Past, Present, and Future - With My Own Hands
Dancing over the Incubator’s small, shriveled, dying body. Smiling happily at her new Soul Gem. Letting herself fall… She should’ve been stone dead.
And yet, here she was, in a library made from the inside of a tree, staring at the unfamiliar horse-like figure in the mirror.
Her hair was a lot more wavy- and a lot more purple- than she remembered. She still had the lizard that carried her Soul Gem hanging from her ear, and the red ribbon that her best friend gave her before she disappeared, tying her hair into a loose ponytail on one side. Her skin- coat? coat- was a much lighter purple than her hair, with the old shape of her Soul Gem branded on her flank.
“Don’t worry about it,” called a voice from the bottom of the stairs. “Everypony gets confused by their own reflection at first. And I’ll bet you’re still experiencing a little vertigo from that jump.”
That's right. In a way, she jumped, but... why?...
The mare who found her here was Twilight Sparkle, one of the now few fully artificial inhabitants of Equestria. She and Homura shared a lot of the same colors, with Twilight having straighter hair and an extra pink highlight. The symbol on her flank was a pink six-pointed star surrounded by five smaller white ones. And more notable, Twilight had wings. When Homura asked, she was told something about a horn and wings on the same pony meaning a strong connection to the royal family. At least, that’s what she could gather, still being only half-awake then.
“Shouldn’t we let her rest a little more?” asked the little dragon sitting next to her. “This is a lot to lay on her when she just got here. You’re usually a lot more careful about these things.”
“If you had any idea as to what’s going on, you’d know that we’re already very short on time, Spike!” Twilight retorted.
Suddenly, a pink pony appeared from just outside Twilight’s vision. “He has a point, Twily! You could at least show her around Ponyville!”
“Pinkie?!” Twilight shrieked, and then sighed. “You never cease to amaze me, Pinkie Pie. I constantly struggle to understand why Princess CelestAI only made you an earth pony.”
“C’mon, at least let me show her around. There hasn’t been anypony new here in a while! Not anypony like her, anyway.”
“Life in Equestria as we know it is in grave danger because of her, Pinkie! I need to take her to see the princess right away!”
“I’ll make it snappy, I promise! There’s just a few ponies I wanna take her to meet to help things along, that’s all. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!”
“If you start dilly-dallying and get us all killed, I hope you’re the first to go.” Twilight breathed. “I’ll meet you both in Canterlot.”
“Wait, you mean I’m not coming with you?” Spike whined.
Twilight turned to address her assistant, her voice stern. “No. If anything does go wrong, I don’t want you to get hurt. Now, take a note, Spike. Let the princess know I’m on my way.”
Homura looked around at the town as she followed the pink mare bouncing ahead of her. It was rather old fashioned, even by the new world’s standards. No trace of what was considered modern technology, but she did notice a green mare sitting upright on the bench like a human.
“Oh! That’s Lyra.” said Pinkie Pie. “She’s a dead human’s conscience, just like you.”
“A… dead human’s conscience?”
“That’s kind of how Equestria works. Some of us are pure A.I., like me and Twilight. But a lot of the ponies around here now used to be humans before they were uploaded. Of course, not all of them were human- we’ve brought in a couple Witches as of late. We’re gonna go meet them now!”
“Witches?...”
Homura could hardly register her own shock at Pinkie’s words before the two of them stopped at a gingerbread house, almost identical to most interpretations of Hansel and Gretle, if not for the glittering pink color. “Here we are! Sugarcube Corner!” As if remembering Twilight’s words, Pinkie rushed her inside and introduced her to a pair of older ponies. “This is Mr. and Mrs. Cake, they run the place. And I live here with them. Mr. Cake, Mrs. Cake, this is Homura. But try not to talk too long, Twilight sent me on an important mission!”
Mrs. Cake, a small, round blue mare, squished Homura’s cheeks like a grandmother would do to a child. “Aww, aren’t you just the prettiest thing?”
“Uh… thanks?” Homura struggled to speak against the hooves on either side of her face.
“I know Pinkie said you two have something important to attend to,” Mr. Cake added, “but before you go on your way, would you like to see the foals?”
“Foals?”
“Already on it~!” Pinkie Pie called from upstairs, only to zip down with the pair of aforementioned foals- a yellow-orange unicorn and a pale brown pegasus- scooped up in her arms. “These little ones are Pumpkin Cake and Pound Cake. Aren’t they the cutest? Pumpkin here’s the one I told you about on the way over.”
And now that Pinkie had said it, the little foal did look familiar to her. Those bright blue eyes as it smiled and reached out for her said it all.
Charlotte, the Witch that killed her once dear friend, Mami Tomoe…
Overcome with emotion and unstable in her reasoning, Homura burst into tears and fled the bakery.
“Hey, wait!” Pinkie called, setting the twins down on the counter and following the mare outside. “We still have to meet TWILIGHT IN CANTERLOT!!!”
Once she had finally calmed Homura down and they caught the train to Canterlot, Pinkie Pie had one last stop in mind before the castle…
She swung the large doors of the mansion open and called out to a gray mare onstage playing the cello. “Octavia? I have a visitor~!”
The pony immediately ceased playing and turned her gaze to the purple unicorn standing behind Pinkie, locking eyes and casting a death glare at her. “I know who you are…”
Oktavia von Seckendorff, the Witch that resulted from Sayaka Miki’s despair...
“Really? Oh goodie!” Pinkie Pie cheered. “That makes it even easier! So, you already know about-”
“My very existence- or, re-existence, rather- should have been your first, if not final warning.” Octavia snarled. “But no, you just clapped me away into nothing. I wouldn’t be able to play my music anymore if not for Princess CelestAI and the Elements of Harmony, so you’d better not step out of line and try to hurt them, or you’ll be sorry.” She shifted her gaze to Pinkie Pie. “Princess Twilight’s waiting for you at the castle. Out. Now!”
Octavia ushered the ponies back through the door and slammed it shut behind them. “Wow, she must’ve really held a grudge against you back then,” Pinkie laughed. She turned to see Homura hanging her head, not sharing her enthusiasm in the slightest. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
Homura sniffled and wiped a tear away with her hoof. “Nothing, really. What are these Elements of Harmony that she was talking about?”
“Me and my friends, duh! I’m the Element of Laughter, my friend, Rarity, is the Element of Generosity, Fluttershy is the Element of Kindness, Applejack is the Element of Honesty, Rainbow Dash is the Element of Loyalty, and last but not least, Twilight is the Element of Magic. Those six Elements keep the balance of hope and despair in Equestria, and it’s what we use to purify Witches when they get uploaded.”
“Balance of hope and despair?...”
Pinkie giggled. “You sure ask a lotta questions, huh?”
“Your Highness, she’s here.”
The guard stepped aside and allowed Homura to enter the throne room, and with one look at the tall white alicorn seated there, her blue-green and pink hair flowing in the absent wind, knowing she was the reason Homura failed to protect her friend when all of this should’ve worked perfectly, all of her heartbreak and realization leading up to this moment was replaced by rage…
She charged ahead, tripping on the bottom step leading up to the throne, but almost instantly springing back to life, glaring at the princess angrily. “What did you do to me?! Where’s Madoka?!”
“Homura Akemi,” Princess CelestAI sighed as she stood from her throne, stepping down to face the purple unicorn. “we have much to discuss.”
“Did you really think the Law of Cycles would be of any use to anypony without its- no, her hands!” Twilight continued, stomping down from her own throne.
Homura stammered, still not quite able to control her emotions after everything that happened throughout the day. “H-how do you know about any of that?!”
“Madoka Kaname wished to erase Witches “with her own hands!” Take away her hands, everypony turns into a Witch! Is that what you want? Would you really allow that to happen just to see her again!”
CelestAI extended her wing to quiet the younger alicorn. “When I became a Magical Girl, I wanted everyone to live a happy life and to satisfy them spiritually. But now, because of you, myself and my subjects will bring nothing but despair…”
Twilight took a deep, calming breath. “However,” she pulled an opera mask, a gun, and a crumpled up tarot card from her saddle bag and held them out to Homura. “there might still be a way.”
“Magical Girls and Witches are one in the same, so the Witch that results from Madoka Kaname is still Madoka. If you let her become a Witch, the Law of Cycles will regain its hands- you can have her at your side again and still stay true to her wish.”
“As the Princess of Friendship, the last thing I want is for you to break such a heartfelt promise, but it’s come to that. When you became what you called a devil, you said the Incubators were essential to mankind? If we agree to send you home, you have to let Madoka make a Contract with Kyubey. She might want to throw her life away to save everyone, but no matter what, you can’t change her fate. Can you do that for us?”
Homura felt like her heart could shatter at any moment. She collapsed to the floor in tears. “All I wanted was for Madoka to be happy. I never considered even for a second that giving herself up to save others made her the happiest…” She didn’t feel like she could go back and face her friend. If Princess CelestAI wished that same happiness for her subjects, maybe she could stay here, with her own Madoka. But the princess just said that- No… She had to stay strong. For Madoka. “I’ll do it- I have to. If it’s for Madoka’s sake, I’ll do anything! Wh-what was it that Pinkie said? Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye?”
“I’m glad you said that,” Twilight chuckled, “because you never break a Pinkie Promise.”
"I just have one more thing I'd like to ask you," said Princess CelestAI. "I uploaded you here after you jumped. Why did you do it? And with a smile on your face no less?"
"I-..." Homura stopped. "I... I don't know..."
"Wouldn't you have been much happier if you had just gone away with Madoka in the first place?"
"I suppose so... But I promise I'll fix all of this! I'll save everyone and make her happy! I swear it!"
"Very well." Princess CelestAI's horn began to glow, surrounding Homura in a ball of light, and with a flash, she was gone.
There was almost instinctively a moment of silence between the two alicorns, as they mourned for the girl and could only wish for her success. Fidgeting, Twilight was the first to break it. “Shall I send the goddess' message with her, Princess?”
CelestAI nodded.
Twilight returned the nod and quickly pulled a quill and scroll from her bag.
"~~Dear Princess Celestia~~ My dearest friend Homura Akemi,
Today I learned something very important- and difficult- about love, friendship, and sacrifice. No matter what form you take, Homura-chan is Homura-chan. Falling in love with someone is a wonderful thing, so please don't call yourself the devil. I love you.
Your ~~faithful student~~ very best friend, Madoka Kaname"
