer structure. He placed them onto the ground right next to the photos. “Do you know what this means?” Bankroll said as he turned to his two companions. Their jaws hung low and their muzzles were paler than Joe’s building. “What is with you two?!” “The humans, they are among us…” Zooleaf mumbled out her heart pounding against her throat as she stared blankly ahead.  “It...looks just like Sunset Shimmer..” Bolt stated. “Does...does that mean she’s human?” “Or does it mean any one of us could be human?” Zooleaf asked with a heavy huff. “What if it could morph into whatever it wants to be, whoever it wants to be, like a changeling?”  “And look at those! What is that? Some kind of...hoof or something?” Bolt squeaked, pointing his shaking claw at the print Joe produced. “If it is, it’s definitely bigger than us!”  “Guys?” Bankroll asked with a frown. “Bankroll maybe this is a bad idea… we should leave now,” Zooleaf stammered, her claws shaking. “What we just got here...” Bankroll whined like a foal. “We did, but how do we know whether Joe...is Joe,” Bolt pointed a claw at him. “That thing could be anywhere!.” “What am I? Why would I tell you humans are real if I am a human? Why wouldn’t I keep it a secret?” Joe yelled back, stomping his hoof firmly into the ground. “Do humans eat ponies?” Bolt stuttered out as he looked towards Bolt, his pupils constricting to pinpoints. “I...don’t know,” Zooleaf said in a monotone, even voice, the same look of fear apparent in her eyes. “Bankroll...maybe this is a bad idea. What if it sees this episode and knows that we know of its existence? How do we know if we are safe?” Bolt asked as he stared off into Bankroll's direction, Zooeleaf not far behind.  A bead of sweat formed on Bankroll's forehead as his friends stared him down. He didn’t want them to bail on him, not when he was so close to the truth. “Oh come on, we are almost to the bottom of this. I can feel it. I’m gonna go talk to Starlight Shimmer. Demand some answers!” “I’m not going,” Bolt said flatly with a shake of his head. “Neither will I, I thought this would be fun, not scary,” Zooleaf said as she curled up behind Bolt, clinging to him as she shook. Bolt wrapped a claw around her, “I didn’t think they would end up being real…” Bolt admitted. To be frank, he thought this was all a hoax Bankroll set up to swindle the TV station into paying for his ridiculous adventures. “Come on. We spent three seasons and so many bits on tracking these creatures down,” Bankroll whined again. He knew these creatures were definitely real, and he was so tantalizingly close to the truth. There was no way he was going to give up now! “We don't know anything about them, Bank. What if they have six rows of teeth? What if they can turn invisible, go through walls! They could have powers we can’t dream of!” Bolt stated, pointing his free claw into Bankroll’s muzzle. “It isn’t safe anymore.” “Come on don't do this….” Bankroll whined again, tears forming at the edge of his eyes. “What if they are like Sombra and mess with our minds?” A single tear dropped down onto Bankroll’s muzzle, “I thought we were in this together. I can’t believe you all! After all this time, you abandoned me right when we are about to discover the truth! That’s it! Cut the camera. Cut it!” A hoof slammed into the camera, cracking the screen. Only static remained, hissing behind big bold letters that faded into the screen. “The End?”