The first chosen to be the element of honesty was a unicorn stallion named Shale, who was the pony that discovered the Elements of Harmony. He came from a family who had been gem miners for generations, and was the first to mine for gems outside the unicorn tribe.
The element chose him not only for how truthful he’d been throughout his life but for what he did when the elements were in his presence. While in the mines some ponies would keep a few of the jewels dug up selling them to the few merchants that traveled near the settlement, or to the merchants in their own clans when given the rare chance to return home for brief visits.
Some of these ponies were caught and would normally be sent back to their own tribes were they’d be judged by their own law system and given the appropriate punishment. But with how small the settlement was the ponies there were already working at all times that they couldn't afford to send them back home. To try to stop the amount of jewels being taken it was suggested that guards should be posted at the mines but with the large amount of wild creatures beginning to venture closer and at times entering the settlement no soldiers could be spared to keep watch in the mines. There was no choice but to rely on the worker in the mines to report any ponies they saw taking gems.
This wasn’t fully effective even though the offenders couldn't be punished at the moment most of the thieves bribed witnesses to keep them quiet while others didn't want to get involved and just turned a blind eye. Many had tried bribing Shale who refused but though he felt he should turn over this information to their boss Shale didn't want this new land that was supposed to bring all the tribes together in harmony to have been built by dishonest ponies. He tried speaking to these ponies hoping to convince them to stop. He wouldn't report them if they changed their ways, but if he saw them continue to steal he’d have no choice but to report them if none of the other workers hadn't done so already ,or if they were caught by the one put in charge of the mine. Shale did manage to turn some of the thieves around.
Though he tried to help as many as he could Shale continued to work hard in the mines. On one normal day he felt drawn to a specific spot in the mine, though it was strange he began to dig uncovering the five strange gems. Since they looked different from the jewels normally dug from the mine they’d need to be cut a bit before being shipped to jewelers. But they wouldn't cut and the strange amount of power coming from them couldn't be ignored. Packing them in a bag shale went to the boss of his assigned mine explaining how he felt about the gems even giving money for them before turning them over to Clover the Clever.
Some time passed before Clover the Clever returned to the settlement with a few ponies the gems had chosen, finding that the elements had remembered Shale’s decision. He could have taken the jewels and sell them for his own personal gain. But instead turned them over not knowing what they were, maybe hoping they would be of help to the settlement. This made shale worthy to become the first element of honesty.