Can I edit the same Pages document on both my iPad and my Mac? I'm interested in editing a single Pages document on both a Mac and an iPad.

I understand the concept of "downloading" a document from iCloud (or from anywhere).

But that isn't what I want, because that would create a copy of the document, resulting in multiple versions.

So "sharing," "exporting," "copying," "downloading," etc. is what I'm trying to avoid.

I'm after something like when you have a file in Dropbox and you edit it on your work computer and then later go home and edit the same file there.

I'm guessing if it's at all possible it's going to involve iCloud, but if it can be done with Dropbox that would be preferable.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
No, downloading it from iCloud won't create a copy. All of your changes will be synced back to iCloud from both devices, and conflicts will be dealt with appropriately (a dialog to you).

As long as both the Mac and the iPad are connected to the same iCloud account, you will be presented with a list of your documents whenever you start Pages on either your Mac or your iPad.