Alternate take on episode 75 of the anime. Got annoyed how Levy just drops out of the plot halfway through.

"Coooooooooool!" Shouted Jason. "Welcome to the annual Fairy Tail 24 hour endurance road race! Cooooooooool!"

"Look, it's Jet! This year's favourite to win, after his dominating presence last year! And it looks like his fashion sense has improved! Coooooooool!"

"Hey!"

"Just rumours man, just rumours!"

The assembled Fairy Tail wizards were getting ready. No one wanted the punishment. Erza was pushing for victory, and Gajeel seemed to be agreeing. Natsu apparently had some secret weapon.

Droy was bored. He would come about the middle, all things considered. No need to panic. He wasn't the fastest or slowest. This seemed like a huge waste of energy to him, but there was no way in hell was he taking a punishment.

Levy was in fairly good spirits. Running was not her worst attribute. Being small had the advantage that there was less of her to actually move. Her stride was short, but her stamina wasn't too bad. She wouldn't be anywhere near the front, but she should be ok.

Master explained the rules, to get the wyvern scale at the top of the mountain and return, and the prohibition on flying magic. They made their way to the start line.

"Levy, watch me start," said Jet.

"There's no way I have time for that!"

"C'mon Levy, he just wants to look cool in front of you," advised Lucy.

"Lu-chan, you probably don't realize it, but there's no way I could watch his start."

Makarov set the race going with a blast of magical energy, followed by a roar of thunder as Jet rushed off showering everyone with a cloud of dust. As the guild picked themselves up, Lucy looked on amazed. "W…well, didn't see him, right?" Said Levy. There was a burst of fire as Natsu took off using his Fists of the Flame Dragon as boosters, and then the whole guild was gone.

Levy and Lucy, realizing that they were the last ones left, took off.

Faster.

Faster.

Faster.

Jet was ecstatic. He'd done it! Now he needed to rename his magic to accommodate. Speed Magic: High Speed became Speed Magic: First Gear. But now he was shifting in Second Gear. The landscape blurred by. It was taking some getting used to, but his reaction time had gone up as well.

He reached the peak, supposed to be twelve hours away, in fifteen minutes.

Droy climbed out of the hole Reedus had made for him and Warren, pushing his comrade down as he did so, ignoring his protests.

"You asshole," he glowered. "It. Is. On! Bark Armour!" He took off with boosted speed.

Levy was exhausted. She'd been in last place with Lucy for some time, but then she'd taken off with Virgo's help, leaving her behind. And she'd tried to help her!

Then she'd come across Evergreen, Max and Bisca in a rune trap, and helped them out, costing her five minutes (though she'd needed the rest by that point.) They thanked her, and then Evergreen knocked her over and kept running. She was getting annoyed by people she'd helped screwing her over.

Gray's Ice Floor had melted by the time she'd reached it, but it still made footing treacherous and cost her more time. It was quite hard to tell, as people branched off into different paths, but she was fairly sure that she was in last place.

Her magic was no help. Her speed was slow, and it appeared that her stamina had failed her on the mountain slopes. She sorely hoped that someone else had been thoroughly trapped, or she was in trouble.

She reached the summit and realized another problem: she couldn't see any Wyvern Scales! So many had gone that she had to forage, and she lost another ten minutes. From the mountain top, she looked up into the clear starry sky. She tried to make that the memory she would keep of this day.

Jet finished long before Levy made it the top. He'd considered taking a nap for dramatic effect, but decided that he wasn't some kind of comedic relief character in an anime and just finished.

"You almost halved last year's time," noted Makarov. Jet smiled broadly.

"I've become stronger!" Makarov placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm proud of you, Jet." Jet choked up. "Now, who will get the punishment? Bahohoho!" Makarov ruined the moment.

In the end, Droy came in fifteenth. Disappointing, but he slowly realized how far up he was on last year and felt happier.

"Yo, Droy! Good time!"

"Shut up, Jet," he said, gasping for breath.

"Did you see Levy out there?" Droy frowned.

"I hope she's doing ok."

Screw everyone, screw the guild, screw running, screw mountains, screw life.

Levy was trudging. One foot after the other. She hadn't even seen Happy for crying out loud. For the first time in her life she wished that she was even littler so she could have the stamina the Exceeds apparently had. And shouldn't Reedus be slow, or a drunken Cana or Wakaba the smoker?

The morning sun was starting to blaze down. She'd somehow even managed to hit one of Fried's left over traps, though she was able to dismantle it. It did seem like she was getting faster at it.

"Yo, Levy!" She looked up to see Jet approaching.

"You shouldn't be here," she said, turning away and pouting. "If the cam-lacrymas catch you we'll both be disqualified."

"Well, uh…"

Levy blinked. "I'm the last one aren't I? Master sent you to get me."

Jet rubbed the back of his head. He wanted to say something supportive, but was afraid it would just come across condescending. Levy trudged over to him and pushed past.

"I'm finishing this on my own two feet. I've not come this far to be carried the rest of the way."

"I'll keep you company."

Levy fell over the finishing line with an expression of 'don't talk to me'. Thankfully, most people had left by that time, leaving only Master, Mira and Droy waiting for her. Master came over dragging a huge sack.

"Screw you, screw the guild, screw running, screw mountains, screw life. Just give me the punishment."

"First I'll need your Wyvern Scale as proof." She handed it over and he put it in the sack with the rest. "You came last because you have a pure spirit, and seeing your friends in trouble, you naturally went to help them. There is no shame in that."

"Master…"

"Your punishment is – to put these Wyvern Scales back where they came from. Bahohoho!"

Levy turned pure white and her soul flew out of her mouth.

"Jet…help…"

He hefted the bag onto his shoulders, straining under the weight. "Be back in half an hour!"

"I forbid you to do her punishment for her," said Makarov sternly.

"Can't stop me!" And Jet took off. For a simple smile from Levy, he'd bear this burden.