Strawberry Shortcake walked and walked some more. Having the map certainly made her life easier, and it certainly soothed Custard's nerves. Strawberry looked behind her, and she saw Custard taking a nap in the wagon. The dirt roads hadn't gotten any smoother, so it certainly wasn't the roads. Maybe Plum Pudding calmed down Custard by doing something simple as giving her the map. Strawberry smiled and looked up at the sky, which had become a deeper shade of blue. This act of kindness confirmed her life philosophy: what comes around goes around. What Plum did certainly made Custard feel better, she thought, and not having to worry about Custard made Strawberry feel much better.

Strawberry walked past a house that looked like a triple-layer cake. Aside from Plum Pudding's mansion, every house Strawberry saw looked good enough to eat, but that house took the cake, quite literally. Strawberry Shortcake stopped in her tracks to admire the house and lick her lips. She looked at Custard, expecting a complaint, but Custard was fast asleep. Strawberry giggled as she looked at Custard, when suddenly, she heard the sound of clanging pots and pans. Strawberry was startled, and Custard woke up from her nap.

"What was that?" she asked.

"It must've been coming from that house," Strawberry said.

"No dip, Sherlock," Custard said, "now let's get out of here."

Strawberry Shortcake took a step forward, but she quickly took that step back. Something inside her just told her to go inside and see what was going on. She folded the map and put it under her hat.

"Come on Custard," she said, "let's go inside."

"What?" Custard tilted her head.

Custard didn't want to go in now that she didn't have to, but she didn't have a choice. Strawberry Shortcake had already picked her up and was walking towards the house, pulling the wagon in her other hand. When she reached the door, she let go of the wagon and knocked on the door three times. A girl answered the door. Her hair was purple, but it was so light that it almost looked white. Her eyes were turquoise, and they shined like aquamarines. She was wearing a lavender-colored apron with a cake decoration on it over a long-sleeved white shirt, and she had a pink flower in her hair.

"Oh, a visitor!" the girl said.

"Hello," Strawberry replied, "I'm Strawberry Shortcake!"

"Oh, what a lovely name!" the girl exclaimed, "my name is Angel Cake, please, do come in!"

Angel Cake led Strawberry Shortcake and Custard inside her house. As Strawberry looked around, she saw that it looked more like a bakery than a house. The house was also quite a mess, with bowls and spoons all over the countertops. Next to a large mixing bowl, there was a single-layer cake on Angel Cake's stove. It was undecorated and still in its pan. Strawberry looked at the cake and wondered what it was doing there. Then, Strawberry felt something tapping on her shoulder. She looked over her shoulder and saw that it was Angel Cake. She was motioning to a table and chair.

"Pardon me," she said, "but could you take a seat here please?"

"Sure!" Strawberry replied.

Strawberry sat down in the chair, setting Custard on the ground. Angel Cake walked to her refrigerator and pulled out a slice of angel's food cake as well as a fork, and then gave it to Strawberry.

"You must be hungry from traveling," Angel Cake said, "so, have this!"

Strawberry Shortcake picked up the fork and dug into the cake. As she ate, she heard Angel Cake laughing nervously the entire time. The cake was delicious, but the laughter made Strawberry worry about Angel Cake, and she wasn't able to enjoy the cake fully.

"How do you like it?" Angel Cake asked.

"It's berry delicious," Strawberry said, "thank you!"

"Oh, you're welcome!" Angel Cake replied.

Angel Cake walked away, still laughing awkwardly, and looked at the undecorated cake on the stove. Sweat rolled down her face. Strawberry Shortcake knew something was wrong.

"Angel Cake?" Strawberry asked, "are you OK?"

"OK?" Angel Cake said, "dear, I'm perfectly fine!"

"You don't sound fine," Strawberry replied.

"Please don't worry about me, Strawberry, I'll be OK."

"It's a little hard to not worry about you when you're laughing like that," Custard added.

"Oh?" Angel Cake turned around.

"I know, I know," Custard said, "talking cat."

Angel Cake giggled, but this time, it was a happier giggle. Custard smiled at her.

"Actually," Angel Cake said, "I am having a bit of a problem."

"What's the matter?" Strawberry asked.

"Well, there's a party tonight," Angel Cake explained, "and I baked a cake for it. The problem is that I don't know how I should decorate it. I barely know anything about the person I'm baking it for!"

"Well, maybe I can help!"

"Have you decorated a cake before?"

"Of course!"

"Well then, I would love your help!"

Strawberry Shortcake stood up and walked to the plain cake, still in its pan. Angel Cake took some plain white frosting out of her refrigerator, while Strawberry washed her hands, just in case. After drying off her hands with a towel, she took the cake out of its pan. Angel Cake took out a spatula and began frosting the cake.

"Strawberry?" Angel Cake said.

"What do you need?" Strawberry asked.

"I have some piping bags in the refrigerator," Angel Cake replied, "I need you to get the red one out."

"How do I know which one's the red one?"

"The red one's in the red bag."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Custard said.

Strawberry Shortcake went to the fridge and pulled out a red piping bag. When she made it back to the cake, Angel Cake had already frosted it. The cake was now covered in white frosting, and to Strawberry, it looked even more appetizing.

"Now," Angel Cake said, "Strawberry, I need you to ice around the side of the cake."

"I can do that!" Strawberry exclaimed.

Strawberry Shortcake held the bag's tip to the side of the cake. She went around the cake, carefully icing it. Angel Cake was impressed with Strawberry's handywork, nodding her head as she did it. When Strawberry finished, thin, perfectly straight lines of red icing went around the cake.

"How wonderful!" Angel Cake exclaimed, clapping her hands.

"How did I do?" Strawberry asked.

"Perfect," Angel Cake said, "positively perfect! But I feel like something's missing..."

Angel Cake and Strawberry Shortcake looked at the cake. The top of it was bare. It was a plain surface, colored white by the frosting, but still quite plain. Custard, who had nothing to do, walked up to Strawberry's side and looked up at the cake. It needed some finishing touches, but what could they be? Then, she thought back to Blueberry Muffin's present panic. Blueberry had to have been hiding those presents for a good reason. But then again, as Strawberry said earlier, maybe somebody else was moving into Strawberry Stream the same day they were. However, then she remembered the balloons. They were red, pink, and green: Strawberry's favorite colors. "There is no way that was a random choice," Custard thought. Then, she got an idea.

"How about you add some strawberries?" Custard suggested.

"Strawberries?" Angel Cake asked.

"You can't go wrong with strawberries," Custard stated.

"I agree," Strawberry said, "you can't go wrong with strawberries!"

"And we already have red icing," Angel Cake said, "so let's do it!"

Strawberry Shortcake rushed to the fridge and pulled out a container filled with strawberries. She took out a knife, cut off the leaves, and then sliced the strawberries into round pieces. Angel Cake took each strawberry slice and put them on top of the cake, one by one, evenly spaced. When they stopped, the top of the cake was entirely covered in strawberry slices.

"The cake," Angel Cake said, "it's... it's perfect!"

"It looks berry delicious!" Strawberry added.

"Your cat has a real eye for cake decoration," Angel Cake replied.

"I learned from the best." Custard winked at Strawberry.

Strawberry Shortcake started to giggle. Angel Cake laughed with her. Strawberry turned to Angel Cake and smiled. That laughter wasn't nervous or awkward or anxious: it was happy laughter, the best kind of laughter.

"I get so anxious when it comes to my desserts," Angel Cake said, "they must be perfect."

"Perfect?" Strawberry asked, "nothing's perfect!"

"I know," Angel Cake replied, "but I could never serve someone a subpar sweet. You saved me tonight, Strawberry, and I thank you. Is there anything I can do to repay you?"

"Not that I can think of, but thank you berry much Angel Cake!"

"You're... berry welcome!"

"We should get going now," Custard said.

"Custard's right," Strawberry added, "I'll see you soon, Angel Cake!"

"Safe travels!"

Strawberry Shortcake picked up Custard and made her way to the door, waving goodbye to Angel Cake with a free hand. Angel Cake waved back, giggling softly. When Strawberry left the house, she saw her wagon, filled with gardening and baking supplies, just where she left it. She set Custard down in the wagon, pulled the map out from under her hat, grabbed onto the wagon's handle, and started walking once more.

"Angel Cake was so polite to us!" she exclaimed.

"I like her," Custard said.

"Me too!" Strawberry replied.

Strawberry Shortcake and Custard laughed. Then, Strawberry looked to the sky. It was navy blue. The sun was replaced by all the other stars in the sky, and the moon was in plain sight. She and Custard had to get home, and fast. She started to run as quickly as she could, following the map as best as she could.