QUOTE (Kit-Tsukasa @ Mar 23 2011, 12:36 PM)Something trivial that just hit me after re-watching episode 10 for the third time: we saw that Madoka became a mahou shoujo in all those parallel times that Homura was in. In that case, what the heck was her wish? I'm assuming that all those timelines resulted in the same wish considering how Mami, Sayaka, and Kyouko's wishes were seemingly unchanged.
There's been a lot of speculation on what Madoka's wish was. Here's what I found with explanations:
QUOTE Fight to save people
Madoka wishes to help everyone in need, from suffering people, to the fallen such as Mami, to the witches lost in grief. She becomes a magical girl with the potential to solve any problem, but neither she, nor Kyubey, nor other magical girls have any idea how her powers work, so saving the world is still easier said than done.
This is a possible wish for the original timeline, in which Madoka had exactly enough power to conclude the Walpurgis Night battle with all combatants dead. This is the safest outcome for the uninvolved civilians, the only way to save the magical girls from the danger of becoming witches, and the scenario that caused Homura to make a wish capable of surpassing the entropy issue, so this outcome maximizes Madoka's helpfulness to everyone.
Procrastinating Until the End of the World
Madoka resists making a wish until the very end of the series, when the apocalyptic scenario from her dream comes into play, and she uses her wish to solve everything at once or cause a global reset. "I wish everything would go back to the way it was before I met Kyubey!"
Depending on how we interpret episode 10, this theory might be wrong, because in previous timelines, she is a Magical Girl way before Walpurgis Night appears.
The Human Instrumentality Project
Madoka wishes to end all suffering. Everyone gets hugged and turns into Morning Rescue.
Power to Defeat the Most Powerful Witch
Witnessing Homura fight against an impossible foe, Madoka simply wishes for power -- enough to instantly defeat even the most powerful witch.
This could be her wish in the timeline where Madoka defeats the Walpurgis Night easily but turns into an even more destructive witch afterward. However, this obviously does not apply to Madoka of timelines where she was already a magical girl when meeting Homura.
Now that I think about it, I'm always seeing at least two of the five characters falling into unknown categories:
Witch:
Madoka - Kriemhild Gretchen
Mami - Roberta (maybe)
Sayaka - Oktavia von Seckendorff
Kyoko - Unknown
Homura - Unknown
Wish-wise, Madoka's and Mami's are uncertain
I can't remember what else i was going to say, I'll remember it later