'Retro Futurism' is generally defined as how people of the past imagined the future, or at least how people of today thought those in the past would have imagined it. For example, steampunk is retro futurism based on the steam age, extrapolating technologies, themes, and ideas from the Victorian Era and the Industrial Revolution. The Fallout video game series is an example of retro futurism based on the Fifties, with everything powered by atomic energy.

Some alternate universe stories employ retro futurism as a theme to help build their alternate version of the show's world. What sorts of retro futurism, if any, do you all find interesting in the context of AUs? Do you enjoy steampunk Equestria, for example, or maybe an Equestria based on extrapolations of a different real-world time period?

I like the idea of an industrialized Equestria.

6175553
That sounds interesting. What are some features you would imagine being in that alternate Equestria?

6175588
Much agreed. It's nice to see some technology alongside all the magic. What sorts of industrialized features do you enjoy seeing in such alternate Equestrias?

6175531

My SWSV Equestrian future is very much based on Golden and Silver Age science fiction and science fantasy. I guarantee that's why I have atomic-powered trains chugging through stargates, for instance.

6175596
I like the juxtaposition between the towering smokestacks of industry and the carefree nature of the show. Think season 5 finale with the Flim and Flam timeline.

Plus it opens a lot of good potential stories on industrialization.

6175531
Steampunk is a lot of fun.

I also quite like space opera, which is a more nebulous category, but has a lot of retro-futuristic stuff in it sometimes.