Board Thread:Show-Related Questions and Answers/@comment-1894786-20141225064843/@comment-1894786-20150218224509

WorldHopper22 wrote: I believe Emma, The Dragon, and Zelena are the only ones who have magic in the LWM. This explains why Walsh was able to transform into a flying monkey in New York because it was Zelena's magic that turned him into a flying monkey to start with. Zelena was confirmed in-universe to have been the strongest practioner of magic of all time (except maybe the Sorceror?), so that makes somewhat sense. Emma and The Dragon do not. Emma is the product of True Love, the strongest magic of all, but magic doesn't exist in our world, regardless of strength.

We still have no explanation for the Dragon, or the Shadow, or August turning to wood, or how the Darlings survived so long in our world if they didn't have magic.

I highly believe that originally, magic was supposed to work in our world as long as you weren't brought over with the Dark Curse (like Emma or the Dragon or the Shadow), but then Eddy and Adam retconned it by not letting Ingrid have magic in our world when she first arrived, making it so no magic can work here, unless it's in Storybrooke. (which makes sense plot-wise, if Ingrid had powers, she could've convinced Emma to stay with her easily).