~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WINBORN SPOILERS IF YOU HAVN"T READ IT DON"T READ ANYMORE OF THIS POST UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE SPOILED~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here we go:
I know some of you think Riversun will grow up to be a villain, while some think she will be good, and others undecided. I personally think she will grow up, realize her parents' mistakes, and join Star's herd. If she even lives.
Riversun was still nursing when Petalcloud was smashed by the tribute. I think she still had another moon or so til she could be safely weaned. But please correct me if I'm wrong. Stormtail took her with the Ice Warriors to raise her, but she didn't have the starfire, so she's not immortal, and needs milk. Unless there is a mare that takes her in, it's very likely that she could have died. But her not being immortal yet brings me to another theory.
Was there a Hundred Year Star in the sky when she was born? Because there have only been two black foals who lived long enough to receive the starfire, and Nightwing is the only black foal to have a foal himself, there is no information on whether or not the starfire is inherited. It could be that when a black foal has their own foal, the foal inherits the rare black coat, and not the starfire.
Last year in my science class, we were studying genetics, and I began to be very interested in horse coat color genes. The black coat on pegasi could be like gray in real life, where the gene is ALWAYS dominant, and no matter what gene one of the parents has, if there is a gray gene, the foal is always a gray. And if the foal isn't gray, then the gene is gone from that family line forever. It could be the same with blacks.
Maybe slowly over time, black gradually becomes a more common color, because it is a dominant gene. Not as common as like bay, or chestnut, and maybe it depends on the herd, but in the future, maybe.
And there we go! I think that Riversun may have died (sad, but likely), and she may not even have the starfire, and black coats may not always mean starfire
So, what do think of my theories?
If any of my facts are wrong, or if my explanations didn't make sense, please tell me!
I think most of it made sense…
I’ve never thought of the black coat becoming more common as time went on, but I think that would only happen if more black foals had foals of their own.
I think the question on whether the starfire is inherited or not would be a good fan fic.
Lastly, on Riversun dying because she still needed milk, I don’t think that would happen. Hear me out.
Star wasn’t immortal when his mother died since he didn’t have the starfire yet, but he still survived because Silverlake offered to milk him instead. Stormtail took Riversun in just like Silverlake had with Star, but since Stormtail can’t milk Riversun because of biological reasons, I think he would make a mare from Wind Herd do it. Then she’d be like Star; real mother died early but she survived because she got milk from another mare.
That’s just what I think though…
That is one pretty impressive. Riversun isn't dominantly black like her sire, but is a black pinto. Not sure if the same scientific gene rules apply. But yeah, I do wonder if she dies. Also, @Riverglade, it's funny we have the same name. If you don't mind we can share it. But if you do, I can change. :) Also I read your bio and we are a lot alike!
I've posted it!!!
Thanks! I'll try to post it soon..
It's called Nightwing's Shadows
I agree on the no starfire, but I'm writing a fanfiction where the colt survived ( it's called Shadowblaze(Iceberry's name)) and their diluted starfire sparked in their guts on their 1st b-days.
I think River, you are my other mind somehow out of my body. (Or am I yours...?) We agree on almost everything!! This make PERFECT sense, and it's what I think too! (And I think once the black foals are older we would call them black stallions or black mares.) I don't believe the starfire is an inherited thing, because (as you said, @Stormfrost) that would completely destroy the legend of thee black foal.
!!!
I love this theory
Wow, this is SO INTERESTING!!!! I really never thought about how Petalcloud's death could have a negative effect on Riversun's survival. She was only like a few weeks or a month or so old at the time, right? (I don't have access to my copy of Windborn right now 😑) The earliest horse foals are usually weaned is like 3-4 months which is sadly a much longer time then Riversun had with her dam, so even if she did make it she may have some lasting health problems.
On the other wing, my theory about what happened was that Stormtail would probably find some way to ensure that Petalcloud's only filly was given the best care possible he could arrange by any means necessary (to include forcing a mare to do it). I'd also like to think that Riversun would turn out somewhat like *Warriors Spoilers* Brackenclaw, Tawneypelt and Mothwing where at first everyone judges them for the actions of their father (or in Riversun's case, both parents), but are able to tell the difference between right and wrong. And are eventually able to over come the legacy that was left for them. However, kids/foals are like sponges in the sense that they soak up ideas and opinions from around them. And because she's being raised by pegasi who I'd assume aren't exactly the best influence, I wouldn't be surprised if, at least at first, Riversun would not be the fondest of anything her parents were against (i.e. Star).
As for rather or not she'll have starfire, I go back and forth on this. It would diffidently be cool if it was an ability that could be passed down, but I can imagine that if starfire was hereditary, that over time it may create a bit of superiority complex over regular pegasi leading to another Nightwing style eradication of the herds. But going back to my theory, I think that if Riversun does have starfire, it would be dormant until at least her first birthday. I also think that it could be probable that if she does have it, it might be slightly diluted and not as strong as Star's or Nightwing's.
Also, (skipping topics a bit) I think you raise a good point about roans and grullos. I wonder that maybe Nightwing wasn't actually the first black foal that survived foal hood, and there was another one like hundreds of years before that was either kept secret or was forgotten about. Maybe all the diluted black colored pegasi are descended from this ancient black foal? That would probably mean that starfire isn't something that gets passed down, but I do think that it's an interesting thing to think about.
Idk, sorry about the bit of a rant :/ sometimes I get bombarded with ideas when I'm writing and well... this happens XD
yeah. so weird
One thing: Riversun isn't black. I don't know why everyone thinks that Riversun could have star fire, or her brother, if he's survived. Black coats are not star fire indicators. If they were sired by the Hundred Year Star, they have starfire. If they are not, they don't. Plain and simple. Sure, Nightwing had starfire, but it's not genetic. That would ruin the entire lore. Riversun is't a black foal, and Riversun was't sired by the Hundred Year Star. So she doesn't have starfire. That's it.
I want to add that there are 3 base coats for horses, Black, Chestnut, and Bay. they're the most common colors, and all the other colors you see on horses are variations of them, affected by genes and mutations, changing the appearance. It seems like there aren't genetics in pegasi, although it seems that markings are inherited sometimes. Blue roans are just blacks with the roan gene, and same as grullos, with the dun gene. They are variations of black, so I think that pure black is rare, but variations aren't, if that makes sense.
I think your explanation makes sense! I never thought of how she still needed milk. I like the idea of the black coat becoming more common over time!