I wouldn’t say that’s certain, there’s never really enough evidence to tell if they are sapient or not, whether they have a soul is irrelevant. On one hand it shows them doing complex tasks like playing guitar and whatnot and the ability to understand language such as twilights instructions but this could be contributed to some of pinkies memories being passed along and them merely acting upon them, like how a computer could be programmed to assemble something but not understand what it is it’s doing, but again there’s not enough evidence to support them being philosophy zombies or “animals” acting on memory. What twilight should have done is tested them for the ability to learn tasks she knew pinkie didn’t know and see if they could figure it out and abstract learning puzzles, if they can’t figure out basic logic puzzles and complex tasks in even the most basic form then they aren’t sapient, but might be sentient, how to test sentience in a being that isn’t sapient is another story, but if they’re just mindless “animals” then there’s nothing wrong with sending them back to the mirror pool an duly have a much more foolproof way of figuring out who’s the real pinkie besides giving them a task even a non-clone individual on adderal couldn’t do because it’s so boring

@BronyHeresy  
So you can’t see a soul, or even know whether or not it exists, yet you CAN say for certain that the clones don’t have it? Yeah, that makes sense. Your only justification for killing them is that they were “shoddily made”, which is in direct contradiction to the evidence already presented below.

Yeah but those take too long. Imagine how much valuable time you could save if you just punched the other guy out!

I don’t have to prove with absolute certainty that someone exists. I only need a reasonable degree of certainty and the ability to avoid double standards. By every standard that I would hold myself to, who I assume to be worthy of human rights, I can judge others by.

@BronyHeresy
 
Don’t. Yes, I know what you’re trying to do, and you know I know. So don’t.
 
 
@Niggoslav_Krawczyk
 
There are ways of voicing disagreement that do not devolve into petty insults; I would be grateful if you tried those out for a while.

@Heracy *brohoof*  
@Niggo lol ass
 
@picture
 
I thought of the Pinkies as VIs from Mass Effect. Or Weak-AIs from Halo. Very sophisticated constructs copied from Pinkie. Makes sense in the ep too, as all the clone Pinkies seem pretty single-minded

If you believe in souls you have the dumb everyday. Just sayin’

The problem with denying the existence of souls, is that if I have no soul, I’m really no more meaningful than an animal, or a tree, or a rock, or an electron. In which case, there’s nothing wrong with offing me anyway.

*can you prove they existed.  
I have the dumb today.

vvv  
I’ve never seen a soul. I’ve never seen your brain either. Or Aristotle. Care to prove they existed? You cannot really prove anything exists. Basically, all I’m saying is that the clones were P-Zombies, and shoddily made ones at that.

@BronyHeresy
 
The dupes passed every definition of “life” I’ve ever known. You can argue they were less intelligent/mature than the real Pinkie Pie, but they were still above, say, Gummy. And given their young age, there’s nothing to say they wouldn’t have eventually outgrown their fun-craving and learned to behave like the normal Pinkie Pie.

If they really wanted to test the Pinkie Pies, they should have given them a choice, rather than trying to trick them. Twilight could have said. “We’re going to have a super fun thing, but then you have to go back to the pool.” The Pinkie Pies that were unable to choose and wanted only fun would have been weeded out without resorting to torture.

damnit, i will add a tag that i have filtered to escape from this overanalizing nightmare!

Ah yes, the old “they don’t have a soul,” argument. I must be broken though, cause I’ve never actually seen a soul before, have you? What do they look like? It’d be great if you could describe it for everyone.
 
Even if it weren’t for the fact that many of the Pinkie Pie’s failed the test because of reflex actions rather than conscious choices, (See: “Startle Reflex”) that test was something that most real children would fail.
 
The simple fact of the matter is that you cannot even be certain if you yourself are nothing more than a simulation. Even Descartes’ “Cogito Ergo Sum,” is technically a logical fallacy.
 
Pinkie Pie’s clones passed every test of sentience, sapience, consciousness and self-awareness.
 
• They could feel. Pinkie Pie’s first clone was presented with a dilemma and broke down in tears by the end.  
• They could perceive. This one is a no brainer.  
• They were able to have subjective experiences. First Pinkie Pie was able to relate her experiences from memory in her own words.  
• They were able to reason. First Clone was given an objective: go to Applejack’s barn raising so they could be at all the fun things at once. She observed a conflicting option and was able to infer that she would fail, altered her own plan, and was able to explain her reasoning in words to Real Pinkie Pie later.  
• They had individuality. If they were all the same, they would have all failed the test simultaneously.  
• They had self-awareness. They recognized that they were separate and distinct from other people, including each other, showing off their own abilities to gain recognition; and were able to comprehend the consequences ceasing to exist, when they stopped going fun crazy to participate in the test.  
• They had creativity. They were shown to be able to do things that they had never seen before, like making crazy faces.  
• They had the ability to comprehend abstract concepts, such as speech.  
• They were able to make Value Judgements, and thus displayed Sapience. First Pinkie Clone worries about what she should do, and has to explain to Real Pinkie Pie why it is a real problem, which proves that it was not autonomous behavior.

@Heresy  
yep those two factors really play a role in your method of thinking about it, it was never stated whether or not so both views are equally valid

All this talk still gives me ideas for shade as an element though :D

@bgp  
My comparison still fits. The Shade didn’t want to go: for something like that to seem real, it must have some sort of self-preservation instinct.

I suppose it really depends on a couple things: 1. Can magic create life/sentience in Equestria? 2. Was it a static enchantment, a spell that creates something that will neither grow nor degrade.

The first dupe showed more character than just “fun”. She was worried, anxious, sad, and if we believe she was also the last dupe standing, probably also fear. That the dupes were willing to put up with that insufferably boring test likely proves that they didn’t want to “go back”.

@Cgeta  
I…okay lets go with Kirby’s comparison to nobodies from kingdom hearts, they could become individuals given time they have to because of experiences but when first formed they’re instinctive creatures (like a baby because they were literally just born) they reacted because it’s what their instincts said they should do they resisted reacting outright because they knew it would be bad if they did  
but Twilight was right to do what she did even if they were exact clones of Pinkie ‘soul’ and all they had to go back  
could be wrong don’t really care but you have to at least see where I’m coming from

I don’t care about the moralist junk goin’ on here, but Cgeta has given me the greatest freakin’ idea.
 
HAPPY PINKIE FRIENDS SHORTS  
In a parallel universe, Twilight decided if they got them out of Ponyville, much like the parasprites they would be out of sight, out of mind. We then see the numerous pinkies being offed in loads of ridiculous ways, such as running into a pole which starts a rube goldberg chain of events ending with a piano slamming into the Pinkie. Or one of them sees the clanging lights of a railroad crossing, and immediately halts and watches. SKOOSH
 
Turns out one other element they don’t share with their original is resilience!

The point being, they had no soul, no true emotion: like a magical/biological automaton more than a person or an animal.

@Heresy  
my point is probably that the shade existed in a dream since it was inception so they aren’t really comparable at all :/
 
For example compare killing something in a dream to killing something in real life  
even if it’s the exact same thing in real life you actually really killed something

And yet they failed the test.
 
Their rational thinking is extremely limited. If they were left on their own they would just run away, following that birdie until they get lost.

@CottonTales  
And the Shade was able to simulate discomfort and guilt, even love and concern, despite being terrifyingly amoral. What’s your point?