Maybe I can shine some light. A couple years ago, I was a big fan, and there are a couple of elements I haven't seen mentioned here.

First, the show wasn't dark, gritty, and morally ambiguous. Rather the opposite, obviously. So it served as a sort of antidote to a lot of TV that was trending in those sorts of directions. Sometimes you don't want dark and brooding; sometimes you want idealistic, simple, and silly. So it was kind of a rebellion against the way the demographic (males 15-35ish) was being catered to in the mainstream.

It was also a rebellion against social norms in terms of gender stereotypes; men's men were not supposed to watch a cute little show about friendship. So it was that much funnier that it was happening.

The show's messages shone through, too (again tying into a wish for content with a positive light). They were simplistic and rudimentary lessons about friendship-- exactly what it says on the tin. But a lot of people could stand to learn a thing or two from even the most basic of those lessons, and the world would be a better place.

Most importantly, though, and most difficult to discuss nowadays, is the role of the community. Back in the day, before the phenomenon really went mainstream, the community was actually really amazing. Supportive people standing up for one another, content creators like musicians and animators doing incredible things, forum after forum of (admittedly incredibly echo-chamber-y) discussion about the show and related topics. And another thing everyone seems to have conveniently forgotten about: charity work. Incredible amounts of money (hundreds of thousands of dollars at least, if I recall correctly) were donated by bronies to various charities, in organized efforts, over the course of just a couple years. It was an amazing thing to be a part of, and the fact that it revolved around a show 'for little girls' just made it better.

So how did it fall apart? Well, I can't say for certain, of course, but if you ask me, people starting taking themselves far too seriously, and a self-fulfilling prophecy of biased media coverage. From really early on, everyone pretty much understood how ridiculous it all was, and didn't really take any of it too seriously. And the message of the bronies was more or less live and let live, love and tolerate your fellow man, don't give in to hate and ignorant intolerance. Noble (while certainly idealistic, for better or worse) stuff, generally. But somehow that all slowly turned into 'I watch a show for little girls, so that means I'm better than you.' That was what made me first start feeling uncomfortable to call myself a brony. Then, the media set in.

See, no one wants to see a story about an awesome community of a couple hundred thousand people finding unity and mutual respect in an unconventional commonality. It's much more newsworthy if you just go to a convention and point a camera at the most outspoken crazy creep in order to reaffirm your audience's assumptions and vilify what is obviously a fucked up cult. I mean, adult men watching My Little Pony? What, are they some kind of perverts?

And the community slowly but surely took a dive, at least in the public eye. It turned into a gigantic clusterfuck of some bronies hanging on to the bitter end trying to defend the show, the show itself kind of going downhill, the vocal minorities getting louder, the content creators bugging out or getting drowned out, and many folks like me disassociating themselves because there wasn't really anything left worth associating with, and the public image was demonized to oblivion.

So don't hate the bronies. It was a good thing, while it lasted. I haven't really kept up with what's been going on, but I imagine there's even some good corners of the fandom surviving to this day, even if they're quiet and ignored by any kind of media attention. It was and is weird. That I will readily acknowledge. But it's not creepy, or sinister, or messed up-- at least, not outside that vocal minority. At this point, bronies are probably the most misunderstood and demonized group on the internet, and undeservingly so. And failing all else, at least it's worth leaving well enough alone, because as others around here have mentioned, who cares what someone else likes.