Board Thread:Speculation House/@comment-24177652-20140316072117/@comment-24117358-20140317073833

So I was thinking about this too, and I think that they really are the same person. My evidence doesn't really connect them through anything other than Ruby and Yang. Think about it, Monty himself stated that they are indeed sisters. He was being a bit sketchy on some things but that can be expected because he is Monty. At first he said that they were definitely sisters, and one of them was adopted. Then he clarified and said that they were sisters, not adoptive sisters. So my point is, Summer is Ruby and Yang's true mother. Since Yang is older, maybe Summer wasnt ready for parenthood and gave her to a family member to take care of, like Qrow, and keeping Yang from finding out that Summer is her real mother. After Ruby was born Summer decided she was ready for parenthood and actually raised her for most of Ruby's young life, but in reality Summer wasn't ready, and feeling too much pressure, she left. This is evidenced by the lyrics of red like roses part II, Where the older voice sings about not having a choice and wishing she hadn't left, and about Ruby not being the only one who needed her (Yang).

Now here is where more information is really needed, but I think that after she left something happened to make her turn to the dark side (hehe, more star wars references), and bacause of whatever it was, she changed her persona into Cinder Fall. Another connection is that Cinder shows a very proficient skill with fire based attacks, and Yang basically combusts whenever she gets angry. Maybe Yang could become more controlling of her power if she works on it, like I'm sure Cinder has been.

So to recap, Summer left Yang and Ruby when they were almost too young to remember her, Neither of them know they are blood relatives, but since Yang was adopted by Ruby's father, they know they are adoptive sisters (One thing I forgot to point out is that they may not have the same father, which is why Yang had to be adopted, instead of just accepted back into the family. If Ruby's father doesn't know that Yang is also Summer's daughter, this would sure explain it). Ruby has memories of Summer because Summer actually tried to raise her, while Yang has no memories of her, but has the same ability to (sort of) control fire. Something happens to Summer before she can return to them which makes her take the identity of Cinder Fall, and to undertake an as yet unknown-to-us mission, whose purpose is also unknown. As for Ruby and Cinder's fight on the rooftop in the first episode, I'm all but certain Ruby didn't recognise her, as she was very young when her mother left. And as for Cinder, it has been quite a long time (I'm guessing at least 10 years) since she has seen Ruby, which is more than enough time for either of them to change beyond recognition, even for family. Another thing is that even with Ruby and Yang's hair colors being different, it isnt exactly uncommon for family members to have different colored hair in anime.