Mr Shears on souls

“She understands enough. I know she’s not all there, but she’s our best chance for getting through the ghouls without getting torn to pieces.” I glanced back as well but then quickly changed the subject. “I was wondering, though: what keeps a ghoul… well… together?” I asked as I looked at the nurse.

She still didn’t look very happy about my choice, but answered, “It’s… hard to explain. It’s like there’s a thing inside you that’s you. Like a tiny guttering flame. If you’re careful and protect it, then you can remember who you are. But if it goes out…” She shook her head. “Wheelbarrow believes there’s some life magic in the living that keeps that flame protected. Like… glue. But in ghouls it’s much weaker.”

“It’s your soul,” Mr. Shears said from the middle of the group. “A pony can continue living so long as they have the tiniest fragment of their soul. Without it, we’re mindless animals at best. We might have a brain, but we would have no will to suppress our aggressive urges.” His cloudy eyes glanced behind us. “Retaining one’s soul is easier when you are alive because your living flesh has a strong natural bond with your spirit.”

“Fragment of a soul? You mean souls can break?” Psychoshy asked as she looked around for confirmation, hovering above us. Stygius, flying alongside her, just gave a shrug.

Mr. Shears gave a sharp little hiss. “If you know what you are doing, yes. Just as you can use a single candle to light others, you can divide a soul into different vessels.”

Xanthe muttered something about curses. I looked at Nurse Graves’s stunned expression and asked the question on everyone’s mind. “How do you know this?”

“Because I am Equestria’s premier expert on souls.” He sounded pompous for a moment before he snorted, “Not that it matters much anymore. Souls won’t keep a raving Reaper at bay, and guns are infinitely more practical.” I looked at Graves in concern.

Fallout Equestria Project Horizons Chapter 46