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Zap isn't really perusing canon inclusion, and this fic was already discussed in brainstorming as probably not being a proper fit for how we want to develop any of the characters. So baring a compelling argument to the contrary this seems like a pretty solid non-canon fanfic.

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I'll say non-canon as well. Mostly I don't want Ponyville to fill up with an abnormally large number of ponies who spent their younger days in an abnormal way. Cheerilee's past becomes a bit less interesting if everyone in Ponyville had something comparable.

Mind, there's otherwise nothing wrong with the fic - well, beyond a few editing issues, but generally I don't judge that with regards to canon unless they are truly atrocious, and this isn't anything like that.

So, yeah, I'll vote for non-canon.

...also I really need to update the non-canon list...

I think semi-canon could work for this

My understanding of semi-canon rules is that it's none of its details are canon unless they're specifically cited in a full episode or webisode. So for Treasure City, for instance, the existence of the Vault 6, Ice Heart, and Solar Flare are canon because they show up in Ice Hearts, whereas the existence of Samareai and Neighja isn't, because they haven't been mention in a 'real' story yet.

So I think semicanon would be useful here. There's some details that don't work with canon, like Filthy being a master manipulator, and most likely whatever's coming up with Notary (I'm guessing she's the 5th pony). But at the same time I wouldn't want to exclude the possibility of something occurring that we do want to refer back to in canon, such as a deepening of the Rollee ship. Making it semicanon would allow for us to allude to the two of them bonding without also making us declare that Filthy, for instance, has a mysterious past like the rest.

So I'd vote semicanon.

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But at the same time I wouldn't want to exclude the possibility of something occurring that we do want to refer back to in canon,

We can do that regardless, such as how Trixie and Raindrops exercising together from Heat of the Moment was later incorporated into canon, even while most everything else in that fic remains non-canon. So likewise, if there's one or two thing we feel like later poaching from this fic, there's never anything stopping us.

Conversely, semi-canon tends to infer a default trueness unless explicitly contradicted elsewhere. That may not have been the original intent, but it's how our contributing authors have largely ended up treating it. Some minor discrepancies can be safely ignored, but we shouldn't apply semi-canon status to any fic where we expect the need to veto major aspects of the story.

Also the fact that the author isn't perusing canon should be taken into account. So at the very least I think we should wait until he's finished it, so as to allow him the maximum freedom to develop the story along its own path, and then only afterwards consider revising its canonicity status.

such as a deepening of the Rollee ship.

Actually, I think that's more so another reason to NOT canonize this fic. The ship has been discussed on the forums before, and the general consensus was not to peruse it due to the complications of a teacher dating one of her student's parents. Rather they should, at least for the foreseeable future, just be casual friends.

I'm fine with non canon.

3979019 And I think Cheerilee's past get less interesting the more details we give it.

3979514 Plus Heavy Roller is still in grievance... maybe in the far flung Future from which Future Dinky comes from that could have happened after Scootaloo graduated.