It's not the Equestria you thought it was. No, that was almost a thousand years ago. It's an era of technological, medical, social, economic and philosophical advancements. Princesses Celestia, Luna, Cadance and Twilight Sparkle are nowhere to be found. The consensus is that they are either long dead, or have never existed in the first place. Many believe the latter, some believe the former, but others believe that the mythical winged Unicorns are hiding somewhere, biding their time for something.
"Rise and shine, mister Soldier." A male Griffon's voice says, waking up a Pegasus named Silver Soldier.
"What is it today, Xander?" The Pegasus says with an irritated tone before rolling out of his cot. He would have fluttered off of it, but his wings were bound by magic. He had been in isolation for a week after the company abducted him from work.
"Don't take that tone, Silver. We prepped the machine for you." Xander responds as he escorts Silver Soldier into the antechamber housing the company's prized machine, a virtual reality device that accesses the users' genetic memory.
The consensus on the matter is that it's nothing more than pseudoscience. Memories can't be stored within a pony's DNA and are only stored within the living pony's brain as electrical impulses. Silver Soldier knew this after watching several shows on the subject of memory. This company though... they managed to prove the science community wrong, but haven't released their data to the public yet.
The two approach the table with Silver Soldier trotting next to Xander.
"Hop on, Silver." Xander requested. Silver complied, laying on his back.
"What exactly are you guys looking for?" He asked, not expecting an answer.
"The key to our future." Xander replied cryptically. He looks over to his assistant, Freedom's Spirit, a pale blue Unicorn with beautiful light brown eyes and two-tone blue mane and tail. "Activate the machine, Miss Spirit." He ordered before patting Silver Soldier on the shoulder. "Just relax." He suggested before the screen slid across, arcing over Silver's face.
The screen flickered on and he was greeted with a loading screen with a generic Pegasus that Silver Soldier was able to play around with until the screen fades to white. "Subject 6: Silver Soldier" was displayed in the upper left corner of the screen briefly before flickering away.
The screen loaded an incomplete area. Was it Canterlot? He made the generic Pegasus wander through the area, passing by other generic ponies, some Earth Ponies and Pegasi, but mostly Unicorns. It had to be Canterlot. The screen flickered and was out of focus.
"We must not let them get their hooves on it." A strong, yet feminine voice uttered coherently enough for Silver Soldier to understand.
"What's going on?" Xander demanded.
"I'm not sure, but I'm guessing Silver Soldier's mind can't access this particular memory yet." FS answered.
"Well then take him back to one that he can." Xander demanded again. FS complied and the screen went white again.