Five Nights at Freddy's: My Take on the Timeline

FNaF 4

To make this easier, the older son will be referred to as 'Child 1'. Also, assuming that you, the reader, play the game, there is canonical proof that Michael Afton is 'The Crying Child'/the younger brother from FNaF (see 'The Survival Logbook').

When he was young, Michael Afton's only friends were his plush animatronics. He had a Fredbear plush that seemed to send him into paranoia, as he saw it everywhere. That plush affected him like this most likely because it talked to him regularly, and that would have seemed both normal (he was young and didn't question it) and abnormal (talking toy??). This could also have been Michael's imagination, but it is more likely that there was a radio (like a walkie-talkie) inside of the plush, as we see a Fredbear plush with one in Sister Location. Michael is bullied by his older brother, who appears to be in his late teens. Based on 'The Survival Logbook' and what that adds to Michael's character, he'd have to be around 9 years old. He always appears to be crying, most likely because he lives in constant fear of his older brother, or his parents' dysfunctional marriage. Elisabeth was likely too young at the time for this to have affected her.

Michael's parents went to court regarding their divorce on Michael's birthday (see 'Mrs Afton'), leaving him with the older brother and his friends. To torment him, the older brother carried Michael to the stage and put the younger brother's head inside of the mouth of Fredbear. The springlocks on the animatronic failed, and the mouth closed, biting Michael's head. The others could only watch in horror as he cried and struggled, eventually going limp.

Michael didn't die, but he went into a coma. Bear in mind that this was NOT the 'Bite of '87', this was in 1983. Michael went into a coma-induced dream state, with the animatronics he used to love becoming nightmarish killing machines. It is unlikely that Michael had any idea of what these animatronics would be involved in. The flatline at the end of the game does not actually mean that Michael dies: "Successful resuscitation is generally unlikely and is inversely related to the length of time spent attempting resuscitation." This suggests that, although unlikely, it is possible that Michael was resuscitated.

Fredbear's Family Diner closed a few days later, possibly at the end of the week. However, William murdered a child outside of the diner, as seen in the minigame 'Take cake to the children'. The murdered child, named Charlotte, who happens to be the daughter of Henry, goes on to possess The Puppet/Marionette. This was just the beginning of Afton's murders.