At First Sight

Summary: When a young blind girl transfers to Royal Prep, many people go out of their way to make her feel "comfortable" and welcomed. However, all she really wants is to be treated the same as they do, and to fulfill her dream of being in the Flying Derby. Can everyone's favorite princess see to it that she gets her wish? *Challenge winner theblindwriter95 requested this story.*

Disclaimer: I do not own Sofia the First or any characters associated with the show. :)

A/N: Okay, everyone! The final chapter has arrived. :) And for my fantastic reviewer and one of my favorite people ever, theblindwriter95, I hope I've done justice to your character of Penny and sincerely hope you've enjoyed this journey. It's been an honor. ;)

~*~Chapter Four: Dreams Do Come True~*~

"Happy birthday, Reina!" Penny said cheerfully as she found her way to her sister's bedroom. She was already dressed in her usual red and purple dress with some aid from one of the maids, and her hair was fully braided, so she was pretty much ready for school. She just wanted to make sure that she talked to her now four year old sister before she left.

"Thanks, sissy!" Reina gushed as she hurried over to Penny and jumped into her arms, giggling when the older girl gasped in surprise but managed to catch her. Her cane, however, clattered to the ground since she couldn't hold both at the same time. "We're to have birthday cake when you get back from school today."

"Is that right? Hmm." She leaned forward and kissed the little girl's cheek gently before letting her down to the floor and picking up the discarded cane. "And how old are you again?" she asked jokingly, knowing the other girl would be annoyed at her obvious question.

"Four, silly," she responded with a giggle. "And…" She looked around before whispering urgently, "I'll even let you have a corner piece!"

"Ooh," Penny whispered back just as excitedly, if nothing else, then only to make her sister happy. "All right, little one, I'm off to school. Don't grow anymore until I get back, okay?"

Reina grinned. "No promises."

"Vivian!" Sofia greeted cheerfully when she arrived on campus that morning. She rushed over to her dark-haired friend and took her hands. "Where have you been? Are feeling all right?"

Vivian smiled at her friend's concern. "I'm all right," she insisted but softly. She apparently had previously lost her voice, considering how quietly she was speaking. "I got sick a few nights ago and had to stay home to get better. I'm sorry if I worried you."

"It's all right. I'm just glad to see you back." She smiled toward James and Amber, who approached them curiously. "Hi, you two."

"Hi yourself," James joked with a grin. "Good to see you back, Vivian."

"Yes," Amber agreed. "Surprisingly enough, it's been kind of quiet without you." She laughed and shrugged. "Go figure."

"Well, I'm better now. Thank you all for worrying about me." She took one step forward and held a hand to her head. "I…" She then exhaled as her body gave out.

"Whoa!" James knelt quickly and caught the girl before she hit the ground. "Vivian? What's wrong?"

"I guess I haven't fully recovered," she said softly as the prince helped her to her feet. She smiled shyly at the blonde boy. "Thanks, James…"

He grinned sheepishly, still keeping one arm around her shoulders in case she collapsed again. "No problem. Are you going to be able to make it through the day?"

"I hope so, because I really don't want to miss any more school."

"Come on," Amber said, taking the girl's hand and leading her up the stairs. "Let's let Ms. Flora check you out and make sure you're okay. If nothing else, maybe she has a potion or something that can help you."

She nodded. "Thanks, Amber."

"James!" Amber called over her shoulder. "Let's go!"

He looked around, blinking. "Uh, okay! Coming! See ya, Sof!" He took off after his sister and friend.

Sofia watched after her three classmates until she heard her name called. She turned and smiled. "Good morning, Penny!"

Penny, using her cane, made her way over to her friend. "How are you?"

"I'm all right. By the way." She grinned as she pulled the girl up the stairs. "You owe me an explanation as to your disappearance yesterday, right?"

"Yeah…about that." She smiled brightly. "Sir Gillium told me that he would be all right if I rode in the Flying Derby."

"Really?" the auburn-haired girl gasped in surprise. "The derby is…"

"Tomorrow," Penny acquiesced with a nod. "That's why I kind of vanished yesterday. He let me practice, with the permission of the fairies, and I managed to do really well…for someone visually impaired, anyway."

"Don't be silly," Sofia returned with a shake of her head. "You can do more than many sighted people can, Penny. Just believe in yourself, okay?"

"I… I will. I do."

"Good." The youngest royal of Enchancia laughed and led her friend into the school.

The day went on much like it normally did. Vivian received proper attention and got better as the day progressed. The derby team was able to practice for their game the next day, and Penny became comfortable riding without someone sharing a flying horse. It took many close calls before she was fully confident in her ability.

"You will do well, my dear," Sir Gillium acknowledged after the practice was complete. "Just have confidence in yourself."

"I will, Sir Gillium," she promised before feeling a tap on her shoulder.

Her coachman stood behind her. "Princess Penny," he greeted gently. "It's time for us to get you back to the castle. Princess Reina's birthday party begins in a few hours."

"Oh, right! Thanks, Phillip." She smiled back at the team and coach as Phillip linked arms with her gently. "I will see you all tomorrow—no pun intended." She giggled as they left.

"Are you sure about this, Sofia?" Hugo asked uncertainly with his arms folded. "I mean, she can't exactly see what's going on, and if something happened to her…"

"Don't worry, Hugo. Penny will be fine. We just have to believe in her." She smiled and turned back to Maximus, grinning at him. "Ready for another round?"

He responded in excitement, though to the others it just sounded like a rowdy neigh, as usual.

"Penny!" Reina giggled excitedly and ran to her sister as she entered the dining room. She threw her arms around her older sister and squealed in delight when Penny lifted her into her arms.

"How was school, my darling?" Queen Penelope asked gently as the girls moved to sit at the table with their parents.

"It was great, actually…" She smiled gently. "I…well, I will tell you later. Let's celebrate Reina's birthday first."

King Alonso nodded in agreement. "Yes, let's! Happy birthday, Reina!"

The newly-turned four year old blinked with wide amethyst eyes as a large cake was placed before her. After it was settled, numerous gifts littered the table, much to the little girl's delight.

"Wow," Reina gushed happily. "Thank you, Mama! Thank you, Papa!" She clapped her hands in excitement as Niles approached and cut several pieces of cake. She held up her hand. "Wait just a minute there, Nilesy!"

He rolled his eyes at her oh-so-clever nickname. "Yes, Princess?"

"Give Penny the corner, okay? I kind of, sort of, promised her one this morning."

"As you wish, Princess Reina." He smiled and passed a plate with cake toward Penny, who felt for her fork and began eating.

"Mm, this is even better than last year's cake," she told them before turning toward Nile's direction. "Thanks, Niles."

"My pleasure, Princess Penny."

After a while of celebrating, including opening gifts and eating cake, Reina was sent to bed so that Penny could talk to her parents in privacy.

"Mom… Dad…" Penny fumbled with a loose napkin and inhaled before sighing. "I…need to tell you something."

"Are you all right?" King Alonso wondered with a frown. "Is someone at school bothering you?"

"No, dad, it's nothing like that." She then let a small smile form on her lips. "I've been invited to ride in the…Flying Derby tomorrow." She paused, waiting for a reprimand, namely from her mother.

"Really?" Queen Penelope asked instead, dabbing her mouth with her cloth napkin. "I see. And you choose now to tell us?"

"I'm…sorry, Mom, but I didn't find out until just recently…" She sighed. "I understand that you probably don't want me to ride in the derby, but…I can't just go through life not trying something fun and exciting. I can't let my blindness get the better of me."

"Hmm…" Queen Penelope held up a hand to her husband, who appeared as though he wanted to interrupt. Instead, she smiled gently at him. "Penny…" She watched her daughter raise her head and gaze unseeingly at her. "What time is your derby tomorrow?"

Her heart leapt, and she played with the necklace around her neck. "Right after school…"

"We'll be there."

Penny gasped in surprise before breaking into a large smile. "Really, Mom?"

"I can't have my daughter participating in something she truly believes in without cheering her on, right?"

King Alonso beamed at his wife, proud of her for coming this far. Had it been just a year ago, she probably would have forbade it due to uncertainty.

"Oh, thank you, Mom! Thanks, Dad…even though you didn't say much of anything."

He chuckled and grasped his wife's hand. "You're welcome, my dear. We look forward to seeing you tomorrow."

The following afternoon came quicker than expected. The stands were filled with cheering students, teachers, and families alike. The first change to the derby had occurred over two years ago, in which they'd allowed a girl to participate. And Sofia soared high and proud on her overlooked flying horse Maximus. She never got over how thrilling it was to be in the derby and have people cheering her on.

But perhaps the loudest cheers were for the newcomer, a blind girl named Penny, who proved that nothing should hold one back: not fear, not status…not any sort of hindrance that could easily make or break the person it settled upon. Princess Penny of Brillancia embraced her blindness and taught others to look past the obvious and see what truly lay beneath. Her parents and sister were there to cheer her on, and they probably were the loudest in the crowd. It made her swell with joy as she recognized their voices of sheer adulation.

And while she didn't win her first Flying Derby, that certainly wasn't going to stop her from trying again.

The end

A/N: Just to answer a question that will probably be asked—I'm sorry for not writing the derby in full details. For me, the point of this was to show growth not only with Penny but with people around her. I hope I was able to do that for the most part. I've enjoyed the journey with this story, and I sincerely thank you all for supporting me through it, and I offer HUGE thanks to theblindwriter95 for the request in the first place. ;)

**Responding to "Good as Gold" Reviews**

Theblindwriter95: I'm glad! :) For both reasons, and I also agree about the Fly Cakes! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this story. I'm sorry it took so long for me to write/finish it. I'd love to see you expand on it at some point if you want to, since Penny is your character. ;) I can just imagine all the fun things you can do with her. She's truly an inspiration. Don't let anything hold you back. :D

Sofia2015: Thanks, girl! There will be more coming soon.

CedricAmber: (both reviews) I forgot about my older Henry. :p Whoops! I'm glad someone pays attention. Haha. And yeah, we'll call him the "new Henry." Hehe. And Rapunzel may have been hinting at a follow up! We'll see. ;) I'm just glad the story finally got written. I almost deleted it. :p And thanks, I love the interaction between Sofia and Cedric with a sprinkle of Rapunzel silliness entwined. :) Makes things interesting for sure. YAY! You get the movie for Easter?! Awesome. :) Seriously, it's amazing. I hope you enjoy it. Oh, and you're looking forward to some of the new stories, huh? Well, tell me a title that stands out the most to you, and I may just start working on it Monday (since I'm still off for Easter break). :D And what we need is a chat room or something… I'll look into it. ;) That way we're not flooding the reviews. :P And glad I got to melt your heart a little bit with the Grace and Amber interaction; very sweet. *My Sofia* YAY! A hug from "Mr. Cedric!" :D Let's go! We have trouble to cause! *runs off*

Royal Detective: I know, right! Lol. Thanks so much, I'm glad you liked it. And yeah, Amber would be worried about James's cannon obsession. Lol. Cedric cracked me up, pointing fingers at Sofia almost instantly. Like, "She did it!" Sad thing is, she probably did. Haha. And the robe thing…should be fun to get flour out, no? Yep, I was out for Good Friday too. We did a play at my church, and my mom played Mary. It was kind of awesome. Made some people cry. Me, I just sang. :D

LongLiveNiNoKuni: Yeah, I like having Amber and James do some good. It makes them more relatable, I guess. Not a miracle worker, lol, and I don't know about the conversation thing. Like I told CedricAmber, may need to look into a chat room or something. :P Who knows? And I don't know, I just guessed that you were a girl. Haha. And I'm not worried about winning the contest. I just like to write, so choose whatever story you think meets your requirements. I'm just writing to write because I enjoy it. :) Like you said, if people go back and look at the reviews, they'll find the details they need, I suppose.

To all who celebrate: Happy Easter! Otherwise, I hope you have a great weekend. Enjoy yourselves! Thanks for sticking with me through this journey of "At First Sight," and a HUGE thank you to theblindwriter95 for requesting it in the first place! Until next time! ~AquaTurquoise