I actually was a Brony as well for a bit. Funnily enough, I got into it basically the same way: saw the memes, wanted to see what the hype was about, found it surprisingly enjoyable.
I’ve since tried to go back and re-watch FiM (I stopped sometime after the release of the movie) but found my tastes had changed and it was a bit too saccharine for me. The same thing happened when I went to re-watch ATLA, despite having enjoyed it as a kid during its broadcast run.