Magia Record Story Puella Historia Pillar of Tomorrow
The following is a summary posted on Discord by bigscarythings.
Part One
Kagome opens with a fast summary of events so far - Iroha ascended and worked to travel through time to record the lost stories of magical girls. In the process, her concept collapsed and she was about to die, so her Magi pals traveled back in time to repair her concept. Their plan worked, and they were reunited with Iroha for an entire minute...before they realized the trap: that in recompiling Iroha, they had recompiled their historic enemy as well.
Now all of Kamihama has been engulfed in an enormous Labyrinth; at its center, built atop Mizuna Castle, is the Symbol Witch in all her hideous glory. Nayuta and Mikage, who were out patrolling when this occured, boggle over the scene; Mifuyu quickly finds them and explains that things have gone FUBAR and everyone needs to get to the Witch right now. Meanwhile, Hinano, Emiri and Shizuku boggle over the same thing. Hinano panics that the Witch is actually Iroha when she senses Iroha's reaction coming from the witch, but Emiri, her intuition sharper than a knife, surmises that Iroha and Yachiyo got nommed by the Witch, and they gotta go rescue 'em!
Now onto ground zero, Felicia is raring to fight the Witch, but Tsuruno holds her back, saying she'll die if she charges in alone, and Sana backs her up. But there's debate among the team - Rena wants to hurry and save her friends, as does Kaede, and even Momoko agrees, saying they can't afford to waste a single second. Yuna hates to go in without a plan, but admits they don't have time to make one right now. Shizuka says the choice is either fighting or standing here and awaiting defeat, so she's fighting. Himena reports that Hiko estimates Iroha and Yachiyo are at the Witch's apex, so they gotta head on up! But Lavi admits uncertainty, given that the entire city now forms the Witch's body and Labyrinth...
At this, Touka roars in frustration. Just standing here minimizes their odds of success! If they fail to act, then at this rate, the Witch will engulf the entire world! Being overly cautious is stupid and useless! Nemu tells her to cool off, but Tsuruno says they're motivating words - they gotta move!
Meanwhile, we cut to Iroha and Yachiyo within the void... Iroha is sorry this happened, but Yachiyo knows it's not Iroha's fault. But playing before their eyes is a series of disturbing, horrific visions...
...And in narration, we readers are privy to the Symbol Witch's thoughts...
"I must survive. That is my mission." She has been offered a power, one that will not be stolen from her... A power that can ensure her people find food and water, can sleep through the night in peace, and awaken with the dawn, as was meant to be. With their basic needs secured, they'll be free to make the grandest, most joyful family of all, where they can be surrounded by children and grandchildren...
In the Labyrinth, the girls face their first obstacle - swarms of familiars are pouring in, blocking their advance. Juri goes on a rampage even as Ao and Hikaru tell her to calm down. San is good for crowd control, but she can't handle all these masses alone. Sunao is providing support, but the Familiars are still getting past their lines - Charu thinks it's not so much that they're breaking through, but that Familiars are just spawning from everyplace. Felicia overexerts herself, but is rescued by Sana with a timely grief seed.
Just then, Mitama finally shows up (I think she's using Mito's connected hearts power? I have to see the animations) - she and the Coordinators were testing something, and they've confirmed how to shut down the Familiars - in past nodes, they found entry points from Familiar Labyrinths that lead to this one. Shut down the spawn points, and you shut down the onslaught! The girls learn that they're getting backup from other groups, like the Acorns; Kagome and Aru use their magic to get the Arumy to spread the word to all the teams!
But that's not enough for Juri, and she hatches her beautifully stupid plan - why climb the castle when they can just topple it?! Felicia is totally with her, calling her a genius; Juri had a feeling they'd get along just fine! They get to work even as Tsuruno and Yuna scream at them to stop, and it goes about as well as you'd think - it just pisses off the Familiars and Witch even more! We cut over to the Azaleas for a second, learning that Ayame had already tried this plan to similar results. Ria and Manaka are climbing up too as they get Aru's dispatch, and start advancing full steam ahead! Back to the Symbols Witch... Here, she contemplates her wish. Were it for the blessings of sun and rain, it matters not if there are no seeds. Without seeds, no plants will grow; without plants, animal life won't either. Wish for the blessings of the wind, and all it will yield is nothing but the caress of dry sand if there is no life... Therefore, she asks for all of the above: She wishes for a fertile paradise to bring prosperity to her family.
Back to the fighters, they defeat the onslaught; Juri is scolded again, but Felicia points out that thanks to them, they found a ton of spawn points and shut them down, and learned a fast secret to destroying them. Aru's spread word on that too, as well as not targeting the castle - Aru points out that Ayame had tried that first to poor results.
Meanwhile, we cut to Ayame sneezing - Konoha fears the poor gremlin's caught a cold, but Hazuki figures someone's talking about Ayame, that's all. We cut to Shigure getting info on spawn point weaknesses, and the Nanamafia is pleased to learn this, too - Meiyui and Kako swiftly take down two spawn points with the new info! They move to join with Hinano's team when there comes an ungodly rumble... and the Witch lets loose a terrifying laser that blasts apart the earth; the Magi barely manage to dodge. They all gotta hurry even more to reach Iroha and Yachiyo...
The Symbol Witch continues narrating the tale of her life - though, in the very end, she died vanquishing an entity known as a "Witch," she saw through the end of her people's journey. Though they starved and forged through a wicked sandstorm, they came to the paradise she was promised: a land of clear water, plentiful life, and peace. The people soon regained their strength and settled down to make families; the magical girl was content with this, and as she reflects on her past now, she has no regrets about her wish.
In the Labyrinth, as the laser strikes, the spawn points all reform, and souped-up Familiars swarm at the invaders again. It's tough, but the girls cling to the fact that Iroha and Yachiyo's signatures remain strong. Tsuruno also pinpoints their location to the golden statue at the top of the Witch, giving them a target. Mitama tells them to hurry - just focus on climbing without shutting down the reforming spawn points, as she formally rejoins the group.
Over at the Acorns, Mito is being cheery as always, getting her in a bit of a squabble with a panicking Leila; Seika gets them to calm down. But then they detect the Witch's magic - and she makes a clone of herself! Himika is like "is this really necessary right now?!" but ultimately, the girls hunker down to fight - there's no backing down, everything is on the line! They'll keep their hearts together!
And now we return to Iroha and Yachiyo. Yachiyo is breaking down, everything falling into a blur of dream and reality; but Iroha is there to tell her no, all of this is real. But here, Iroha has come to understand the true nature of this Witch - it is truly her opposite in every way. Where Iroha maintains a record to bring magical girls into the future, the Symbol Witch... She's both a symbolic representation of "prosperity", and an archive of the symbols of the people she feeds upon. Indeed, the visions she's showing to Iroha and Yachiyo are made to break their spirits - an archive of despair, essentially a snuff montage of all the magical girls she's killed or devoured into herself (like Tsuyu, whose Witch was consumed by Symbol-chan). More than ever, Yachiyo and Iroha wish they could save all the magical girls who fell into despair...
It's interesting; it seems like the Symbol Witch as a meguca lasted for a remarkably long time, at one point describing her people as "descendants" of those she had wished for. But the dialogue definitely implies she's a very primal Magi...
Each tiny groove the needle fills contains within what's smaller still...
One thing to clarify, the Symbol Witch meguca perhaps doesn't actually die to a witch, but she's saying that even though she's accepted that she probably would die fighting one, she regrets nothing... That is, until...
Much time passes after the meguca makes her wish, the stars circling overhead countless times. The loved ones she had wished for now have their descendants, who eagerly come to see her whenever she returns from her witch hunting trips. She can't say how long it's been since she became a meguca...but it's been a massively long time. She takes pride in being her clan's guardian, and in her strength; hearing their voices puts her at ease. But she feels her condition starting to fade now...and knows her time is drawing short...
Back in the present, the megucas finally breach a hole in the mass of monsters, helped by Himena combining Yuna's redirection magic with Hagumu's witch-busting ability, and Shizuka using her "stop" magic to freeze the Familiar mobs. But the match is still in the Witch's favor, especially as her offshoots change into even more powerful forms. The girls are vexed over how this witch is rapidly gaining so much strength, but as Yuna says, until that gets figured out, they have to focus on winning these immediate matchups. Felicia remembers Yachiyo explaining in the Present Kamihama chapters on how they could get a fast powerup...but also that it's way too risky and really should not be done.
Hagumu steps up to sacrifice herself to take down some of the mobs, but Himena instantly puts the kibosh on that, knowing that Hagumu will die for nothing if she does that. And just then, who arrives to save the day but...Himika Mao! Indeed, reinforcements have ridden in now that the magical girls from all across Kamihama have finally navigated the massive Labyrinth and reached the main squad!
The girls all launch in to punch another hole in the mob, while Livia and Mitama stand aside and speculate...how can they stop this Witch's power boosts? Livia reasons that the Witch may be feeding outside of this Labyrinth...but how? And why?
...That's when we see a flash to the past - Tsuyu and Chizuru fighting a suddenly massive, powerful Witch that's definitely not part of the intended history, struggling as it abruptly grows even stronger...
Back to the Symbol Witch again - life in her little paradise continued to be one of bliss, where friends and descendants lived in peace. But then came the fateful day where it would all be lost: the invaders were not any foreign tribe, but actually an offshoot of their original clan, who had caught wind of the rumors of the other clan's paradise, and moved to take it for themselves. Life soon transformed into a struggle for land, and a clash over a future neither could agree on. The resplendent colors of paradise soon turned into nothing but ugly, horrible red.
In the present, the megucas keep up their assault, moving up the giant staircase in bursts. Himena and Hiko realize that if the Witch is capable of screwing up history, she's probably doing that now - and that might be the source of her sudden power ups...
In the meantime, with a breach opened, the megucas send Team Mikazuki forth, with Mifuyu, KMR and Kanagi and Mitama joining the blitz - it's very cute; Kanagi and Mifuyu head up after Mikazuki first; then Mitama decides she'll go after getting the okay from Livia, and then says, "Momoko, you and your team are protecting me!" Momoko is taken aback for the slightest moment, but goes with it anyway.
As KMU advances, the others hunker down for a fight, but with all their numbers gathered, they can hold out - Sasha casts her pacifying magic, and everyone moves to take 'em all down!
Meanwhile, Kagome and the Aru army reunite. Kagome is severely taxed and needs a grief seed to heal her soul gem. Lavi apologizes for making her labor so hard, but it was worth it - Kagome did what she needed to do. But she feels like it's not enough...! After a pause, Nemu suggests she consult with Mikoto again; Kagome agrees, saying she'll be careful with how she approaches things this time. Sakurako gives her Mikoto's book, and Kagome dives in, with Lavi and Urara watching over her.
Meanwhile, in Egypt, Ebony struggles against this mysterious Witch, while Gunhild and Olga abruptly encounter it during their campaign in England; Gunhild fights to defend the uncontracted Olga, swearing she'll take it down so she can make a name for them in the war...
Symbols-chan again - As the war rages on, her hopes die with it. She no longer fights with pride; this power for fighting Witches and bringing happiness to her people has been defiled into murder and greed. In the end, all ideals become broken, unable to be repaired. And the realization urges to her realize...that the purpose to which she had devoted herself was naught but a fleeting illusion and dream...
In the present, Kagome meets with Mikoto. She quickly learns that Mikoto is in a sort of static form in the record - she's only aware of whatever's etched into her book; since her previous encounter with Kagome wasn't added, she has no recollection of it. In any case, Kagome starts asking Mikoto about the Witch who stole Iroha; Mikoto notes that this incident is being documented in her record as she speaks. Mikoto waffles a bit, but since her existence is contingent on Iroha's, she decides okay, fine, she'll help - but warns that even after she reveals the trick, this battle may still end in tragedy.
So as Mikoto explains, the mother Symbol Witch had fissions/alter egos scattered through history. As the time travelers gathered Iroha's concept, the Witch fissions were connected to the present as well, reuniting with the mother witch. Now the mother witch, fully souped-up, vies to overturn history, empowering her offshoot Witches in the past as well so that they can now kill magical girls all throughout history.
Mikoto explains that Iroha understands this, given the Symbol Witch is her parasite. Mikoto, also Iroha's parasite, was able to learn all this by proxy as well. Its nature as parasite also means that neither she nor Iroha can defeat it...so at last, she tells Kagome the secret...
Over with Yachiyo and Iroha, Yachiyo is on the verge of witching out. She's starting to understand why Mikoto opted for Operation: Fuck The World in the face of all these horrors... but only clings on by knowing that even Mikoto found hope for the future as well. The pressure on them grows more and more unbearable, but Iroha refuses to surrender. All they can do is hope the megucas of history can defeat their share of the Witches, but things are getting desperate...
Back to Mikoto and Kagome, Mikoto reveals that the weak point of the Symbol Witch is engraved somewhere upon it. She explains that there were two Witches nommed by the Symbol Witch who were specifically out for vengeance against it - Tsuyu and Chizuru. Their curses are so strong that they've emblazoned their hated foe's weakness with a curse so that someone else may finally vanquish her. The Witches are long dead and formless, but their curse-- given the very nature of Witches-- remains carved deep...
We briefly cut to more historygucas - Heruka vies against her wish, vowing to defeat this source of strife, while Toyo struggles against it - if she can't beat it, she'll never get to become like Mama...
We get our final (for now) Symbol-chan POV - knowing how all this ends, she'd rather have the old days of struggling and starvation than this hell. She'd rather they all die of hunger, but loved and mourned by each other, than having kin slaying kin. She didn't want things to end like this... She should never have made this wish... She should never have longed for prosperity...
Yachiyo is about to witch out, and has just one favor to ask... Iroha freaks out, telling her to stop talking like that, don't talk like she's about to die! But Yachiyo says no - she's asking this so they don't die. That gets Iroha's attention. Yachiyo has hesitated to say this, but since it's all on the line now, she'll say it: If the Witch is connected to Iroha, can't they exploit that connection the other way around? If the Witch is stealing Iroha's power, can't Iroha steal the Witch's in turn? It's a massive risk...but it's all they got, especially since it looks like the historygucas need help. Iroha is game, and Yachiyo adds another mysterious request...
We cut to Amaryllis, fighting the Symbol Witch to ensure Pompeii's evacuation, when she suddenly feels a presence lending her strength... She hears Iroha's voice, who's assured that she's hooked up with all the historygucas now, and informs them all that she's giving them the power to break the curse walling off the road to tomorrow. She ensures them all that their stories do not end here - but also tells them that even if they win, there is much suffering to come. So in return for this power, she asks them just this one favor - that someday, they will each hear a legend saying, "Even if you're overwhelmed by despair, pray, and hope will be delivered to the future." She asks them to believe in this legend and do as it says - so that even if they lose to despair, their hope will be protected and overcome their fate, and will be taken to the future to come.
Kagome, sending Aru again, tells everyone to search for the Witch's weak point. Meanwhile, the main force notes that the Witch is acting unusual - even as their attacks lose effectiveness, the Witch also seems to be losing strength. Emiri, with her excellent intuition, says Iroha must be splitting from the Witch, but Nanaka and Hinano warn her that this may be a nasty trap. But Aru says not so - Iroha must be weakening the Witch, and they know its weak spot now! Mikage demands it, but Nayuta says they should first focus on wiping out the mobs while they're weak! They'll get the story when they advance to Iroha's location.
In the meantime, KMU makes it to the Witch's peak! Yachiyo and Iroha's presences are strongest here, though Yachiyo's magic seems weak... Aru pops in, shouting to attack the weak point ASAP to save Yachiyo! Aru can't say where exactly, but explains, as Mikoto did, that the weak spot is somewhere on the statue - they should sense for an area where they feel the signatures of Witches that aren't the Symbol Witch (implied to be the Yin-Yang mark). Tsuruno and Sana immediately realize that these Witches must be Tsuyu and Chizuru's. They're saddened for a moment, but quickly regain their fortitude, knowing that Tsuyu and Chizuru's final struggles will no longer be in vain.
The whole gang charges up for one big blast... As the main force finally downs their enemies and takes a breather, watching the fireworks from a distance. Aru explains that Iroha is traveling to the past to save the megucas as they struggle against the Witches; Shizuka worries for Ebony, as do Promised Blood for Olga and Gunhild, and Himena for Ammy. Just then, the final attack is launched...
...To absolutely no effect. Nothing. Not even a scratch. Kanagi concludes they're just not strong enough, just as Mifuyu remarks that the Witch is simply too powerful...
And that's not all: just after their failed attack...Yachiyo's magic vanishes. Her friends cry out in despair...
For the final (for now) node, Nayuta and Mikage, better late than never, join up with Lavi, Kagome, and Urara, along with the main force and KMU. The main force is dead silent in the wake of the failed assault. We transition to Kamihama Magia Union, whose shock is disrupted when the whole army has to dive out of another deadly laser attack. The girls scramble for a solution; Momoko figures maybe the weak point is actually super tiny, and they have to hit it precisely... Yuna says they need time for a plan...just as Iroha gives them one.
Mikazuki cries out apologies for Iroha, thinking Yachiyo is dead, but Iroha assures them that Yachiyo is just fine - what's more, she's going to fight this Witch. Yachiyo's presence is gone because she was sent to the past in order to resolve this crisis.
Mikazuki instantly freaks out - Felicia and Sana yell that Yachiyo might be trying to take Iroha's place!! Momoko says that nearly happened already, if it weren't for Felicia stopping her! Felicia wonders if maybe her "real" purpose in remaining behind was to be the one to stop Yachiyo... But Iroha says not to worry - Yachiyo won't be replacing her. Instead, she's acting as her emissary - a messenger from the future who will save the world and all the lives within from this Labyrinth.
We see the first person Yachiyo visits...the one whose perspective we've gotten to know very well... Symbols-chan refuses Yachiyo's call at first, resigned to rot in the empty dark. But Yachiyo convinces her - while her hope ended in tragedy, it was still there. It was still real. It still mattered. The power of hope remains true, and can spark anew. So please, she implores Symbols-chan - entrust that hope to Yachiyo, and Yachiyo will ensure this does not all end in despair. It will form a miracle for the future, freeing it from suffering.
Symbols-chan comes around to this, but asks - how can she do that? Yachiyo simply says that when the time comes, to remember her, and Yachiyo will take her to the future.
Symbols asks just what Yachiyo is...? Yachiyo explains she is the emissary of the future, the inheritor of the history of Magical Girls - the Historia of the future.
As Yachiyo tells this story to Symbols-chan, it seems to cause a ripple effect in the future - the present-day megucas suddenly recall a fairy tale passed down through the ages, a legend of a hero who brings hope into the future. Iroha explains, it originates from a certain, small Magical Girl whom no one believed, who Yachiyo was able to resonate with - allowing this legend to be planted, and to grow with the ages.
With that, Yachiyo returns to the present, where the Mikazuki girls are overjoyed to see her again. Felicia thinks her outfit is super awesome, while Yachiyo feels like it's much too flashy, illustrating the two leading opinions on her design. More seriously, Yachiyo realizes that more magical girls gave her hope than she'd expected... When Touka and Nemu ask, Yachiyo explains she has the power of about 1,000 magical girls per millennium in the eras she traveled through - an enormous amount of strength that she will not squander.
Iroha says she and the historygucas will continue to keep the Witch and her offshoots in check. Now it's on the present-day megucas to blow up the weak point! As the Familiars and offshoot Witches swarm back into play, the main force regains their second wind, especially as Touka gets to work on converting the fallen enemies into power for the fighting force, now that she knows they can go all-out. The avengers all assemble (and I appreciate Nayuta and Lavi going into the battle together), and the final battle begins!
Part Two
Yachiyo finishes powering up her final attack on the Symbols Witch, reflecting on all the hope she's gathered - far more than she assumed she'd collect. It leaves her wondering if using their power as a bridge to the future will really be enough to repay them for all they've done and lost... Ultimately, knowing she cannot overturn the despair of the past, perhaps this can do at least something a little to save them.
She turns to the Symbol Witch, saying that the meguca legend they built together all began with her encounter with pre-Witch Symbol-chan. As a Witch, she has given in entirely to fear, feeling forced to create world where only she alone can prosper. But Yachiyo tells her that creating a world where Magical Girls can live happily is another form of prosperity - and with that, the hope Symbol-chan had given Yachiyo can be fulfilled. Telling the Witch that she no longer needs to taint her soul with despair, Yachiyo deals the final blow.
With that, Iroha feels the dark roots within her finally fading away, leaving just her and Mikoto, who dwells within her. Iroha apologizes for her failing to fulfill her promise at the end of Arc 2 - Iroha tried to save the megucas of the past as well as the present, but ultimately accomplished nothing but trouble. Mikoto expected as such; they'd established from the beginnign that they can't change the past. In the end, the hopes of the lost could only be a bridge to keep the future alive. Still, Mikoto does feel like they could've tried resisting, even slightly, from their inevitable fate... Frankly, she's not satisfied with this ending. But she does tell Iroha to give Yachiyo her thanks.
Iroha reappears in reality in her Infinite form, now that the Witch is slain, and she feels the APS back at work. Yachiyo has returned to normal as well, reiterating that her powers were borrowed from all the historic megucas she'd connected with - now that their mission is done, her ultra super powers are gone as well. They both check up on each other, and Iroha passes on Mikoto's thanks.
The rest of Mikazuki catch up, jubilant over everyone being safe and sound. And then everyone else catches up, notably less thrilled - Rena and the faction leaders unload with a lecture to Iroha for being so reckless with the APS, scolding her for even thinking of risking history by going back in time, while Yachiyo tries standing up for her, until Nemu and Touka step up to explain the truth.
They fully admit to taking advantage of Iroha's feelings, because they've seen with their own eyes how lonely and unhappy she was with the arrangements of the APS. As it was, it was a situation very similar to Madokami's, where Iroha and Ui sacrifice their freedom in exchange for saving the megucas. Touka and Nemu cooked up the Soul Vessel as a tool to help Iroha and Ui return to their normal lives, allowing them to physically leave the Magia Record while their Soul Gems to remain behind. From there, since Iroha's magic at the end of Arc 2 had shattered the concept of her and Ui's mortal existence, Touka and Nemu worked to reassemble the scattered fragments; once IroUi's concepts were restored, they would be recognized again and could go back to as things were.
Touka and Nemu knew that IroUi would object to this plan, so they had to do it in secret. In order to get IroUi out of the way, they sent them on a mission to travel through the eras to collect the records of the magical girls of yore. Ultimately, it was just a distraction for IroUi while TouNemu got to work, but Touka had made a grave miscalculation, resulting in the fiasco with Iroha's concept shattering in the past and getting entangled with the Symbol Witch, thus kicking off the Puella Historia arc, and the rest is history.
Upon hearing that, Yachiyo gives the gremlins a mighty slap across their faces. But she does know that all this was a accident born from their love for Iroha - and also knows that's not much of a comfort to everyone else hurt by their actions. Nemu apologizes on their behalf once more; Yachiyo says it all comes down to Iroha's condition.
In that case, Touka says, there's no problem at all. Thanks to Yachiyo and Iroha's final gambit, they finished off gathering all of Iroha's lost concept! The Mikazuki girls are alarmed - does that mean Iroha and Ui are coming back right now?! Touka quickly puts the kibosh on it, saying first, Iroha and the Hospital Trio need to return to the Eternal Sakura to verify some things - being too hasty about this will risk ruining the APS again.
Off to the side, we see reactions from the other girls - ShiguHagu marvel over TouNemu's brilliance, while Yuna and Hikaru feel bitter about how all the hardships they underwent have been swept aside, given it was all intended as a mere trifling distraction by TouNemu begin with... But Sunao and Charu are eager to see Iroha and Ui again, with Sunao looking forward to chatting Mr. Purrs-a-Lot with Ui. Asahi and Rabi hope that this final verification all goes right, and that they can see their friends again, and Momoko is excited to hang out again. Mitama says to Iroha that they're all waiting for her - while Kanagi adds that Yachiyo is the one who's most eager to do so.
Iroha turns straight to Yachiyo at this, but Yachiyo just says she'll wait and hope for Iroha's safe return. Iroha, too, can't wait to return to Mikazuki again. Promising they'll see each other again soon, Iroha leaves with Touka and Nemu, thanking the latter. Touka and Nemu know they've put Iroha through her paces - so to make up for it, they'll make sure this final step succeeds.
From here, things go a bit out of chronological order for narrative effect, so I'll sort them chronologically for easier summarizing. First, we get a quick narrative recap by Kagome of the arc - meguca fates inevitably end in sorrow for one reason or another; the Symbol Witch vied to make their fates even worse, until Yachiyo and Iroha wove a legend of hope into history and inspired a final miracle to save them all. Iroha vanished with TouNemu into the Rumor of the Eternal Sakura, and everyone awaited what would happen next...
Outside the Eternal Sakura tree, Sakurako asks if it was really alright for Touka and Nemu to leave out the truth - that once Iroha and Ui leave, the APS will eventually grow unstable, and they won't be able to re-enter the Magia Record. Touka and Nemu say yes, they had to omit that from them -- otherwise, the sisters would never leave. While their earnest wish is to save Magical Girls, that wish is contingent on Iroha and Ui's happiness. So it doesn't matter if everyone hates them for this; they have no regrets about the risk they've taken. Everything they do, they do for Iroha and Ui's happiness.
Meanwhile, one ordinary slumber party at Mikazuki, there comes a knock on the door. They immediately realize it must be Iroha and Ui, and scramble at first - they gotta dress up something proper! But Yachiyo doesn't want to delay things any further. They open the door, and the long-lost friends joyfully greet each other.
Iroha and Yachiyo get settled down, with Yachiyo brewing some tea as the other girls make themselves presentable. Now that she's returned, Iroha knows that Mikazuki is truly her home. For a moment, however, she zones out - in her ears, she still faintly hears the voices of Magical Girls across the world, showing she's still bound to the Magia Record. Impurities are being collected by the APS, and all those who have been save move onward into the future. And now she and Ui are back in Mikazuki again, able to go into the future with all of their friends. She hopes she can have at least that for now.
Yachiyo returns with the tea and sees Iroha's mysterious look, and asks what's up. Iroha snaps out of it and tells her not to worry about it. For the first time in ages, she smiles at Yachiyo and tells her something like, "I look forward to working with you again!" Yachiyo chuckles at the sudden moment, but smiles back, and says "Yeah. Me too."
