In 2009/2010 the VPC's power structure would be altered irrevocably. Near the end of 2008, Magna, had chosen to step down as the Armed Anti-Sloth Union's leader with elections leading to Goodship taking his place as head of the guild. January, also saw the deletion of the Altador Cup board and the beginning of the ACer (Altador Cup players) off season. The Acers would often migrate to other boards and many chose to make the VPC their home during this time. The two groups had a lot of friction but mostly kept to themselves. There was also the fracturing of the VPC community as Queen Crystal of the Virtupets Union and Lolli, her trusted companion announced they would be leaving Neopets. And on the 17th January 2009 they quit. But not before going out with a bang. Their combined presence across multiple VPC guilds made it easy for them to cripple the NFG, AASU, the Dark Corporation, and even deleting the United Sloth Loyalists. In a single moment, the powerbase of the VPC fell apart.
Following the aftermath of the Virtupet Union's desolation, the Virtupet Alliance consisting of the AASU and MoE stood alone. As the AASU had previously bounced back from a previous act of sabotage under Magna, Goodship found it easy to regain lost members and even had to invite most of the council back, including Flame and Magna. With a power vacuum in place, Ash declared himself King with the AASU's backing. Though it was in no place to back this up and when contact was regained with all VPC guilds the idea of a new King did not sit well. As such it was universally decided that the Union would be officially disbanded. The aftermath of Crystal's actions would cement the beginning of the end of high amounts of activity on the VPC and signal its Dark Age.