Summary:

Bunnymund's life had never been easy; in his early days back in his Pookan village he knew many other people like him and he had many hopes for his future. Pitch, the Nightmare's King, managed to destroy them all by wiping out the rest of his kind, but still Bunnymund had the chance to become a Guardian, and even though he was the last Pooka in the universe, he managed to carry out his task because children were able to let him Hope and believe in a brighter future.
German kids, though, soon realized that the Easter spirit was a rabbit instead of a hare as their legend said and, feeling lied to, they started to question the existence of the Guardians, making them grow weaker as they slowly stopped believing.
But MiM knew what was going on, and he had a plan...

Notes:

- This is my first fanfiction about Rise of the Guardians and the first fanfiction I ever wrote in English. Therefore, please be nice and tell me if something is wrong. I'm trying to improve.
- I swear I tried to understand as much as I could about Bunnymund's background; not having the book, things have been quite difficult, but I wanted to try and write something as close as I could to the character.
- Being a fanfiction I am putting so much effort in, I would like to know your opinion about it. Please rate and comment!
- Rating will go up for later chapters.

Enjoy~!

Spring was right around the corner, and the air was warmer already. The wind was gently blowing on the newborn leaves hanging on their branches making them slightly wiggle, as if they were like tiny green hands waving to the new season.

Spring was the season of rebirth and new beginnings where, after the long, cold Winter, fauna and flora get back to life: animals wake up from hibernation, plants and trees grow new foliage and let new flowers bloom, letting them spread their scent into the open air.

All of that was extremely familiar to E. Aster Bunnymund, the Guardian of Hope, also known as the Easter Bunny. In all of these years he could witness the changes of the weather, the birth of new beings, the growth of new plants.
He loved everything about Spring; especially his holiday, Easter, when he could manage to bring sweets and coloured eggs to every child in the world, gaining new believers every year and... well, losing some of them, too.
It has never been a nice thing to lose some of his favourite believers, who he personally looked after as years passed by, watching them grow older until they stopped going to Easter Egg Hunts, forgetting about the Easter Bunny to replace him with any other interest.

To E. Aster Bunnymund losing believers was always one of the most painful things. He had been alone for so long now, after becoming the last of the Pookan kind because of Pitch Black.
Pookas were a strong race, and during Pitch's attack they all tried to resist, to save their families, their beloved ones, their pride.
In about a day, no one was left. No kits, no does, no wise old Pookas to ask for support or advices. No one was left.

Except for Bunnymund.

With a paw on his aching head he walked through the ruins of his once-prosperous place, now reduced to a mix of dust and blood.
Silence was even worse than the horrified screams that echoed all around until a few hours ago: if Bunnymund had hoped that all of these painful cries would soon end, now he prayed any kind of deity to hear a muffled moan, any kind of cry or yell that would mean someone was still alive.

But that never happened.

He kept on walking, looking at the dead bodies all around him with increasing grief as soon as he could recognize the muzzles of his friends, his siblings, his relatives.
He managed to keep his tears from falling as he walked further, head held high, not willing to surrender: Pookas were many, it wasn't possible that all of them could've been wiped out in only a few hours.
Supposing that it had all happened in only a few hours... he couldn't remember. He could only recall the horrible run with his siblings, holding the paws of the younger ones, trying to protect and save them.

But then, darkness.

He just knew that he woke up face down in the dust, his ears still echoing with his people' cries, when around him there was only an atrocious silence.
The only sound he could hear was produced by his own hind legs dragging on the dusty ground, arms limp down his sides, ears flat to the back of his skull and eyes red because of the tears that he didn't want to let down.

Then, he stopped, kneeling down with a painful sigh: there was a little, dead body laying down in the middle of a puddle of blood, right in front of him. The tiny, blue eyes were still open wide, mirror of the atrocious and terrifying way that poor kit had lost his precious life.
Bunnymund kneeled in front of him, closing his sightless eyes with his left paw before breaking into an intense cry, holding the lifeless creature in his arms, realizing that he was the only one left.

That was long time ago, though.
And even though these memories hurt as if he was still living them, now he had duties.
He was a Guardian, and with that task he had the chance to protect little ones. Of course, none of them were Pookas, but they still were innocent kids at the beginning of their life, still able to hope in a bright future where hopefully they wouldn't experience what Bunnymund could go through back in his days.

Of course, still many kids were unhappy: some of them did not have a home, some of them did not have parents, some of them didn't have food or were seriously ill or were experiencing war.
But that was why he was there for: to bring Hope.

Still so much time passed and all he could think of doing was his job. He didn't do it for himself, he did it for the children, since he didn't have much left to hope for.
He lived in his Warren, with thousands of egglets as the only things that would keep him company.
Yes, the other Guardians became quite similar to a family, but he was still the last Pooka in the whole universe. And that hurt a lot.

Everytime he could hang out with kids he felt the painful emptiness that the memories of his lost family dug in him, so he slowly decided to limit the encounters to once a year, mostly on Easter sunday. That way he wouldn't face his sorrow and he wouldn't endear any of the little ones in particular.
But then, something happened.

Shortly after the Man in the Moon had chosen Jack Frost as a new Guardian, Bunnymund had the chance to meet a little girl, Sophie Bennett.
She was adorable, and Bunnymund couldn't help but think at how much he was longing to hold a little Pooka as he could do with that little girl. After meeting her, Bunnymund's life lit up a bit, even though that lasted for a very short time compared to the eternal lifetime expecting him.

As every child, even Sophie grew up.
She became a gorgeous teenager, and Bunnymund kept watching over her as years passed by. And as it already happened with many other kids, she slowly stopped seeing him. Moreover, German kids started doubting about the existence of the Guardians once realizing that the Easter spirit was a rabbit instead of a hare as their legend said, and that slowly made him and the other Guardians feel weaker as days passed by.

Bunnymund knew that was going to happen, but it hit him so hard he had lost any trace of hope left in him.
How could he be a Guardian of Hope if hope itself didn't flow in his veins anymore?

It all happened when everything seemed to be over.
He didn't know how it had been possible, but it was real. Three days before what seemed his worst Easter ever he found himself believing and hoping again, and everything thanks to one of the most precious gifts he would be ever blessed with.

A daughter.

The way she got into his life had been one of the weirdest things he could witness. He knew Pookas - and mammals in general - required a mate to reproduce.
He had no mate, but that little one was there anyway.
She got out from an unnaturally big egg in his Warren, and despite her brownish fur colour, her hazel eyes and her look more similar to a hare than a rabbit, she was exactly like him: a Pooka.

North told him that he could "feel in his belly" that it was all thanks to the Man in the Moon.
He probably was right.
And Bunnymund couldn't ask for anything better.