Easter Time at Freddy's, 1983
"What are those?" Chica asked Nathan, pointing to the rabbit ear headband he was wearing. Nathan gave her a quizzical look and reached his hand up, eyes widening as he brushed his hand against the costume piece. He swiped it off quickly.
"It's for Easter here, Fazbach's idea," Nathan explained, "Figured it might work as a sort of prequel to what I've got to tell you tonight."
The mechanic tossed the ears onto a nearby table in the redecorated Dining Area.
After the success and "success" of both Halloween and Christmas, Fazbach decided that the next holiday to enact should be Easter, and asked for the restaurant to be decorated as such. Warm pastel colored table covers replaced the generic "pizza-slice confetti" and fake flowers were placed sporadically, reinforcing the point that it was indeed Spring. In the name of good taste, and as a form of respect to the restaurant's religious employees, the restaurant itself wouldn't actually be open on Easter Sunday, but had tried to capitalize on it all the same. It cumulated into a one-day only special event taking place on the Saturday before the celebrated day: The Freddy Fazbear's Pizza First Annual Easter Egg Hunt.
"If the president can have an Easter egg hunt on the White House lawn, why can't we have one here?" Loretta Pierce, one of the senior board members of Fazbear Entertainment, pitched to the company. Fazbach being Fazbach, he became enthused immediately, and insisted that the idea be carried out.
"Just think of the fun the children will have, not to mention the increased attendance," Fazbach said happily, more to himself than anyone, and added one more point, "We really should try to do something with Bonnie and Chica, since they're a rabbit and chicken, respectively. I'll write up a set of instructions for Mr. Grymes, he can help them."
These same instructions were now neatly kept in a manila folder held in Nathan's right hand, and he deposited it on the table he had tossed the ears.
"Alright guys, fall in," he said, and settled into a chair.
Freddy and Bonnie arrived immediately, having been chatting on the Show Stage. Chica was already there, picking up and examining the headband. But after several moments, Foxy neglected to appear. Nathan turned around to face the curtained entrance to Pirate's Cove.
"C'mon Foxy, captain's requested on deck!" Nathan called over. Before Nathan finished his statement, a hook wrapped around the curtain and pushed it open, revealing Foxy as he strode towards the table.
"I heard ye the first time, bucko," Foxy said jovially, "Jus' makin' sure me ship's ship-shape."
Chica, meanwhile, had managed to wedge the bunny ear headband onto her own head.
"Check it out, Bonnie, I'm you," she said with a smirk, turning to face her friend. Bonnie laughed, reaching a hand up to her own ears. Freddy and Foxy watched with bemused smiles.
"Guys, your eyes, point them at me," Nathan said as he tried to rein them in. The four animatronics snapped their heads in his direction, the action flinging the headband across the hall.
"Sorry, Nathaniel," Freddy said, "What do you have to tell us?"
"It's time for another holiday," Nathan began, "This time it's Easter. I won't go into detail about how it became a holiday and all of that, but rather what that means for you guys.
"So basically, traditions that we're going to follow are Easter eggs, candy, and of course, the Easter Bunny," Nathan explained, directing the last part to Bonnie. She perked up at that.
"I'm a bunny!" she said happily. Nathan nodded.
"And that's why you're so important," he said, "You're going to be our very own… Easter Bonnie!" Nathan held his arms apart dramatically. Chica frowned.
"That's… lame," she said, "And I think I heard that somewhere."
Nathan lowered his arms.
"No way, I thought of that just now," he said indigently. Chica shrugged. Foxy raised his hook, locking eyes with Nathan.
"Uh, yes Foxy?" he asked.
"Did ye say eggs?" Foxy asked.
"I did. Tradition says to hide them, the story being the Easter Bunny does it the night before. We're not going to use actual eggs, just little plastic ones with candy inside," Nathan explained.
"Like a treasure hunt!" Foxy concluded. Nathan nodded.
"Good name for it," he agreed, "And I'm assuming you want to help?"
Foxy nodded vigorously. Freddy clapped his paws together.
"Well, this is shaping up to be interesting," he said.
"Yeah!" Bonnie agreed, "I can't wait!"
"I'm glad you're excited, now here's how the day's going to work…" Nathan began.
"Hrm…" Foxy rubbed his hook against his jaw in thought, having picked up the action from guests figuring out what pizza to order. Sitting at his feet was a large bucket filled to the brim with multi-colored plastic eggs. He looked around the room, then suddenly dashed forward with a triumphant "Ah ha!", snatching up the bucket with his hook and picking out an egg. He gently placed it inside a potted plant.
The room Foxy was in was in fact the lobby, and he had spent the past fifteen minutes hiding Easter eggs all around the pizzeria. It was the morning of April 6th, the Saturday before Easter Sunday and when all of Freddy Fazbear's festivities would be held.
Onstage, Bonnie and Chica busied themselves moving around little set pieces that had been brought for the holiday. They were all Easter themed, and consisted of large two dimensional painted eggs, a banner reading "Happy Easter", and several little floral arrangements to signify spring. The spring weather resulted in a lot more sunshine, and coupled with the lightly colored décor, gave the interior a much brighter and happier tone. More than normal, anyway.
Freddy had walked off to talk to the present wait staff, and was currently observing Foxy along with waiter Kevin Thurst. Kevin was leaning against the wall, watching the fox dash about slipping eggs wherever he thought they would fit.
"Well, someone's excited," he said.
"Naturally," Freddy replied simply.
"You think Bonnie's ready for her part?"
"We're machines. We're always ready if you program it in," Freddy said, "Excuse me, I have to get ready."
Kevin nodded, and the two parted, Freddy walking for the stage and Kevin walking towards the bathrooms. Bonnie beamed at Freddy as he stepped onto the stage.
"I'm so excited!" she gushed, "I get my own show!"
"Don't forget about me," Chica said, throwing a sidelong glance at Freddy, "I'm a part of this too."
Foxy ran up onto the stage, lifted Freddy's hat off of his head, stuck an egg in it, and replaced it, before dashing back into Pirate's Cove with an empty basket. Freddy retrieved the egg, looking at it and shaking his head, then looked up at Bonnie and Chica.
"Looks like we're all set," he said.
One hour later, the doors opened, and children began to trickle in, dressed in pastel shirts and dresses and eagerly awaiting the hunt for Easter eggs. Sal and Gus attempted to make a pizza in the shape of an rabbit, but only succeeded in burning the pie to a crisp and filling the entire kitchen with the smell of burning cheese. Phil, the security supervisor, walked around and kept an eye on things as the guests filed in. He felt someone tap him on the shoulder, and whirled around, alarmed, but it was only Nathan.
"Oh, hey… Nathan!" Phil greeted, "What're you doing here?"
"I always work special events, in case something goes wrong," Nathan replied, looking Phil up and down, "Jumpy today, eh?"
"Me? No, no, not at all," Phil answered quickly. Nathan narrowed his eyes.
"Spill it, c'mon, you can tell me," Nathan said, crossing his arms. Phil sighed.
"Management wants us to bring out the prototype," he said, rubbing his arm nervously, "I said that it wasn't ready, that you hadn't given it your own once-over like you like to do with new machines, but they insisted." Nathan's brow furrowed.
"Prototype?" Nathan asked, "What prototype? Is it a new animatronic?" Phil's brows shot up his forehead.
"You don't know about the new suit? It got shipped last week," Phil explained, "It's a combination of wearable costume and animatronic. The endoskeleton is locked into the sides of the suit and caught by a sort of spring trap… thing, and you can wear it around. They want us to test it today."
Nathan shot a glance at the stage, then at his watch. Fifteen minutes until show time. Nathan looked up at Phil.
"Show me."
Phil pushed open the door to the Backstage, gesturing to the new figure sitting slumped against a wall.
"Here he is," Phil said, "At least, I think he's a he."
The "he" in question looked an awful lot like Bonnie, being a rabbit, but differed with a much rounder face and a golden yellow color. Nathan walked over, Phil following behind, grabbing a large metal crank from a nearby worktable.
"This thing is what moves the parts to the side and engages the locks," he explained, handing the crank to Nathan.
The mechanic shifted the suit left and right, and found a slot for the crank in the base of the animatronic's neck. He began turning it clockwise, feeling a growing resistance as a muffled clinking came from the suit. He could see the legs and arms bulge outwards slightly as the endoskeleton moved out of the way of a potential occupant. With a final loud clack, the crank refused to move further, and the endoskeleton was successfully locked into place.
"See?" Phil asked. Nathan nodded, and continued with his quick inspection, looking closer at the locking mechanism. Suddenly he frowned.
"Phil? Hand me that screwdriver, please," he said, extending out a hand. Phil gave him the requested tool, and Nathan slipped it between joints in the arm. As he did so, the tip nudged the locks slightly, and with a very loud ker-TACK, the entire endoskeleton snapped violently back into place as the support structure, taking half of the screwdriver with it.
"Holy shit!" Nathan exclaimed, holding the broken screwdriver up, "I just barely nudged one lock, and the whole thing failed!"
"Oh my god," Phil said, looking at the screwdriver, "We, uh, w-we can't have anyone wear something this, um, dangerous."
"Yeah," Nathan agreed, "I'll tell Management to shelve this for now, work out a few… bugs." He tossed the broken screwdriver aside. Muffled music began playing outside, causing Nathan and Phil to both look up from the faulty prototype.
"That's the show starting," Phil said, "I gotta get back out there." Phil quickly slipped through the door. Nathan followed, ducking out the side entrance so as not to interrupt the show.
Onstage; Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica walked forward, waving to the crowd.
"Hey everyone!" Bonnie greeted, "Happy Easter! Well, almost Easter!" Freddy nodded.
"We have a lot of neat stuff planned, right Chica?" he asked, turning to the bird. She nodded.
"You bet! We have new songs, some crafts, and of course the egg hunt, put on with our very own Easter Bunny," Chica said, winking at Bonnie. The curtains to Pirate's Cove opened a crack as Foxy watched the goings on, a massive grin on his face. The show continued.
"Wow, Chica, if we have all that stuff, then we better get started!" Bonnie said, "Right, Freddy?"
"Yep! C'mon, gang, let's sing!" he said, and the trio launched into song.
Nathan smiled proudly, putting his hands in his pockets and leaning against the back wall of the Dining Area. The songs were the band's usual kid-friendly fare, consisting of upbeat songs with some sort of Easter connotation, and a groan-inducing cover of "Here Comes Peter Cottontail," but with the lyrics changed to be about Bonnie. Thankfully, that particular song was rather short.
With the musical portion finished, it became time for the egg hunt to begin. Bonnie put down her guitar and stepped forward.
"Alright everybody!" she said, "We're gonna start our egg hunt! We worked super hard to hide a bunch of eggs all over the restaurant, except for the Dining Area. Look everywhere, and you can keep what's inside each egg!" The children cheered in excitement, and Bonnie waited until it quieted down before continuing.
"Now remember, no running, no pushing, and you can have up to ten eggs," Bonnie recited, holding up ten fingers for emphasis, "Ready? Get hunting!"
The instant the words were out of the rabbit's mouth, the Dining Area descended into controlled chaos as kids swarmed everywhere, looking left and right for the plastic prizes. From her spot onstage, Bonnie watched as parents and even some staff became swept up in the rush of children. Even Foxy had to get out of the way as kids stormed Pirate's Cove.
"Ah-har-har!" he laughed as he was pushed into his home, "Tha's tha spirit, mateys!"
Chica watched with an amused smirk.
"Wow, so much for rules one and two," she said, crossing her arms. Bonnie seemed slightly alarmed, and walked as far to the edge of the stage as she could.
"Whoa, be careful!" she warned, "There's plenty of eggs to go around!"
The kids, however, paid her no mind, especially as cries of "I found one!" increased in frequency, causing those who hadn't had the good fortune to double their efforts. Things starting getting a little hairy as a few scuffles broke out over several eggs.
"Hey!" Bonnie cried, "No fighting!" She hopped off the stage and strode quickly to the nearest conflict, pulling the two offenders apart. Even as she stopped that one, two more started behind her. It became overwhelmingly frustrating, and the rest of the staff, including Nathan, began to intervene.
"Stop, please!" Bonnie cried.
"Hey, kid, knock it off!" Chica warned.
"Come now, there's no need to fight over it!" Freddy scolded.
"Oy, don' be startin' a mutiny!" Foxy could be heard ordering from Pirate's Cove.
"Ma'am, can you, um, please control your, um, son?" Phil asked a woman.
"That's my daughter!" the woman replied angrily.
"Sorry, lady," Nathan apologized, "But she's beating up other kids."
Bonnie sprang back and forth from incident to incident, using her pull as "Easter Bunny" to eventually get the kids to settle down, and it finally did end when they ran out of eggs. The supply of treasure depleted, the children dashed back to their seats to crack them open, while parents ran damage control if their children happened to be unlucky. The stragglers left Pirate's Cove as well, and Foxy quickly closed his curtains again.
Nathan sat down at a nearby chair, listening to the squeals of delight and whines of jealousy among the children, and sighed in relief. Bonnie climbed back up onto the stage, meeting up with Freddy and Chica.
"That went well," Chica said.
"Let's just hope the crafts go a lot better," Freddy said.
And they did. In fact, the activity (which was constructing a rabbit-ear headband much like the one Nathan had worn) pacified the children with the required concentration, with some of the littler guests needing help from their parents. After several minutes, Bonnie found herself swarmed with a bunch of kids sporting rabbit ears of their very own, resulting in a impromptu game of "Follow the Easter (Bunny)" all throughout the restaurant.
Due to the proximity to the holiday, and Bonnie and Chica's appearance resembling the two icons of the holiday (a bunny and yellow chick, respectively), a photo session began after the crafts were cleared away, using the prop laden stage as the perfect backdrop. Freddy and Foxy looked on happily as Bonnie and Chica posed for pictures.
The event went on for about two hours, before things returned to business as usual. Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica performed their regular show, and Pirate's Cove opened for those wanting to go on an adventure with Foxy (who appreciated the resurgence in attention). When time came for closing, the rest of the staff was exhausted.
"What a day," Nathan sighed, laying down on the stage. Bonnie stood over him, looking down with a tilted head.
"You okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, of course," Nathan replied, "Just tired."
"Oh…" Bonnie replied, not understanding as she had never experienced fatigue.
"Don't worry about it, it's a human thing," Nathan said, knowing the questions going through the robot's "mind."
Offstage, Foxy walked over to a potted plant, and, digging with his hook, unearthed the egg he had buried there for himself. He chuckled at his own success and disappeared back into Pirate's Cove. Chica had joined Sal and Gus in the Kitchen, the two chefs staying late in an attempt to make the rabbit-shaped pizza, if only for their own sake. From the smell, it hadn't gone well. Freddy spent the time reorganizing the chairs, they having been switched around during the day. Bonnie sat down at the edge of the stage, next to Nathan, and started swinging her legs. She turned her head to look at the mechanic.
"Hey Nathan?" she asked.
"Yeah?" he answered sleepily.
"Happy Easter."
Nathan opened his eyes, rose up onto his elbows and smiled at Bonnie.
"Happy Easter, Bon."
A/N: It's short, it's two days late, and I don't care.
I'll be blunt, this ended up being a real bitch and a half to write. I just didn't know what to write about, it's not exactly the kind of holiday where interesting plot happens, and I'm glad I could at least throw in SpringTrap, or this would have been just people doing stuff. Although I guess you could argue World War One was just "people doing stuff," but I digress.
Happy belated as all hell Easter, everyone. I hope you had a good one (if you celebrate it, although I still hope it ended up being good if you don't), and I'll see you soon in Night Seven.
-DeltaV "It took Jesus three days for his Easter special, so I'm in the clear, right?"