Welcome
While I haven’t been as big a fan of MLPFIM from season 5 on, I continue to watch it.
As far as anime goes, my advice would be to start with something a bit more ... mellow than Evangelion. Some personal recommendations would be Magic Knight Rayearth, Little Witch Academia, Cardcaptor Sakura, Yuru Camp, K-on!, Azumanga Daioh, My Roommate is a Cat (especially since you like animals), Flying Witch, & Fruits Basket (the 2019 version is really good). There’s also Umamusume Derby if you’re curious about the Japanese version of horse girls. For more action oriented series try My Hero Academia and Fullmetal Alchemist (both versions of FMA are good but I prefer Brotherhood personally).
Hope you enjoy it here.