The Rules and Laws behind 'Hoof and Claw'

Hello everyone! Thanks for checking out my story. I've been asked some questions that relate to the rules behind the 'Hoof and Claw' universe, so I figured I'd post them up here. What I'm about to write isn't spoilers per se, but if you like to figure things out as you go along you may want to skip this post.

* The story is written from the point of view of the main character (Josh / Nightmare Claw), so the reader doesn't learn about the hows and whys of things unless Josh learns about them. If Josh doesn't hear it or see it, the reader won't know about it either. So there are a lot of of things that won't be clear or may not make sense until later on in the story.

* Nightmare Moon is a powerful alicorn, and the only creature that can match her power is Celestia. Like Twilight Sparkle and Starlight Glimmer, she's used to using magic for everything. I believe she would see non-magical beings as useless and easily defeated. However, she also knows that she can't defeat an entire world without an army of some sort. And on a non-magical world like ours, she would think that an army that uses magic should be able to conquer a non-magical world easily. She has no access to Equestria, so her army HAS to be built on Earth. So, her first thought wouldn't be 'how do I change my battle plans to use these non-magical creatures', it's 'how do I change these creatures and give them magic, so they are useful to me'? Poor Josh never had a chance.

* Without a little 'hand-waving' of some sort, this story would end after the second chapter. Josh wouldn't be able to keep up with Nightmare Moon without magic, and she would abandon him as a useless but mildly entertaining creature. I felt it would be an even bigger cheat to just give him magic, or hand him a special hat or amulet that lets him use magic. Do you think Nightmare Moon's going to say something like, "Hey cutie. You're a good kisser so have an amazingly powerful skill that no one on your planet has!" I've read fanfiction like that, and they're not much fun. Nightmare Moon has her reasons for changing Josh and giving him magic, and they will be revealed eventually.

On top of that, there isn't enough time to train Josh properly (why is a spoiler), so Nightmare Moon is cheating. The memory transfers are definitely a cheat, and they only work because of another cheat she used. How she is cheating is explained in Act 1, Chapter 8.

* In other stories I've read, magic is handled in one of two ways: 'Magic Can Do Anything', or 'Magic Has Rules'. In this story, Magic Has Rules. A magical fireball can't melt or destroy everything yet leave humans unhurt. Flame and explosions are the same, whether they're made by magic or chemical combustion. Magical shields can keep the user safe much better than armor, but it can only protect from so much until it wears out or breaks. It is possible to layer multiple different spells, to make it look like one spell is super-powerful. But it's not as easy as saying 'I cast Magic Missile', then leaving the room to raid the fridge for some Mountain Dew.

Basically, magic doesn't make one impossible to beat. But you'll have to be pretty creative to out-think them and take them down.