A/N: Inspired by a request from a loyal reader on AO3. Please note again: This story does contain corporal punishment. If this isn't your cup of tea, you have been duly warned…twice now.

It was an exciting day on the Ponderosa. Ben Cartwright just received some new horses he was planning to train for the army. They were quite the assortment of different horse colors from buckskins to pure blacks to bays and even some pintos. This rainbow of colors was very appealing to eleven-year-old Adam and five-year-old Hoss.

Ben was outside by the corral fence admiring the spirit and feistiness of these new horses when he heard the quiet footsteps of his two sons coming across the yard.

"Pa? Can me's and Adam come see the horseys now?" Ben had told both his sons to stay inside and well away from the horses when they were getting delivered. But the wait was torture to Hoss who was having a hard time containing his excitement.

Ben waved them over, gently picking up Hoss when he got close enough and steadying him on the corral fence so he could get a better look. Leaning down to get a better look at Hoss' face, he could see him beaming with joy. "Aren't they beautiful, Hoss?"

"They sures are Pa."

Adam had remained quiet so far, but even at such a young age, he seemed to have a particular talent for judging good stock. Ben was curious to know what his honest opinion was about these horses. "Adam? What do you think of them?"

"They look like really good horses, Pa. You know, I really like that one over there that is all black. I've been watching it since we got out here and I can tell it has a special spark to it."

"That it does, Adam." Lifting Hoss off the fence he placed him back on the ground before addressing both boys. "Boys. These horses are still wild and are very unpredictable right now and could become dangerous quickly. I don't want either of you going near them until they are fully trained and I tell you it is alright. Do you both hear me?" He eyed both Adam and Hoss getting a nod from both of them. "I'm sure I don't have to explain the consequences to either of you if you disobey."

"No, Pa. I understand and promise not to go near them."

"Me's either, Pa."

Ben responded with a nod as he reached out and ruffled Hoss' hair. "Very well. Why don't you boys go back inside the house? I'll be in shortly." Ben watched as they both turned to run back to the house before he headed into the barn. Ben shook his head and chuckled softly to himself. How those boys had so much energy all the time, he'd never know.

Peering into Adam's room, Hoss hoped his brother wasn't too busy. "Hey, Adam. What cha doing?" Hoss was bored and he wanted Adam to do something fun with him. He walked across Adam's room and jumped up on his bed waiting for his brother to respond.

"Well, I'm just finishing up some reading for school. Why? What are you doing?"

Hoss let out the biggest sigh and rested his head on his hand before replying, "Nuthin'. I was hoping we could do something fun together."

A small smile passed across Adam's face. It was so hard to say 'no' to his brother when he looked so sad and dejected. "I tell you what. Just let me finish this page and we'll go outside and do something fun."

"Really, Adam? Thanks!" Hoss was so easy to please sometimes.

Fifteen minutes later, both brothers were outside and Adam was questioning Hoss what he wanted to do. "So, is there something you would like to do while we're out here? We could go fishing or play hide and seek?"

"Naw." Hoss thought about what he wanted to do for a minute or two before he finally settled on something. "Hey, Adam? Could we go look at those new horses?" Hoss put on his very best puppy face. That one always worked with his Pa, he figured it would work with Adam as well.

Adam's gut told him no, but when Hoss looked at him with those eyes, it was hard to say no. Plus he would be there with Hoss so he wouldn't be alone and if something happened, he could quickly get help. "Sure, we'll go say hello to them. I'm sure it'll be okay if we just stay a couple minutes." That was fine with Hoss. He only wanted to watch them for a little bit.

As they walked closer to the corral, Adam warned Hoss that Pa can't find out about this. It has to be their little secret. Hoss beamed up at Adam at those words. He felt really special to be able to share a secret with his older brother.

When they got to the corral, Adam helped Hoss up onto the fence, keeping his hand on his back so he wouldn't fall. "Adam, theys are all so pretty."

"Mmmhmm…that they are."

Both brothers just stayed there in silence for at least a half-hour. They enjoyed just being with each other and watching the majestic creatures. At that time, Adam told Hoss that they best get back to the house before Pa found them out there. Adam helped Hoss down off the fence and as they walked back to the house, he reminded him of their secret and how Pa isn't to know about what they did today.

Over the course of the next week, Adam and Hoss made it their little secret routine to go visit the horses when Adam got home from school. After the first day, Adam decided to bring along some carrots and sugar cubes to try and entice the horses a little closer to them. In just a week, the horses were getting braver and braver around them. A cute, little spotted one even came right up to the fence and allowed Hoss to pet its nose before it whinnied and ran back to the other horses. It was by far a highlight of the little excursions for both brothers. Adam thought for sure after the encounter with the horse, Hoss would let their secret slip. However, much to his surprise, Hoss didn't say anything.

The next day, Ben called both his sons to supper. Adam arrived shortly after hearing his father call him, but when a few minutes passed and Hoss didn't appear, Ben got worried. Hoss loves food and looked forward to each and every meal or snack. He was never late. For him to be late to supper was concerning.

"Adam, do you know where your brother is?"

"No, Pa. The last time I saw him he was in his room playing. That was an hour or so ago."

Ben got up from the table and headed in the direction of Hoss' room. Maybe he was so involved in his playing that he hadn't heard Ben. A few moments later, he returned to the table where Adam was now sitting. "I just checked his room and he's not there now. Supper will just have to wait. Right now, we need to find him."

Both Ben and Adam started searching the house. When they found no trace of him inside, they decided to widen their search outside.

"Adam, you check around the house and barn. I'm going to go see if he's at the fishing pond. For your brother's sake, I sure hope he didn't go down there alone."

As Adam started searching around the outside of the house, he began thinking of all the places Hoss loved to visit. Was there anywhere that he especially loved? Adam stopped dead in his tracks. Like a ton of bricks, dread filled his entire body. Hoss has taken a particular liking to those new horses and their little daily trips to go see them. Adam didn't have time to take Hoss there today as it was the weekend and he had chores around the ranch all day. He'd be willing to bet almost anything that's where Hoss had wandered off to.

Adam hurriedly rushed over to the horse corral. There in the distance, he could see Hoss was indeed where he thought he would be. "Pa! Pa! He's over here by the new horses!"

Ben heard the faint call from Adam. He ended his search and rushed off to the corral containing the new horses where Adam said Hoss was found. As he approached the corral, he could see his youngest. He wasn't up on the fence where he thought he might be watching the horses, but actually inside the corral. Hoss was making his way slowly towards the cluster of wild horses near the center of the corral. His heart clenched as fear and anxiety engulfed him.

Ben ran up to near the fence before slowing his pace to a brisk walk until he got to the gate. Once inside the corral, he slowed to a walk so as not to scare or spook the horses and potentially injure his young son. Ben didn't even want to call out to him for fear the noise might not only frighten the horses but might scare Hoss causing him to do something to scare the horses.

With Ben's long strides, it didn't take long to reach is five-year-old. He gently picked him up before walking slowly backwards towards the gate again. Carefully, he unlatched the gate and closed it behind him. Taking a few steps away from the fence, he put Hoss down on the ground. Taking his small arm, he quickly turned Hoss to the side, landing two stinging swats to his backside.

Naturally, Hoss immediately began to cry. Ben knelt down to look into his young sons' eyes before questioning him. "What do you think you were doing out there, young man?"

"I- I ju-just wa-wa-wanted to say he-hello to the hor-horseys." Hoss could hardly get his brief explanation out between sobs.

"I understand that, but I told you not to go near them. They're extremely dangerous right now. You disobeyed me. Go inside to your room. I'll be in there to join you for a discussion in a few minutes."

Adam watched as Hoss ran past him heading into the house. He had been hanging back by the barn through this whole ordeal and cringed at their father's use of the word 'discussion'. He knew from experience, that there likely wouldn't be many words spoken during that discussion. He felt sorry for this younger brother, but still, he shouldn't have been out in the corral. He didn't have anyone to blame but himself, or so he thought.

Ben made his way to Hoss' room, knocking once on the door before letting himself in. Hoss was sitting on the bed, clearly upset. Ben took the few steps over the bed and sat down next to Hoss. He wanted to make sure Hoss knew exactly what he did wrong and why it was wrong before they tackled the unpleasant business of punishment.

"Hoss, I know you and I haven't been in this position much before, so I want to talk to you for a few minutes. You do know why I'm so disappointed with you, right?"

Hoss gave a small nod before staring down to his lap. He hated looking into his Pa's eyes when he was in trouble. Ben reached out and gently tilted his chin back up with a finger so he could make eye contact with him. "I'd like you to tell me with your words so I know for sure."

"Cause I went to see the horseys."

"Hmm…Yes, and why did that get you in trouble?"

"Cause you said not to."

Ben sighed softly. He was quickly becoming tired trying to force the conversation out of him. "Yes, that's right. Do you remember why I said you couldn't go see the horses?"

"Dangerous."

"That's right. It's very dangerous. Even if the horses were tame and trained, horses can always be dangerous especially for little children. Those horses haven't been around humans much and they can easily get spooked and hurt you badly. Do you understand?"

"Uh-huh."

"You disobeyed Pa by going to the horses and you have to be punished for that."

Hoss began to panic. Adam told him everything would be alright. "But, but Adam said it would be our little secret. And the horses seemed to like us after a while. They even took some carrots from us!"

Ben was confused by what his youngest was telling him. "Wait…your brother was there too?"

"Yeah. We've been going there every day for the past week. Please don't punish me! I'm really sorry."

Ben went from being confused to furious in a matter of seconds. Here he thought it was just Hoss being young and curious that brought him into this mess. Turns out, if Hoss is telling the truth, that his oldest was the leader in this. Sure, he might not have gone there today, but it sounded like he has been fueling Hoss' curiosity. And that made him just a guilty as Hoss, maybe even a little more guilty, in his opinion. Guess he'd be punishing both of his sons this evening.

Ben took a couple minutes to calm his temper down. He didn't want to take his anger out on Hoss while he was punishing him.

When Ben felt he had his emotions under control, he addressed Hoss again. "Alright, Hoss. I know you're very sorry for what you did and you weren't alone in this, but you still have to pay for your part of the little adventure."

Ben gently guided Hoss off the bed before leading him to his side and guiding him over his knees. Once he was in position, Ben began the spanking not wanting to postpone it any longer. Hoss was sobbing after two firm swats, begging him to stop. Ben hardened his heart against his sobs and delivered another three before stopping and gently rubbing his back. A minute later, he helped him up and gently positioned him on his lap. Ben offered words of comfort as Hoss laid his head against his chest and Ben wrapped his arm around him. They stayed like that for nearly five minutes before Hoss' sobs finally came to an end.

Ben knew they hadn't had supper yet, but considering he now had to deal with Adam as well, he helped Hoss into bed. "I have to go talk to your brother for a few minutes out the barn. Why don't you lay down and take a short nap? I'll come wake you up when we're done and then we can have supper."

Hoss was practically falling asleep already and didn't protest. He laid down on his stomach while Ben pulled the covers up over him.

Ben leaned down and landed a kiss on his head. "I love you very much, Hoss."

"Luvs you too."

Ben waited until Hoss was asleep before heading out of the house and across the yard in search of his oldest.

"Adam! Adam, where are you?"

"In here, Pa."

Ben headed over to the barn. Adam was catching up on the evening chores. Quite convenient, Ben thought. It was where they were likely going to end up this evening, so it would save them the extra steps.

Ben stepped into the barn and headed over to where Adam was working on cleaning a stall. He just stood there leaning against a post with his arms crossed and watched Adam. He was working hard to keep his temper from lashing out unexpectedly.

As Adam finished up, he could see his Pa just standing there out of the corner of his eye. He risked a glance over to him and he didn't look happy. Finishing up, he leaned the rake against the wall and turned to face his Pa. "Something wrong, Pa?"

"Well, I don't rightly know. Hoss told me something very interesting while I was inside. I aim to find out if it's true."

Adam gulped as his stomach tightened. There was only one thing he could think of that Hoss could have told him to make him this angry. He didn't want to just give himself up if it wasn't that, though. He felt the best route would be to play innocent for now. "What was that, Pa?"

"Let's see. Hoss informed me that you both have been visiting those new horses every day for the past week. Something about it being a secret and I wasn't to find out. Any truth to that?"

Adam hung his head in shame. Adam wanted so much to tell him 'no'. He knew he'd already been caught, though, and telling a lie now would only result in more problems for him. Resigning to his fate, he replied just above a whisper, "Yes, sir."

"Excuse me? I can't hear you. And please do me the courtesy of looking at me when you speak."

Bravely returning his gaze back up to his Pa, Adam repeated in a more normal, but shaky voice. "Y-yes, it's true."

"I see. Why'd you do it, Adam? You knew I forbade you to go near them, right?"

"Well, Hoss was bored one day and wanted to do something fun with me. He really wanted to see the horses. Yes, I knew we weren't supposed to be there, but you know how he gets with those pleading eyes and how much he loves animals. I couldn't resist. I didn't want him to get in trouble, so I told him that it would be our secret and he wasn't to tell you about it."

"Well that didn't turn out like you expected, did it?"

"No, sir." Adam knew this conversation wasn't going to end well for him or his backside and he was starting to regret everything he did the past week.

"Hoss ended up getting punished after all. And it shouldn't come as any surprise to you that you're also due for punishment for this little adventure."

"Yes, Pa." Adam couldn't look at the disappointment on his father's face anymore and instead found the barn floor quite interesting once again.

"Adam, I expect better from you. You're the older brother and Hoss looks up to you. You need to be showing him the right things instead of leading him into trouble. You not only disobeyed me but also deceived me by keeping this a secret."

Adam's head shot up in surprise. Uh oh. Did his father just mention disobey AND deceive? Those were two of the three deadly 'D' words that Pa hates above all others. Deceive, disobey, and disrespect. Committing any one of those is a one-way ticket over his father's knee, with no hope of talking him out of it. Here, Adam just committed two of them at one time.

Ben in the meantime had moved over to one of the feed barrels. Adam was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of him unbuckling and slowly pulling his belt off. Adam paled. "Pl-Please, Pa. Don't use your belt." Ben had never used it on him before and Adam didn't want this to be the first time.

Ben sadly shook his head. "Unfortunately, you don't have a choice in the matter. You committed some pretty major crimes this time and ultimately put Hoss in danger. I know I have never used this on you before, but I only plan to use it a couple times at the end, just to drive the message home."

Ben took a seat on one of the barrels and placed the belt next to him before waving Adam over to him. Adam slowly dragged his feet the few steps over to his father. He knew there was no point in resisting. When Pa decided to punish him, he always followed through. When he reached his Pa, he gently lowered himself across his knees.

Ben adjusted Adam on his lap and when he was in position asked if he was ready. It was a stupid question, really. He knew from past experience no one was ever really ready for what was about to happen. Regardless, Adam answered with a soft, "Yes, Pa." At that, Ben raised his hand and began firmly spanking the backside in front of him. Adam stoically made no sound for the first two swats. By swat four, he could tell Adam was beginning to feel some discomfort. It wasn't until swat six that Adam cried out pleading with him to stop. Ben finished the last two with his hand before stopping.

When Adam made a move to stand up, Ben reminded him, "Not yet. We're not quite done here."

Ben reached down and picked up his belt before doubling it in his hand. He absolutely hated this part of parenting. He had always hoped he would never have to use his belt on his boys, but like most boys, they tend to push the limits. Ben wished he could just leave it with the hand swats, but this situation called for something a little more severe. If there ever was a time that deserved this sort of punishment, it was now.

"Adam, I only plan to give you three this time. However, if you ever do something so dangerous again, this will feel like nothing. Am I clear?"

A muffled 'yes' was heard and Ben quickly delivered the last three to his son. Adam was fully crying by now. Ben threw the belt to the ground as he began rubbing Adam's back gently, much like he did with Hoss only a half-hour before. Adam was much quicker to get up than Hoss. Adam was never one to want to cuddle after punishment and was even less likely after he turned ten and considered cuddling to only be for babies. However, Ben couldn't let this end without Adam knowing it was over and he was still loved. As Adam stood up, Ben did as well and pulled him into a hug. With one hand he gently rubbed his back as he leaned in and whispered into his ear how much he loved him.

"I love you too, Pa. I don't love your hand right now, but I do love you as my Pa."

Ben let out a soft laugh at his son's response. "I'm sure you don't. Are you ready to head inside and get some supper?"

Receiving a nod in reply, Ben reached down and re-threaded his belt before they both exited the barn heading towards the house.

After supper, Ben called both his sons out into the Great Room. He wanted to wrap up what happened earlier before putting it all behind them.

Ben looked over at both his sons sitting on the settee. "I just wanted to tell you both that I hate punishing either of you. However, I would hate it even more if I had to see you boys get hurt or worse because you boys did something foolish. That's why I punish you. I love and care about you both too much to let something so dangerous go without consequences to help you remember next time. Do you both understand?"

"I don't likes when you punish me either."

"Yes, I understand. I know I shouldn't have allowed Hoss to do something dangerous like that. I promise it won't happen again."

"Very well. I did want to talk to you both about something else." Seeing he had both boy's attention he continued. "If you can both behave and mind me until the horses are trained, I would be willing to allow each of you to keep one here at the ranch."

"Really, Pa?" Hoss reacted exactly how he thought he would. He knew he would be thrilled to have a new animal friend on the ranch.

"Sure. Adam could use a horse so he can start helping me around the ranch. You could use one to start to practice riding and learning to care for something. Before you know it, you'll be helping around the ranch too, Hoss."

"Wow, thanks, Pa! We promise we won't let you down, right Hoss?"

"Right! We'll be the best behaved ever."

Ben just smiled at these remarks. He knew they would both like the thought of having their own horses. And he was pretty sure they would keep their promises to him this time.

One month later…

Ben was outside by the corral fence as both Hoss and Adam looked over all the horses. Ben had finally gentled them all and the horses came a long way in being friendly and well-liked among the ranch hands. The boys had also behaved for the last month after that little incident the first week. They kept their end of their promise, it was now time for him to keep his end.

"Well, boys? Which horse would you both like to keep?"

Adam was quick to know which one was his favorite. "That one that is all black. I loved him since that first day he was brought to the ranch. Sure, he's been tamed, but he still has that spark in his eyes."

Ben nodded in approval at Adam's choice. "Very well. What about you, Hoss? Which horse would you like?"

"Well, Pa. I love thems all!"

Ben chuckled at Hoss' response. He wasn't the least bit surprised Hoss would love them all. He has a big heart when it comes to animals. Moving over to where Hoss was standing on the fence, he leaned in close to him. "Of course you do. We can't keep them all, though. If you had to pick your absolute favorite, which one would you choose?"

Hoss tilted his head while he thought about the question. This was probably one of the biggest decisions he had ever had to make in his young life. After a minute or two, Hoss finally responded. "I really like that spotted one. He sure his pretty."

"That's an excellent choice."

Little did both of them know that this was the start of a special relationship and partnership between both horse and human that would last for years to come.