Alicorn,

First of all, thanks for taking the time to give an in-depth response.

I personally have misgivings similar to those expressed by HonoreDB, insofar as it seems that although the fantastical elements of the story do 'justify' the situation in a sense, they appear to be designed to do so.

I felt that these sort of plot devices were essentially a post hoc excuse to perpetuate a sort of knight-in-shining-armor dynamic in order to tantalize a somewhat young and ideologically vulnerable audience in the interest of turning a quick buck.

Then again, I may be being somewhat oversensitive, or I may be letting my external biases (I personally don't care for the young adult fantasy genre) cloud my judgment.